The Flash: Rogue War TPB
Dec. 19th, 2006 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catalyst2At first glance, this comic could look like it would end up with a similar review to JLA: Justice for All. On paper (sorry, unintentional pun) it looks quite similar - a plethora of villains and frantic, end-to-end action but I liked this one a whole lot more!
I liked it much more because, behind all the razzle dazzle and lycra, this story was driven by very human motivations. Actions had consequences, people fucked up and made mistakes. Yes, there was a titanic battle but, in the end, it was between humans in costumes. Again, not knowing a much backstory wasn't that much of a hindrance - the story was either self-explanatory or I worked it out very quickly. What I didn't work out didn't affect my enjoyment of the story, even though characters clearly referred to events I didn't know about.
The whole Rogue vs New Rogue thing was good - the interplay of characters was complex. So often when there is succession, it is only commented on when it is the hero - but to see Trickster, New and Old, and their different motivations was fascinating. Similarly, although we didn't see the Old Captain Boomerang in action(for very obvious reasons), the New Captain Boomerang was affected by what had happened to the older character.
The art was good too - it must be hard to keep on portraying The Flash without lapsing into cliched ways of portraying his speed. The best shot was a little one where someone is talking to The Flash (can't remember who!) and they turn to check to if he has heard the information. He's gone, of course, but out of the high-rise building's window, we can see a scarlet blur surging through the streets, already blocks away. So concise.
Standard covers gallery was the only real extra but there were some very nice covers in there.
I liked it much more because, behind all the razzle dazzle and lycra, this story was driven by very human motivations. Actions had consequences, people fucked up and made mistakes. Yes, there was a titanic battle but, in the end, it was between humans in costumes. Again, not knowing a much backstory wasn't that much of a hindrance - the story was either self-explanatory or I worked it out very quickly. What I didn't work out didn't affect my enjoyment of the story, even though characters clearly referred to events I didn't know about.
The whole Rogue vs New Rogue thing was good - the interplay of characters was complex. So often when there is succession, it is only commented on when it is the hero - but to see Trickster, New and Old, and their different motivations was fascinating. Similarly, although we didn't see the Old Captain Boomerang in action(for very obvious reasons), the New Captain Boomerang was affected by what had happened to the older character.
The art was good too - it must be hard to keep on portraying The Flash without lapsing into cliched ways of portraying his speed. The best shot was a little one where someone is talking to The Flash (can't remember who!) and they turn to check to if he has heard the information. He's gone, of course, but out of the high-rise building's window, we can see a scarlet blur surging through the streets, already blocks away. So concise.
Standard covers gallery was the only real extra but there were some very nice covers in there.
