Flash #207
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com on February 23, 2004
Quick Rating: Great
Title: Rush Hour
Linda Park-West is gone, but the Rogues are back… and they brought Howard Porter with them!
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils:Howard Porter
Inks: Livesay
Colors: James Sinclair
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: A few years after he left JLA, following a brief stopover with the Fantastic Four, Howard Porter has come home to roost in the DC Universe. Adding him to one of the best superhero writers in comics, together with one of the best characters in spandex, makes this a book anyone who digs superheroes should read.
Last issue the Flash revealed to his wife how the Spectre wiped the secret of his identity from the world. This issue he’s got to deal with her departure in the middle of a celebration in his honor It doesn’t get any easier when his nastiest enemies, the Rogues Gallery, come back to welcome him. Geoff Johns has owned this title for the past few years (and Mark Waid did not give him an easy act to follow) and this issue serves both as a recap of the last story arc for anyone who came in late and a setup for the next, brighter stage in the life of our hero. He really gives Wally West his own identity here, comparing him to the big trinity of the DC universe and showing what makes him a truly unique hero compared to those more iconic characters. He also works in a nod to the Flash’s recent guest appearance in Wonder Woman’s title, which may put off people who don’t know what happened in that issue, but fits in very well.
I loved Porter’s Flash when he penciled the adventures of the Justice League, and he hasn’t lost a step. From high-speed scenes to shadowy conclaves of villains, this is a really good looking comic book. Johns and Porter manage to give each Rogue a big, flashy entrance, cluing in new readers as to who these characters are and what they do.
And let’s not forget that fantastic cover by Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald - go ahead and look at it. Moon over it. It’s beautiful.
The Flash has been one of DC’s most consistently entertaining titles for almost 15 years now. Hopefully the boost of a new great artist will finally propel it to the top of the sales racks where it belongs.
Rating: 9/10