The Return of Barry Allen vs Blitz
The Flash - Review
The Return of Barry Allen vs Blitz
Since these are the only two Flash collections I own and they are both the main Zoom stories of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns, I thought I'd have a go at comparing and contrasting them. (I know both Zooms appear in Rogue War, but the arc isn't primarily about *them*, plus I don't own that)
Please note that I'm going to be discussing major plot points, so if you don't know the story and don't want to be spoiled, I'd recommend against reading.
Story
In Return we have Professor Zoom (Eobard Thawne) masquerading as Barry Allen, but slowly unraveling as time goes on as he can't cope with living up to Barry's standard of good. During this time Wally West is questioning his own place as the Flash, now that the man who he sees as the Flash has returned. Thawne is both faster and more skilled than Wally, until Wally learns to put his Uncle's ghost to rest.
In Blitz we have the crippling of Hunter Zolomon by Grodd and his subsequent transformation into Zoom, a villain who wants to make the Flash 'a better hero'. Unlike Thawne, Zolomon faces Wally at the height of his power, however, Zolomon isn't a speed-based Zoom, he's a time-based one, which causes Wally more problems.
Out of the two stories, I think Return had a stronger plot. Blitz had other, shorter, plots going on, like we had Wally face the Top and Peekaboo while Zolomon was angsting in hospital. Return has a more continuous storyline and is better for it.
Layout and art style
Blitz loses points for less obvious changes between issues. The covers are in the backs of each book, rather than where they should be, and I agree with this decision, it makes for smoother reading. However, Return has the 'title page' first in a new issue, whereas Blitz comes from a time when the 'title page' was second, or just less obvious. This can lead to confusion. It also leads to two full pages of just Grodd, which may have made for a nice finish/start to two separate issues, it is a little jarring when laid out next to each other.
Blitz again loses points for different artists. The epilogue being in the darker style that the next arc is going to be in, fair enough, but the issue 'Helpless' was, again, jarring. Though had it been in separate issues, rather than a collection, I don't think I would have minded as much.
Time for Return to lose some points too. Return's Wally West doesn't look much like the Flash out of costume, he just looks like any other random hero. That's not as much of a problem as it could have been, but to me the Flash has never been one of the bulkier heroes and seeing him as such was strange.
Also, Return starts each new issue with a couple of pages of explanation for what's just happened. While that's all well and good for someone who's just started picking up the comics starting with that issue, it does slow the pacing somewhat.
Blitz has lots (and I mean lots) of splash pages. The aforementioned double Grodd pages are one of the more obvious examples, but you can count on the final page and one of the first pages to be a splash page, as well as some in the middle too. Return does have its splashes, but they're used, in my opinion, a lot more effectively. You *remember* Wally West backhanding Professor Zoom while shouting "You're no Barry Allen!". I couldn't honestly pick a splash page from Blitz that was anywhere near as powerful.
The colouring is good in both, but Blitz does have the advantage of being published about a decade later, giving it stronger colours without having to worry quite so much about what it would cost to print.
As a smaller note, I do prefer Scott Kolins' art, but that's my personal preference. My boyfriend, when asked, preferred Greg LaRocque.
Villains
Here's where Geoff Johns shines. He's always been good at taking villains and making them more interesting. His work with Sinestro and the Rogues are good examples. You can see his influence in Blitz with not only having Zoom as an enemy, but also Grodd, the Top, and Peekaboo. There is also the pipeline-full of enemies in Grodd's Iron Heights break.
In comparison, Return only has Professor Zoom and the Combine as enemies. There are others, like the snipers at the fairground and the prisoners Thawne releases, but they aren't properly named or worked with beyond 'there's a bad guy'.
Professor Zoom is a strong villain. Part of why he makes Return such a good story is because he is dangerous, unstable, and convinced in his own superiority. He is Barry Allen's enemy, which means he can't fight Wally West in the typical terms he would have fought Barry. He was Barry's equal in ability, so in many ways, Wally was overcoming not only Thawne, but Barry too, as we see in the story.
In comparison, as much as we see several villains in Blitz, many of them don't have a full exposition's worth of screen time. Peekaboo gets one issue that's quite blatantly the second half of her story. There's a single page of Captain Cold's Rogues, which seems to only be there to say 'remember these guys, we've got more in store for them later'. It feels a bit like Johns has overreached himself with the Flash's foes.
Zoom is dangerous because he's *personal*. Oddly enough, he never runs down the 'I used to be your friend' route, to stop Wally from attacking him, in fact he *wants* Wally to kill him. He very nearly drives Wally to that extreme, but circumstances give Wally another way out. Zoom attacks Linda, causing a miscarriage in possibly one of the darkest moments of Flash history.
What makes Zolomon interesting to a reader is that we've spent a lot of time getting to know him. He's been around for quite a number of issues before the Grodd/Cosmic treadmil incident. We've been getting to know him like Wally has. There's never quite been that same link to Thawne, since he's always been presented as a villain. Return gives us a good backstory and sympathetic moments for Thawne, but it's only shown over ten or so pages and in one solid block, whereas Zolomon has had time to slowly develop character.
