Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Quick Quiz: Favorite Storyline?

It's time for another speedy recap of our monthly Quick Quiz. With The Flash (v.2) at an end and Wally West presumably left to run in the shadow of his esteemed predecessor, the latest poll asked readers to cast their minds back over the third scarlet speedster's memorable mythology. Of the most significant storylines from The Flash (v.2), Wally West's most epic adventures, which is your favorite?

An impressive 30% of the blog's readers selected "The Return of Barry Allen," a landmark story arc packed with plot twists by writer Mark Waid and artist Greg LaRocque, as their favorite adventure. It's clear that this remains one of the best remembered stories featuring the fastest man alive. 27% of all respondents chose the emotionally charged "Terminal Velocity" storyline from Waid, Salvador Larocca, Carlos Pacheco, and Oscar Jimenez. 5% of voters selected "Chain Lightning," a sprawling time travel narrative written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn and illustrated by Paul Pelletier. 13% of readers recognized the traumatic "Blitz," by writer Geoff Johns and artist Scott Kolins. No less than 23% of respondents favored the thrilling "Rogue War," from Johns and Howard Porter. Somewhat surprisingly, no virtual ballots were cast in favor of the other significant storylines listed, including "The Dark Flash Saga," "Lightning in a Bottle," "Ignition," and "The Wild Wests." Additionally, at least 2% of respondents chose to vote in the Other category. Sixty-two voters took part in this particular poll.


With the true return of Barry Allen capturing the attention of comic readers everywhere, it would be difficult to ignore the impact that Waid and LaRocque's "The Return of Barry Allen" had on the mythology of the fastest man alive. This seminal storyline skillfully played with the hopes, fears, and expectations of its enthralled audience whilst simultaneously empowering and revitalizing its central hero, at long last allowing Wally West to be recognized as an exceptional superhero in his own right. That being said, the story arc was also up against some stiff competition in this particular poll. With a number of powerful storylines from the likes of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns on the ballot, and each reader allowed only a single vote, fans may have been forced to overlook some of their favorite tales. Which of these epic stories did you cast your vote for? Which adventures do you feel were overlooked? The conversation continues using the comment facility below.

In the comic book world, the month of April 2009 belongs to the resurrected Barry Allen, so it's only natural that our next Quick Quiz poll should attempt to guage the excitement surrounding the eagerly-anticipated release of The Flash: Rebirth #1. With the first issue of The Flash: Rebirth now available, how would you characterize your interest in this epic mini-series? Let us know in the current sidebar poll!

3 comments:

Diabolu Frank said...

This is the first quiz since I've followed them that I had to abstain from. I considered offering a write-in for one of the arcs from the first two years, but there was nothing strong enough to rate the effort. I guess I just really don't like Wally West at all, and can only get into him when he's played as a jerk. Moreso, I mean.

I like Jay Garrick and Barry Allen. I like Central and Keystone City. The Rogues are enviable. I can get into the sideline speedsters, and objectively appreciated what Impulse brought to the DC line/Young Justice. I cannot, after repeated tries spanning decades, generate interest in Wally as a character.

KentButabi said...

Frank:

How about Chain Lightening?

Esteban Pedreros said...

Well I didn't arrive at time to cast my vote, but I miss some storylines I think should have deserved a place among the listing you made:

* Dead Heat
* Porcupine Man saga
* Velocity 9 saga
* Born to Run

I liked the first 30 issues or so, that Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins crafted, I think that the issues where Wally fought against the new rogues combined were pretty good (I can't remember the name of that particular arc, but it wasn't thee Rogue's War).