Comics

The Flash #24

/ / Comics

The Flash #24Issue #24 finally ties up the Reverse-Flash storyline (which, since it was teased for months before it ever began, seems like it’s taken nearly a whole year to get through) with Barry Allen taking back the power of the Speed Force Danny West stole from him to travel back into time and murder his father. Although co-writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato underline the moral of the story, and the reverse nature of the New 52 version of the character, he’s a far cry from the far more interesting original villain to use the name.

Following the return to the present there’s enough time for the Flash to threaten the duplicitous Dr. Elias and even do a little dancing with his girl Patty Spivot (while making an appropriate puntastic joke).

Two full years since the launch of the New 52, The Flash has seen its ups and downs but it has consistently offered (mostly) good stories and (always) great art. The latest issue of The Flash sets the stage to begin the new chapter with the hero back in control of his life and powers, and everything, at least for now, seeming back to normal. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Daredevil #32

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Daredevil #32Daredevil #32 begins with the anticlimactic result of the Jester‘s trap (which, as expected, is so obviously false it’s dispensed with in only a handful of panels). Mark Waid tries to see the humor in a villain refusing to believe Matt Murdock is truly blind, but the macabre nature of a lynched Foggy Nelson doll simply doesn’t work on any level.

From these humble beginnings the comic picks up as Daredevil enlists the help of Dr. Strange for information about the Sons of the Serpent and the cult’s magic book which offers the opportunity for a funny, if immensely cheap, stab at the people of Kentucky.

The comic ends with Daredevil interrupting a good ‘ol Southern lynch mob only to later realize the group is after actual monsters and he may have chosen the wrong side. The result is a somewhat forced Halloween adventure that ends in yet another cliffhanger and more trouble and no new answers for our hero. For fans.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Larfleeze #4

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Larfleeze #4As Pulsar Stargrave finds himself meeting another (equally troubling) relative of the flighty The Wanderer, Larfleeze is forced to deal with the legion of Orange Lanterns brought back to life by his former butler’s new master. Larfleeze’s incredulity at the anger of the other Orange Lanterns (who he murdered and imprisoned in the Lantern for years) doesn’t help mollify some very ticked off ring-slingers.

The off-beat sense of humor the collaboration between writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis that has made the comic feel like a throwback to the pair’s Justice League glory days is evident here again, especially in a single scene where the happy folks of Unicorn-12 meet a less than pleasant fate.

So far the comic has succeeded by giving us more of Stargrave than his master, but the latest issue proves both characters’ antics can be a hell of a lot of fun. It also looks like the other Orange Lanterns are here to stay, as is Larfleeze (who they can’t kill now that he is the living power battery for all their rings). Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Samurai Jack #1

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Samurai Jack #1IDW’s new Samurai Jack comic continues the hero’s quest to find a way to return to the past to his own time, defeat Aku, and erase the future in which he still finds himself trapped. The comic’s opening arc introduces the idea of the Rope of Eons which Aku shredded after using it to learn to control time.

Learning that the various Threads of Time can be rewoven to return the samurai home, Jack follows the directions of a less than trustworthy source who neglects to inform the samurai to win the first thread he will have to defeat an array of champions in the bottom of a gladiatorial pit.

…

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Nova #9

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Nova #9Returning home from his encounter with Speedball and Vance Astrovik, Sam Alexander discovers Kalendra has captured his mother and little sister and is holding them hostage unless Sam agrees to fight her without use an weapons (including the Nova helmet).

Initially agreeing the fair fight (which is less than fair since Sam has received no actually hand-to-hand combat training), the newest Nova throws in the towel early, donning his helmet and kicking some serious butt all the way back to Kalendra’s home where her failure gets her caged in isolated confinement.

The heavy bondage themes not withstanding, Nova #9 provides a good example at the type of hero the newest Nova is. Honorable, maybe not, but certainly willing to do whatever is needing to save the ones he loves. And despite his repeated refusals, it seems Nova may have found himself a pair of new teammates (which I would be more on-board with if they clad Astrovik in Vance Astro‘s costume). Worth a look.

[Nova, $3.99]

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