Flash Zee Fact: A few years ago, I sat back and read every Flash comic starring Wally West as The Flash, all because I loved the Messner-Loebs/Laroque & Waid/et al. runs so much. What conclusion did that lead me to?
Turns out, I only like Wally and his mythos in a specific context – so those two runs I mentioned really were the only Wally stuff I liked. I hate the Johns run, I hated the Adams run, it took Spurrier and Deodato’s take for me to fall in love with the character again. Least to say, I have very specific expectations when it comes to the title.
That being said, I love the Fantastic Four! Ryan North (writer of the current Flash run, of which his first issue is being reviewed right now, as well as the ongoing Fantastic Four book) writes a really fun Fantastic Four! Admittedly, it’s not a book I read monthly, but it is a book I stack up and binge when I want to read a feel good book. To me, the appeal of North (and co.)’s Fantastic Four is how weird they get with the science fiction in that book. It’s a fun ride whenever I read it where I’m not sure what I’m going to get, but I do know that I’ll be amused and have a fun time.
I also love Gavin Guidry’s art! My introduction to his work was in Superman ‘78: The Metal Curtain, where I was taken by his simpler approach to details, possessing sharp lines in his illustrations. After that, I would occasionally admire his work in JSA whenever I would flip through copies, and there was a big upgrade there. Sharper details, almost Samnee-like in a way, that was really gripping to me.
Hearing that this team was going to take over Flash for DC’s Next Level initiative got me really excited. All in theory of course, North’s sci-fi wacky sensibilities paired up with Guidry’s very solid style sounded like a success story in the making.
For me, I think they really nailed it.
The Wally (and co.) I loved back during the 90s is obviously a different Wally to today- he’s got kids! He’s got more baggage. The Spurrier (and co.) run did a great job at really changing the tone of the book to cosmic horror, that shake up is what really made it work for me. But also in this instance, North and Guidry’s return to “form” by making it tonally in tune with the 90s stuff, while also placing it in a contemporary setting really works for me because there’s a jolt to it.
Wally’s using his powers to heat up food that he forgot to defrost one second, the next he’s caught up in superheroic antics, there’s a fun balance here. I also really love how he’s characterized, from the dad jokes to a man who believes in the speed force as a hopeful, spiritual essence rather than falling into the science of it, to try and keep up with modern trends, all of it works in tandem wonderfully.
All of this is portrayed beautifully by Guidry’s illustrations and Adriano Lucas’ colours. There’s a blur they utilize whenever the Flash is in motion that sells the illusion of speed so well. Guidry’s rigid panel compositions page to page help pace it out really well, but I do hope we get to see some more experimentation as it goes on.
The Flash #31 is a great start to this run. I had a blast, I’m glad it lived up to my expectations. Can’t wait to see where this all goes.