Allies
Both Return and Blitz give Wally West plenty of friends to work with. Both have Jay Garrick and Linda Park as mentor and girlfriend/wife respectively. Both there to guide Wally and give him someone to fight for. Jay gets thrashed by both Zooms (to the point of a broken leg from Thawne) as an emphasis on how powerful they are, while Linda is used to push Wally into the offensive (being threatened on live tv by Thawne and kidnapped by Zolomon).
Return also gives us the introduction of the extended speedster family. Johnny Quick and Max Mercury are brought in, making it clear that the Flashes aren't the only speedsters in the world, even if they are possibly the fastest. In Return both of these men are there to teach Wally about his speed (even if Max does a better job). By Blitz they're both long gone, vanished into the speedforce, so we can't draw a straight comparison between them.
However, Blitz gives us Jessy Quick and Impulse, the next generation, such as it were. Both are proteges of our previous speedsters and are similarly there to give Wally some help, but not be fast enough to take on Zoom themselves. Also in Blitz, Wally has moved on from being a student and is actively teaching Jay some tricks he's picked up (they try to steal speed from Zoom, though it doesn't work). Blitz gives us a Wally who's confident in his powers, and the way he treats his allies reflects that.
The speedsters in Return actually are a threat to Thawne, he wastes time fighting them off while Wally sets up a trap. Zolomon, on the other hand, barely even notices anyone bar Wally attacking him. Allies are an important part of Return, while Blitz downplays their roles except for Linda's, and she's not dangerous to either Zoom.
Lasting impressions
Blitz leaves us with an absence of Flash. Keystone's taken a turn for the worse as Wally West has forgotten he's the Flash, along with the rest of the world. Linda's lost her twin babies, Zolomon's being forced to watch one of his worst memories over and over again, and the world (thanks to the art style) feels like a much darker place for it.
On the other hand, Return leaves us with a Wally West who, while he may not be as fast as he can be quite yet, is confident in his place as the Flash and happy with his life. He's faced his worst nightmare and come out on top and is a better person for it.
Return feels like a full story. Plot points (like Iris' book being thrown into the river) may come up again, but it's cohesive. Blitz is very much in the middle of a run. It's its own arc, but there is a lot happening before and after that feels like it should be part of Blitz itself.
Conclusion
Return has scored more points than Blitz in my book. If you can only choose one, I'd recommend Return. It has Wally West learning and coming into his own as the Flash. And while he's obviously the hero in Blitz, the story doesn't feel like it's about *him* nearly as much.
The Return of Barry Allen vs Blitz
Since these are the only two Flash collections I own and they are both the main Zoom stories of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns, I thought I'd have a go at comparing and contrasting them. (I know both Zooms appear in Rogue War, but the arc isn't primarily about *them*, plus I don't own that)
Please note that I'm going to be discussing major plot points, so if you don't know the story and don't want to be spoiled, I'd recommend against reading.
Story
In Return we have Professor Zoom (Eobard Thawne) masquerading as Barry Allen, but slowly unraveling as time goes on as he can't cope with living up to Barry's standard of good. During this time Wally West is questioning his own place as the Flash, now that the man who he sees as the Flash has returned. Thawne is both faster and more skilled than Wally, until Wally learns to put his Uncle's ghost to rest.
In Blitz we have the crippling of Hunter Zolomon by Grodd and his subsequent transformation into Zoom, a villain who wants to make the Flash 'a better hero'. Unlike Thawne, Zolomon faces Wally at the height of his power, however, Zolomon isn't a speed-based Zoom, he's a time-based one, which causes Wally more problems.
Out of the two stories, I think Return had a stronger plot. Blitz had other, shorter, plots going on, like we had Wally face the Top and Peekaboo while Zolomon was angsting in hospital. Return has a more continuous storyline and is better for it.
Layout and art style
Blitz loses points for less obvious changes between issues. The covers are in the backs of each book, rather than where they should be, and I agree with this decision, it makes for smoother reading. However, Return has the 'title page' first in a new issue, whereas Blitz comes from a time when the 'title page' was second, or just less obvious. This can lead to confusion. It also leads to two full pages of just Grodd, which may have made for a nice finish/start to two separate issues, it is a little jarring when laid out next to each other.
Blitz again loses points for different artists. The epilogue being in the darker style that the next arc is going to be in, fair enough, but the issue 'Helpless' was, again, jarring. Though had it been in separate issues, rather than a collection, I don't think I would have minded as much.
Time for Return to lose some points too. Return's Wally West doesn't look much like the Flash out of costume, he just looks like any other random hero. That's not as much of a problem as it could have been, but to me the Flash has never been one of the bulkier heroes and seeing him as such was strange.
Also, Return starts each new issue with a couple of pages of explanation for what's just happened. While that's all well and good for someone who's just started picking up the comics starting with that issue, it does slow the pacing somewhat.
