Flash: Rogues

Rating:
Summary: good stuff overall, but lacks structure
Review: "Rogues" reprints issues 177-182 of the current "Flash" series. Fans are advised that a special issue, "Flash: Iron Heights" takes place in between this volume and the previous, "Blood Will Run." "Iron Heights" has not been reprinted and is not available from Amazon.

Geoff Johns works some very long subplots into his stories, some of which seem to be taking more than a year to play out. For example, "Blood Will Run" set up the twist of former villain the "Pied Piper" seemingly murdering his parents, a shock for longtime fans who have come to see the character as a rather benevolent soul. Expecting a resolution, I was disappointed to see that "Rogues" leaves the matter of his guilt or innocence still hanging in the air. Moreover, a second subplot, that of a band of villains plotting to make Flash's life hell, is introduced midway through this book without a follow-up. Hopefully the next volume, "Crossfire," will close some of these gaps.

Despite the incomplete feel of the book, however, what is present here leaves little to complain about. Three of the six chapters stand out, each one presenting a humanizing look at one of the Flash's villains (the "Rogues" for which the volume is named). Johns introduces a new misguided character ("Peek-a-Boo"), centers a Christmas story around escaped inmate Fallout, and wraps up with a tale of classic Flash villain Captain Cold. All three villains' tales show them as troubled souls who are nevertheless capable of love and worthy of compassion.

Although the main character takes a back seat in this series of stories, fans of the "Teen Titans" will enjoy Cyborg's guest appearance. Another prominent character continues to be Keystone City itself, with writer Johns showing us little slices of Rust Belt life (like union squabbles) that rarely show up in superhero stories. Scott Kolins has this sort of "krinkly" art style that perfectly suits the stories' working-class and back-street settings.

On the monthly Flash comic, Johns and Kolins can do no wrong, but those who only read trades may be disappointed by the lack of compact story arcs in the reprint volumes. I'm confident, however, that patient reading of these Flash stories will be rewarded.


Rating:
Summary: Geoff Johns Continues His Epic.......
Review: Rogues is the second volume in DC's reprint series of Writer Geoff John's continuing run on The Flash; (The Flash: Blood Will Run was the first.) This installment is mostly comprised of self-contained stories featuring members of The Flash's Rogues Gallery, but they all figure prominantly in a larger arc that was recently completed in the monthly series. Johns' writing is excellent, as usual, and the art, by Scott Kolins & Doug Hazlewood, is breathtakingly different from the usual Super-Hero fare; Very reminiscent of Geoff Darrow's highly detailed work on Hard Boiled and The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, and that's high praise indeed. I've never seen Gorilla Grodd look anywhare NEAR as fearsome as he does here.....

The problem with the book is the lack of explanation about certain details that might confound a more casual reader than myself. DC provides a Who's Who page in the front of the book, but the constant references to the breakout of mass-murderer Murmer are bound to confuse newer readers; Murmer was introduced in The Flash: Iron Heights, a one-shot book that takes place between chapters of this book. Why not reprint Iron Heights here, as well as the Secret Files & Origins story (Also referred to here....) that depicted Grodd's bloody capture? Also, one of the chapters takes place in the middle of DC's AWFUL "Last Laugh" crossover, and anyone who wasn't following that dreadful story will wonder where the heck all of these "Jokerized" baddies are coming from...

DC has a LOT of catch-up work to do in their trade-paperback program. Marvel comics is offering their collected editions at a comparable quality, a cheaper price-point, and a lower lag-time (Marvel offers their collections almost immediately after the story arc concludes..) than DC's usual year-long wait. And it's a shame DC hasn't seen fit to collect John's first Flash arc before reprinting his second & third...

Rating:
Summary: Johns keeps you going
Review: Starting directly after "Blood Will Run", this book delves deeper into lives of not just Wally West [The Flash], but his friends and foes as well.

Rating:
Summary: Johns keeps you going
Review: Starting directly after "Blood Will Run", this book delves deeper into lives of not just Wally West [The Flash], but his friends and foes as well.