The Flash #9 Review

The Flash might be fast but, man, this issue felt rushed. Save for the exposition from the gorilla elders, the narrative jumped and skipped around to create a fuzzy story at best. Up until this issue, the writers had done a great job keeping the plot tight and focused, even with its many locations and characters, but now it looks like they dropped some of the balls they were juggling.

Any fan can appreciate how Geoff Johns revitalized the Green Lantern mythos with the concept of fear and a storied history, but those same principles feel tired on the Scarlet Speedster. The way writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato go on and on about fear would have you think it was Sinestro penning the script. The flashbacks attempt to add a dramatic fold to Flash’s life, but it ultimately falls flat. On top of that, the plot races too fast past the fate of Gorilla Grodd and moves into the next chapter without satisfyingly resolving the current one.

Manapul is capable of some great layouts, especially his always impressive title pages, but here he plays it safe. This is probably due to the big chunk of exposition, which focuses on cave drawings and Flash’s awed expressions. The cave drawings actually look cool from a distance, but when looking closer it seems a bit silly that the rough image of Flash is accompanied by vials and test tubes. Manapul’s work looks solid, but this issue did not fully utilize his talent.



Source : http://www.ign.com