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Runaway
Hit :
The Flash: Rogues
DC Comics trade paperback review
By
Troy Brownfield
Writer:
Geoff Johns
Art: Scott Kolins and Doug Hazlewood
More
Info: www.dccomics.com
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When
the Johns/Kolins team took over The Flash, two of their stated
purposes were to give Keystone City its own identity, and
to reinvigorate The Rogues Gallery. They've done both in spades.
Rogues, the latest collection from the team's run,
puts the Flash through his paces in individual encounters
with several adversaries as the narrative builds toward the
outstanding "Crossfire" event.
The
standout issue of the collection is, hands-down, the final
chapter. It focuses on long-time Flash adversary Captain Cold,
giving him more depth that many writers would have ever attempted.
The gift of Johns, as evinced by his work in JSA and
elsewhere, is his ability to take forgotten or marginalized
characters and imbue them with fascinating characteristics.
Cold will never be a sweet guy by any stretch, but he's given
vulnerability and humanity in this story; you understand why
he's a "bad guy", and why being a straight-up hero
is essentially out of the question for him.
As
usual, while the stories work, they wouldn't pack they charge
that they do without Kolins and Hazlewood. The art team is
masterful at conveying facial expressions of emotion, from
Captain Cold's bitter anger to Golden Glider's heartbreak
to Wally's joy at seeing his Aunt Iris. And action? The brawl
with Gorrila Grodd is a lovingly rendered classic of violence
and property destruction.
Two
other great tales deal with villains that exist under tragic
circumstances: Peek-A-Boo and Fallout. In both cases, The
Flash finds himself trying to solve the dilemmas that motivate
them, rather than just beating them down. The notion of Wally
as a people's hero is something that the creators keep coming
back to, and they realize it to solid effect more than once.
Of
course, one of the chapters ends with a huge shock that helped
to set up "Crossfire", and I won't give that away.
Still, it's another point in favor of the team. I've often
raved about the last pages of Johns and Goyer's JSA,
but the last page to the big shocker was easily their equal.
All
told, Rogues is a must for Flash fans and would actually
serve as an excellent jump-on point for new readers, both
due to the creative team's style, and the episodic nature
of the tales. The Flash remains smartly conceived, well-executed,
and obviously, fast-paced.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief. If they make a Flash movie,
why not get Enterprise's Linda
Park to play Linda Park, or would that make too much sense?
Email him at psikotyk@aol.com
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