The Flash #752

The Flash Age Part Three

Joshua Williamson Writer

Howard Porter Artist

Hi-Fi Colorist

Steve Wands Letterer

Howard Porter, Hi-Fi Cover

Junggeun Yoon Variant Cover

Marquis Draper Assistant Editor

Mike Cotton Editor

Alex R. Carr Group Editor

Our main cover is confusing, chaotic and clunky. It's so strange how I almost always enjoy Porter's interior work, but rarely his covers. I guess he just keeps trying to "go big" and it ends up a mess. Anyway, what we're looking at is the new villain Paradox allegedly erasing Barry, Wallace and Avery from time. Wallace and Avery aren't even in this story, but neither is Bart, and yet here we are.

Bart's cameo comes in the form of a bust in the halls of the Flash Museum in Central City. Porter can never resist including every member of the Flash family in his museum scenes. Even when it doesn't make sense. I'd love to see a scene of somebody looking at all the Jay Garrick, Max Mercury and Bart Allen stuff and wondering who the heck those guys were supposed to be.

So yeah, Paradox sent Barry away to a heaven-like prison, while he battles Godspeed in the Flash Museum. And Impulse is still nowhere to be found. It's been almost a full two years after Williamson started teasing Impulse in the pages of The Flash, and we're still not there. It is rather ironic that fans of the fastest boy on Earth must also be the most patient fans on Earth.

Here are the new house ads:

Punchline has arrived in Gotham — and the joke's on Batman! Batman #92, drawn by Jorge Jimenez, who was named the Artist of the Year on this blog four times.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth. Scott Snyder's and Greg Capullo's final Batman epic is the Dark Knight's last stand!

The DC Nation Spotlight is on Punchline, with quotes from writer James Tynion IV and artist Jorge Jimenez.

Next time, we'll finally wrap up that dreadful assault on Metropolis in Action Comics #1021.

Young Justice #14

Warlords Part 2

Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker Writers

John Timms (p. 1, 4-5, 10-19, 23) and Michael Avon Oeming (p. 2-3, 6-9, 20-22) Art

Gabe Eltaeb Colors

Wes Abbott Letters

Timms and Eltaeb Cover

David Lafuente and Germain Garcia Variant Cover

Brittany Holzherr Editor

Jamie S. Rich Group Editor

Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.

By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Our main cover shows the "real Young Justice," although I have no idea why they're called that. As far as I can tell, this is a grouping of four random heroes, who have never interacted with each other before. And Sideways and this version of Aqualad didn't even exist during the real Young Justice of the Peter David/Todd Nauck days. But the characters all do look pretty good here — Timms is as solid as ever, even if it is a bland background.

Our variant cover is adorable. It's unique, different and just plain fun. It somehow makes all the heroes look like kids without crossing over into "chibi" territory. I love it when a variant cover can offer such a fresh perspective.

We open with a recap page using the same image that closed out issue #12. Here's the text: "Drake, Superboy, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Jinny Hex, Amethyst, and Teen Lantern returned from the multiverse just in time to be scooped away to confront S.T.A.R. Labs ... the evil science corporation that sent Conner Kent away in the first place and seems to have done it again.

"Conner is trapped in a savage sword and sorcery world called Skartaris, where he has teamed up with their local hero Warlord to find a way out.

"Young Justice runs to the Hall of Justice for help, and instead of the Justice League, they end up with the Wonder Twins and Dial H for Hero. Along with their newest member, Naomi, they hatch a plan to rescue their friend Conner from the evil traps of S.T.A.R. Labs, and to shut down S.T.A.R. Labs once and for all.

"But Impulse shows up ... with impossible reinforcements!"

Our story begins just before the ending of last issue, with Impulse on his quest to gather even more heroes to save Superboy because apparently 11 just isn't enough. Bart first heads to North Gotham, where he finds Sideways defeating the Trickster. Surprisingly, Sideways recognizes Impulse and professes to being a huge fan of his. But Bart doesn't have time for chitchat, complaining that he's already wasted seven seconds looking for Sideways, whose teleportation powers are just what Bart needs for this mission. Sideways is eager to help Young Justice, so he promptly opens a portal for the two of them.

Bart's second stop is Blüdhaven, where Spoiler is beating up her dad (Cluemaster) and his men, demanding to know where ... someone ... is. We don't find out who Spoiler was looking for, but it apparently wasn't too important, since she immediately drops everything when Impulse and Sideways pop out of a portal. Spoiler also recognizes Impulse and asks where Robin is. Bart explains that Robin sent him to get her to help them save Conner (who Spoiler also apparently knows).

Stop number three is Amnesty Bay, where Aqualad is rescuing a fishing boat. He misidentifies Bart as Kid Flash, but Bart was still surprised that he even got that close. Aqualad says he's learned about him from the internet, but he doesn't know Sideways or Spoiler and hesitates for just a moment. But when Bart says they need his help with a Justice League-level emergency, Aqualad eagerly leaps into the portal.

The last stop is a random food court, where Cissie King-Jones is trying to eat her lunch. She's so surprised by the portal opening right in front of her, that she uses Bart's real name in front of everybody. Cissie reminds Bart that she doesn't "do Young Justice anymore," but Bart instantly changes her mind with just two words: "It's Conner."

That catches us up to the assembly of 15 teenaged superheroes in New Mexico, just outside the S.T.A.R. Labs secret laboratory complex known as The Constellation. Before any introductions can be made, a bunch of monsters suddenly start dropping out of portals in the sky. The monsters are surprising and numerous, but not particularly strong, as none of our heroes face any difficulty defeating the beasts. The chaos of the battle also offers Impulse the perfect opportunity to do some reconnaissance.

