Flashpoint: Reverse Flash #1

June 23, 2011

Title: …My Revenge

Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Joel Gomez
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Cover: Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes, Kyle Ritter
Editor: Chris Conroy         
Publisher: DC Comics

The man seemingly responsible for the Flashpoint universe takes front and center in this miniseries. Eobard Thawne, a.k.a Professor Zoom, a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash used to idolize Barry Allen, until they became mortal enemies. When an attempt to change the timeline to stop Barry from becoming the Flash in the first place threatens Thawne himself, though, he decided it’s time to tamper with Barry’s past in more subtle ways.

At the risk of making an obvious joke, this book is really something of an anomaly. You’d think that it would be about how Thawne tampered with the past to create the Flashpoint universe, but instead, it comes across more like a prequel for the Flash: Rebirth miniseries. We see all of the tampering he did there, and how it led up to the defining moment in Barry Allen’s life, all of which was explained back then. None of the things he does here seem to link to Flashpoint at all, and in fact, some of it seems to directly contradict it. Which raises an interesting question – is this a case of flawed writing, or a clue to the larger scheme of the Flashpoint story?

The artwork here, sadly, isn’t as strong as we’d like. Scott Kolins has quite a pedigree as both a writer and an artist on Flash-related books, but Joel Gomez seems like a poor fit. His figures seem off-model and often off-kilter, and while Thawne is a thoroughly unlikable person, the permanent sneer on his face in this book seems rather artificial.

I’m interested in seeing what else this story has to offer, but not terribly impressed with this issue.

Rating: 6/10

The Boys #16

March 7, 2008

The Boys #16 (Dynamite Entertainment)
By Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson

As Hughie finds himself growing closer to Annie (he not aware that she’s a superhero, she not aware that he hunts them), the Female goes missing, and the rest of the team goes searching. The Hughie/Annie stuff here is really good — you can honestly buy them as two lost souls whose lives haven’t turned out as they expected reaching out to one another, finding someone else to connect with. The book hasn’t totally lost its “shock value” mentality, though — the last page gag really serves no purpose other than to make people gasp and say, “I can’t believe they put that in a comic book”! The Female’s story isn’t as interesting either, mostly because the character herself isn’t that interesting. She’s a cipher, more of an idea than a character, and that doesn’t grab me. This book is going about half-and-half for me right now… the stuff I like, I realy like. The stuff I don’t… meh.
Rating: 7/10

Eternals (2008 Series) #1

June 10, 2008

Quick Rating: Good
Rating: T+

The Eternals continue the search for their missing bretheren.

Writers: Charles & Daniel Knauf
Art: Daniel Acuna
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Cover Art: Daniel Acuna
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Charles and Daniel Knauf are kicking off this book they way they need to – they’re taking Neil Gaiman’s miniseries as a starting point, but they aren’t just trying to copy him. There’s a massive threat approaching, and Ikarus and Thena believe only the combined power of all Eternals can stop it – all Eternals, including those who still haven’t regained their memories and the rebellious Druig, who is collecting Lost Eternals on his own. The search brings them to a small Church in Louisiana, and the race begins there.

Makkari has an interesting storyline running here as well, as he has a bizarre interaction with the Dreaming Celestial. Both storylines have definite long-term ramifications here. The story still feels a little loose, like the writers are trying to find their footing, but for a first issue, it isn’t bad.

On to the artwork – I’m not really Daniel Acuna’s biggest fan. I really disliked his recent work on Green Lantern and Flash, but either he’s changed his style or he’s simply a better fit for the Eternals, because here, it’s not bad at all. His character forms are more realistic, and the color work is good. And except for the hint of some hills in the background, he depicts one of the best Louisiana rainstorms I’ve seen in comics. (Not a lot of hills in that part of the state.)

It’s an okay first issue. Folks who enjoyed what Gaiman did will find a familiar starting ground for this new ongoing series.

Rating: 7/10