Johnny Bullet
DC Comics
Flash #44
By Hervé St-Louis

Apr 23, 2018 - 12:29

Publisher(s): DC Comics
Writer(s): Joshua Williamson
Artist(s): Carmine di Giandomenico
Colourist(s): Ivan Plascencia
Letterer(s): Steve Wands
Cover Artist(s): Carmine di Giandomenico, Ivan Plascencia; David Finch, Danny Miki, Tomeu Morey


It’s the big finale between Gorilla Grodd and the Flash family as the heroes race around the city to protect people from the speedforce storm that threatens to hurt everybody. Will Grodd prevail? What happens when Wally West saves Iris West?

The visuals by Carmine Di Giandmenico are ooverpowering. There is so much lightning as needed for this story that it becomes a visual mess where there is no focal point in any page or panel helping the reader move along and make sense of things satisfactorily. The strong and powerful colouring does not help either. There is just too much stuff happening at once, helping the reader disconnect from the story. Often, less is more.


This is the typical big finish super hero comic or blockbuster movie where everything blows up and time is running before the heroes can save the day. Of course, the villain is tricked into thinking he has won and at the last possible moment, the tables are turned on him. I will not complain about Joshua Williamson’s execution, but I will say that everything was so expected, and scripted s expected that it was difficult to engage much with the story. I just read along as things were set in motion, not really caring. Williamson is that kind of writer who is good at executing typical plots and once in a while will surprise but most often will leave you with a sense of déjà-vu.

One remedy could be to stop wallowing in the speedforce drama and world of the Flashes and explore new grounds that does not include the Rogues or anything concocted by Mark Waid or Geoff Johns.
