Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Reviews: The Flash #11

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #11 adds another chapter to "Full Throttle," Marc Guggenheim's first story arc on the title. It's an exciting issue that presents a parade of familiar characters--including your favorites and mine, the Flash's famous Rogues Gallery in its full force--and thrilling plot twist after thrilling plot twist. This story also ends with a stunning cliffhanger; the plot is gripping until its final page. The Flash #11 also introduces Tony Daniel as the book's new regular penciller. The art is crisp, clean, and dynamic. Things are looking up for The Flash, and there's no telling what's going to happen next. Here's what comic book reviewers across the web are saying about the latest issue...
  • DCU Reviews sums up the state of the series in a single sentence: "After a terrible start, things have been getting better."
  • Adam Chapman at ComiXtreme.com awards the issue four out of five exclamation points. "The Flash is one of those books that disappointed most fans when it came back One Year Later, however now it is also one of the most consistently improved books, month after month, thanks first to Guggenheim's arrival, and now bolstered by the arrival of Daniel. This is good stuff, and shouldn't be missed, especially with the Flash poised to play an important part in the future of the DCU."
  • Radio Free Metropolis's pleasantly surprised El Diablo Robotica comments, "Hey, that wasn’t half bad."
  • Kenneth Gallant of Broken Frontier is pleased with "the way writer Guggenheim crafts his plots, especially in this issue whereby the Rogues take front and centre stage. Do I smell a grand story arc brewing here?" He also feels that artist Tony Daniel "appears here for the first time with the confidence of a seasoned pro."
  • The Mercurialblonde is hailing the true return of our favorite hero after reading this issue. "The art on this book is fantastic. There's all kinds of speed hijinks. There's the romantic drama that we've come to expect from the character over the years. And the Rogues Gallery is back in force. Yes, if you are at all a fan of the Flash, now is the time to get back into reading him. The dark days are over, hallelujah hallelujah the Flash is back!"

2 comments:

Craig MacD. said...

All in all, I've been enjoying Guggenheim's run on the book so far, and having Tony Daniel on the book makes it even better. Nice to finally have a stable, regular penciller we can rely on.

That said, something keeps me from getting overly excited about this book the way I'd get during the days of Waid or Johns. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the pacing of the stories, or maybe the fact that I still don't "feel" that Bart is THE Flash now. I don't know. I'm enjoying the series, but something seems to be missing that is keeping this book from going from "decent" (IMO) to "great".

Dixon said...

I have to agree with you, Craig. Guggenheim's issues have been very entertaining to date, but the series hasn't yet attained the level of out-and-out excitement that accompanied the story arcs of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns. That being said, Waid and Johns each set the bar very high. We'll have to give Guggenheim a bit more time and keep our fingers crossed.