The Flash #18Comic Review by Paul Fiander
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Art by: Jesus Merino, Andy Owen
Colours by: Chris Soyomayor Written by: Joshua Williamson |
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The relationship between a teacher and student is a difficult one to manage. As the teacher you have to decide how much of yourself to give to your apprentice in order to develop them to their potential but there is also a danger of giving too much and damaging the measure of authority that you need to keep. This is the dilemma that faces Barry as he teaches Wally how to be the Flash. In fact Wally does not actually know who his teacher is as up to now Barry has kept his secret identity just that, a secret.
As you would expect from a Flash title the punches come thick and fast throughout. The pacing though never feels rushed as Joshua Williamson crafts a script full of depth and character development. This mixed with the frenetic action allow for a fun ride from start to finish. Williamson’s abilities though go deeper as he adds a tinge of regret into Barry’s interactions with Wally. I am enjoying the ride that Williamson is taking us on, although the two Flashes are not father and son their close relationship and special abilities make them closer and this is being fully explored in the series to date. Imagery in the Flash is key, the ability to depict motion is more important in the story of a speedster then pretty much any other story. The artistic trio of Jesus Merino, Andy Owens and Chris Sotomayor do a fantastic job in this regard. A lot of the heavy lifting seems to be done by the colourist Sotomayor (as you can see from the splash page in the preview below), obviously the lines are already their but his colour patterns help the lightning to literally pop off of the page. Of course is only a part of the Flash and elsewhere we do get some strong talking head panels that display a range of emotions bringing you deeper into the story. We do get a chance to meet one of the more obscure characters from the DCU later in the issue that can not help but bring a smile to your face. I will not spoil things but beware of looking at the variant cover. I came to the flash due to my love of Joshua Williamson’s other work namely Birthright and Nailbiter. I have now been sold that the flash has more depth than just a road runner style hero and can highly recommend this series for the foreseeable future. |