Blitz has lots (and I mean lots) of splash pages. The aforementioned double Grodd pages are one of the more obvious examples, but you can count on the final page and one of the first pages to be a splash page, as well as some in the middle too. Return does have its splashes, but they're used, in my opinion, a lot more effectively. You *remember* Wally West backhanding Professor Zoom while shouting "You're no Barry Allen!". I couldn't honestly pick a splash page from Blitz that was anywhere near as powerful.
The colouring is good in both, but Blitz does have the advantage of being published about a decade later, giving it stronger colours without having to worry quite so much about what it would cost to print.
As a smaller note, I do prefer Scott Kolins' art, but that's my personal preference. My boyfriend, when asked, preferred Greg LaRocque.
Villains
Here's where Geoff Johns shines. He's always been good at taking villains and making them more interesting. His work with Sinestro and the Rogues are good examples. You can see his influence in Blitz with not only having Zoom as an enemy, but also Grodd, the Top, and Peekaboo. There is also the pipeline-full of enemies in Grodd's Iron Heights break.
In comparison, Return only has Professor Zoom and the Combine as enemies. There are others, like the snipers at the fairground and the prisoners Thawne releases, but they aren't properly named or worked with beyond 'there's a bad guy'.
Professor Zoom is a strong villain. Part of why he makes Return such a good story is because he is dangerous, unstable, and convinced in his own superiority. He is Barry Allen's enemy, which means he can't fight Wally West in the typical terms he would have fought Barry. He was Barry's equal in ability, so in many ways, Wally was overcoming not only Thawne, but Barry too, as we see in the story.
In comparison, as much as we see several villains in Blitz, many of them don't have a full exposition's worth of screen time. Peekaboo gets one issue that's quite blatantly the second half of her story. There's a single page of Captain Cold's Rogues, which seems to only be there to say 'remember these guys, we've got more in store for them later'. It feels a bit like Johns has overreached himself with the Flash's foes.
Zoom is dangerous because he's *personal*. Oddly enough, he never runs down the 'I used to be your friend' route, to stop Wally from attacking him, in fact he *wants* Wally to kill him. He very nearly drives Wally to that extreme, but circumstances give Wally another way out. Zoom attacks Linda, causing a miscarriage in possibly one of the darkest moments of Flash history.
What makes Zolomon interesting to a reader is that we've spent a lot of time getting to know him. He's been around for quite a number of issues before the Grodd/Cosmic treadmil incident. We've been getting to know him like Wally has. There's never quite been that same link to Thawne, since he's always been presented as a villain. Return gives us a good backstory and sympathetic moments for Thawne, but it's only shown over ten or so pages and in one solid block, whereas Zolomon has had time to slowly develop character.
Allies
Both Return and Blitz give Wally West plenty of friends to work with. Both have Jay Garrick and Linda Park as mentor and girlfriend/wife respectively. Both there to guide Wally and give him someone to fight for. Jay gets thrashed by both Zooms (to the point of a broken leg from Thawne) as an emphasis on how powerful they are, while Linda is used to push Wally into the offensive (being threatened on live tv by Thawne and kidnapped by Zolomon).
Return also gives us the introduction of the extended speedster family. Johnny Quick and Max Mercury are brought in, making it clear that the Flashes aren't the only speedsters in the world, even if they are possibly the fastest. In Return both of these men are there to teach Wally about his speed (even if Max does a better job). By Blitz they're both long gone, vanished into the speedforce, so we can't draw a straight comparison between them.
However, Blitz gives us Jessy Quick and Impulse, the next generation, such as it were. Both are proteges of our previous speedsters and are similarly there to give Wally some help, but not be fast enough to take on Zoom themselves. Also in Blitz, Wally has moved on from being a student and is actively teaching Jay some tricks he's picked up (they try to steal speed from Zoom, though it doesn't work). Blitz gives us a Wally who's confident in his powers, and the way he treats his allies reflects that.
The speedsters in Return actually are a threat to Thawne, he wastes time fighting them off while Wally sets up a trap. Zolomon, on the other hand, barely even notices anyone bar Wally attacking him. Allies are an important part of Return, while Blitz downplays their roles except for Linda's, and she's not dangerous to either Zoom.
Lasting impressions
Blitz leaves us with an absence of Flash. Keystone's taken a turn for the worse as Wally West has forgotten he's the Flash, along with the rest of the world. Linda's lost her twin babies, Zolomon's being forced to watch one of his worst memories over and over again, and the world (thanks to the art style) feels like a much darker place for it.
On the other hand, Return leaves us with a Wally West who, while he may not be as fast as he can be quite yet, is confident in his place as the Flash and happy with his life. He's faced his worst nightmare and come out on top and is a better person for it.
Return feels like a full story. Plot points (like Iris' book being thrown into the river) may come up again, but it's cohesive. Blitz is very much in the middle of a run. It's its own arc, but there is a lot happening before and after that feels like it should be part of Blitz itself.
Conclusion
Return has scored more points than Blitz in my book. If you can only choose one, I'd recommend Return. It has Wally West learning and coming into his own as the Flash. And while he's obviously the hero in Blitz, the story doesn't feel like it's about *him* nearly as much.