Rogues #1 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Leomacs, Artist; Matheus Lopes, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Joshua Williamson has had one of the longest runs on the Flash ever, and he was as well-known for his villains as for the titular hero. So when it was announced he was returning to the property for a Black Label series focusing on the Rogues, the response was very positive. It should have been, as these characters are perfectly suited for a pitch-black noir thriller exploring the grittier side of these workaday villains. The prequel sets us off on a good note, with a hilarious prelude set at a bar for supervillains run by Condiment King. “The Ape” of Angel and the Ape is having a bad day as his partner left him for Detective Chimp, someone says the wrong thing about Gorilla Grodd, and a brawl ensues. And all the while the Rogues are watching—and getting ideas. But ten years later, those ideas have come to nothing and Captain Cold is a bitter old parolee whose heyday as a villain is far behind him.
When he oversees his bosses at the factory mocking him and is harassed by his parole officer one time too many, he sets out getting the old gang back together. Golden Glider is a social worker who seems to have actually put her past behind her, Trickster is a showman who found a new way to con people, and Heat Wave just found another way to indulge his passion. Weather Wizard and Captain Boomerang are dead in an unspecified incident, so Cold recruits retired Suicide Squad leader Bronze Tiger for one more mission—to break Mirror Master out of prison and get the secret weapon they need for one last heist. The true target of that heist is a great surprise, and overall this is an excellent start that takes the classic Flash villains and fuses them with a compelling noir story that perfectly fits in the seedy underbelly of the DCU. The dark twist ending and gritty Leomacs art perfectly set us up for a story that I’m betting not everyone is coming back from.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
