Flashpoint #1 Review

This week marks the beginning of DC's Flashpoint event. Written by Geoff Johns and featuring art from Andy Kubert, this is a book that looks to do for the Flash what the Sinestro Corps War did for Green Lantern. And considering how crazy good and event the Sinestro Corps War was, this book has a lot to live up to.

Right off the bat, we're hurled into the situation with Barry Allen waking up to find that his world has been rocked. He's no longer got his powers, he's no longer married to Iris West, and oh yeah, Superman and the Justice League no longer exists. This is a world where Europe has been ravaged by a war between Atlantis and Themyscira. Aquaman and Wonder Woman are tyrants. Batman is a murderer. Captain Cold is Citizen Cold, hero of Central. This is not the world Barry knows. And it is this world and it's introduction in this issue that will have me coming back for Flashpoint #2.

This is a great issue because it does a great job of introducing us to this broken world. And this is a world I want to know about, because it's pretty exciting. Take the Batman of this world, for example, who for the most part is the focus character in this issue. In many ways he's the same dark, brooding protector of Gotham that we know and love. But then he tosses a criminal he's trying to interrogate off of a building after she refuses to tell him what he wants to know. He's a very darker, angrier Batman. I think the most intriguing thing about him is his identity; that is something you'll have to find out for yourself, but it's the thing that's got me the most excited about this version of the character.

It doesn't hurt that this issue Andy Kubert's art, either. It makes this issue look mighty fine. One moment in particular, the scene where Barry realizes that he's no longer the Flash, was particularly nice. The sequence of Barry falling down the steps was a great play on the usual Flash panels where you see him doing cool stuff while running. There's also the two page splash where Cyborg introduces the team he wants to assemble to battle Aquaman and Wonder Woman. It's a great ensemble of the characters in this book and while it isn't especially exciting, it is really good looking.

Still, I'm not completely sold on this series yet. We've been introduced to this awesome little world, but now we need to have something happen in that world. Barry Allen has a challenge to overcome and hopefully that ends up. But what worries me is that the lead up to this point, the Flashpoint Prelude from the main Flash book, was boring and drawn out much too long. It could have easily been told in one or two issues less than it was. That's the kind of drawn out, decompressed story telling that can kill an event outright. And Johns suffered that kind of problem with Blackest Night. Still, with only five issues to fill up I'm a little optimistic that this can work. Give Flashpoint #1 a shot; you won't regret it.

The Verdict: READ IT.

Brightest Day #5: This may be it for me!

There comes a time where you find yourself getting fed up with a story that's taking too long to do anything and you just can't take anymore. Well, I've gotten to that point with Brightest Day, the latest is DC's year long event books. I think this may be the point where I check out, folks!

The problem with this series isn't that it's necessarily bad; in fact, I prefer a good chunk of the stories in here. But I just can't stand this awful Hawkman/Hawkgirl story line. It's boring, time consuming, and overall just drains out the enthusiasm I have for the rest of this book. I just can't bring myself to care for these characters and I hate this book for trying to make me do so.

Still, the Aquaman and Deadman stories are actually pretty interesting. Outside of the hilariously relevant "Aquaman tries to stop the BP fiasco" moment in this issue, the Aquaman sections of this book really have me interested. The Deadman story is still good, too. Unfortunately they're simply the side dishes on the plate of steaming crap that is the Hawks. They may look delicious, but there's still a steaming pile of crap there to ruin it all.

Overall I find myself reluctant to even give this book one more shot; Martian Manhunter is the subject of the next issue though, so I find myself conflicted on the subject.

Shadow Land #1: Ninjas, Ninjas, Ninjas

Oh hey, it's summer and you know what that means. No, it's not time to go to the beach, that's silly. No, it's not time to get yourself a new tan. No, friends, it means it's time for a large crossover event. Time for Shadowland, the event where Daredevil becomes evil and throws hordes of Ninjas at everyone!

It's kind of cool to get an event that's actually on a smaller scale. This isn't for control of earth, or for the fate of the universe, instead focusing simply on New York City and the vast quantity of street level heroes that live and operate there. And it's nice to see things scaled down so much.

In our opening chapter, we find Bullseye escaping his captors and getting back to what he does best; killing people with sharp objects. And by people I mean Daredevil, which now means he aims to kill the hand. Of course Luke Cage and Iron Fist want to talk to Daredevil to see what's going on, but good ol' Bullseye beats them to it. What goes down next is Bullseye killing his way through Hand ninjas, the preferred cannon fodder of the street level Marvel Universe, before Daredevil just destroys him. With a (not too) shocking final page, we see that Daredevil isn't messing around here, and as one particular crappy music video shows us, there's no looking back. Until retcons happen, that is.

Billy Tan's art does it's job, even if I'm not necessarily blown away by it. It fits the story well enough and I really can't think of too much more to say about it.

Overall, this isn't too bad of a start. Not much really happens, but what does happen packs enough of a punch to bring me back. Just make sure to avoid those tie-ins, they'll kill your wallet.