The Flash #12 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Ramon Perez, Vasco Georgiev, Artists; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: This series has been one of the strangest DC put out in a long time, with the Flash family being torn asunder by cosmic forces as Wally found himself stranded beyond the speed force. This issue brings all that home, with a character-focused issue that finds everyone back together – and then launches them into the biggest battle of the series against alien geometries that defy logic. There are some great moments here, like a few quiet scenes as Wally meets with Linda and Barry and says some private things before what might be the end. The kids are a lot of fun as always, with Irey and Jai continuing their journey into fan favorites that started in Jeremy Adams’ run. But there are some odd choices along the way. Bart’s odd regression continues, with the character looking and acting younger than the Flash twins for some reason. A villain dies casually in the middle of a major fight scene, almost off-handedly. And amid it all, the surrealist feel doesn’t quite mesh with the rest of the book. It’s a wild experiment, but one I’m not sure always works.
Power Girl #12 – Leah Williams, Writer; Travis Moore, Artist; Sebastian Cheng, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Travis Moore jumps on board on art for this issue, which finds Power Girl’s date taking a surprising turn – into Valhallah. Her love interest Axel, who turned out to have a mysterious hidden agenda, is actually the cousin of Siegfried – the handsome warrior who won Wonder Woman’s heart briefly in the afterlife. Paige has no problems fitting into the legendary home of the warriors, gleefully taking out her stresses on the immortal warriors before being invited into the Great Hall for a feast. There’s an amazing segment here that will lift the spirits of any animal lover, but overall the issue has a bit too much infodumping about magical artifacts at time and Paige and Axel seem to be rushing things a bit given how the last issue ended. The cliffhanger provides a hefty dose of mood whiplash, as it seems one of Paige’s friends has gotten to a dark place, so I’m pretty intrigued to see where this goes next.
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead In America #8 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Lisandro Estherren, Artist; Patricio Delpeche, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: John Constantine has spent this series exploring America, and while a day at a busy airport may make the opposite case, that’s a very different place than where he finds himself in this issue – the depths of Hell. Accompanied by a reluctant sinner he corralled last issue and a sadistic rhyming demon looking to trick him at every opportunity, he explores a gleaming version of the afterlife that looks all too familiar and cuts some Constantine-inspired deals to settle the fate of Swamp Thing – and maybe his own, as his own final judgment day draws closer. This was originally supposed to be the final issue of the series, and the ending here reads like it could have been a close to the original story of the older Vertigo Constantine, as all his sins catch up with him – but Spurrier has an extra epilogue in mind, one tying all the way back to the early days of Vertigo. Very intriguing stuff.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