Tim then orders Impulse, Wonder Girl and Sideways to teleport to Superboy's location. Cassie objects, but Tim points out that if Conner is in trouble, she's the only one with the sheer power to help. So they teleport to Skartaris, where Superboy is about to be killed by a man wielding a kryptonite sword sent by Dr. Glory. There are also a bunch of lizard people holding off Warlord, prompting Bart to say, "Lizard people! Yum! I mean, ew!" Bart rushes to Conner's side and orders Sideways to teleport the sword away, while Cassie begins punching everything. She scoops up Superboy and has Sideways take them away, cutting off Bart before he can ask about Warlord, who got left behind.

The rest of our heroes, meanwhile, defeat all the monsters and easily make their way into Dr. Glory's office. She panics and offers to make a deal, claiming she can explain why they don't all remember each other.

Well, that was certainly fast-paced. But I don't know if it was necessarily exciting. There was lots of running around and fighting ... well, allusions to fighting, but could you really tell what anyone was doing at a single moment? I have a sneaking suspicion that Bendis' scripts rarely say anything more than "they fight and win" for his battle scenes. Look, 17 heroes are just too many to keep track of. There aren't enough double-page spreads to give anyone justice. Not to mention all the personal interactions and mystery-solving elements we're missing out on. I didn't hate this comic, but I didn't particularly like it. You can't just throw everything and the kitchen sink at me. Nothing sticks. Nothing gets processed. Except for one egregious moment.

It was downright insulting to bring Arrowette in here. I feel like Bendis didn't read a single issue of Young Justice, and just glanced at a few covers and thought the old fans would be thrilled to see Arrowette come back. Had he read the books, he would have known about Cissie's emotional decision to retire from being a superhero. That lifestyle opened up a dark, violent side in her that she never wanted to see again. So she held true to her decision — even when Imperiex threatened to destroy the world! Cissie volunteered strictly as a medic, but never put on her costume again. 

Until now. Without even a second's thought, Cissie throws on her old outfit, takes up her bow and arrow, and risks forfeiting all the emotional and mental progress she has made since the time she tried to kill a man. It was Superboy who stopped her. And now it's Superboy who destroyed Cissie's inspiring journey. And yes, I do say inspiring. Comic books are full of courageous, inspiring heroes of all types. But we need to acknowledge that it can also be inspirational to see someone know when they need to stop. When they need to take a temporary break or even walk away forever because it's causing them harm. And sadly, Bendis destroyed that beautiful story just for a cheap thrill.

Here are the house ads:

Follow the adventures of the man of steel, monthly in Action Comics and Superman, both by Bendis.

The most memorable moments from DC's history, reimagined for a twisted new world! Tales from the Dark Multiverse.

DC Nation spotlight on Robin.

Next time, we'll take a quick peek at The Flash #752.

The Flash #750

Mike Cotton Editor

Alex R. Carr Group Editor

Ben Meares & Marquis Draper Assistant Editors

Our cover is by artist Howard Porter and colorist Hi-Fi. It shows the Flash fighting Barry Allen in a perplexing Superman III-esque display of lightning and explosions. I find this messy and ultimately disappointing. Nothing remotely close to this happens in this 80-page issue. The closest we get is the main story that introduces a villain named Paradox, who sets up yet another fight between Barry and Godspeed.

This celebration issue is split into six stories and six pinups that could have been (maybe should have been?) variant covers. A few big names came back for this issue, including Geoff Johns, Marv Wolfman and my favorite Flash creators — Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. Sadly, Impulse does not appear in their story. In fact, he doesn't really appear in any of the stories of this issue. He just makes a bunch of cameos in the pinups and those "inspirational" splash pages that close out a story with a glimpse of every speedster imaginable. You know? The kind of splash pages we've been getting for years now, promising to eventually reunite the entire Flash family. Unfortunately, we'll have to keep waiting for Bart to truly reintegrate himself with his family. In the meantime, let's try to enjoy some of these pictures.

Our first glimpse of Impulse is this glorious pinup by Porter. This is happy, joyous, colorful and the perfect embodiment of this entire issue — a celebration of all things Flash. (Plus, Impulse looks great, too!) This should have been the cover instead of that stupid fight that never happened.

Our next Bart Allen image is straight from his first stint as Kid Flash, drawn by Mike McKone and Mike Atiyeh. McKone never knew what Bart was supposed to look like, so he always just drew a young Wally West instead. And that still holds true all these years later. This particular image is rather freaky-looking and plasticky. Underneath Bart's unusually bright blue eyes (they were supposed to yellow!) is a rather unnerving smile. Almost like a murderer trying too hard to conceal his true intentions.

You have to look real close for the Impulse on this one, but you can actually see him on the cover of Flash #0 floating to the right of the little boy's head. This is a cute, simple image by Mitch Gerads. And if I'm not mistaken, that is actually Gerads' own son he drew in there.

"At the Starting Line ..."

Joshua Williamson Writer

David Marquez Artist

Alejandro Sanchez Colors

Steve Wands Letters

This is a very simple, straightforward story of Jay Garrick battling the Thinker. The most interesting part was when what appears to be the Reverse-Flash snuck up behind Jay and whispered in his ear, "They'll forget you, Jay Garrick. I've seen your future ..." Jay never sees the mysterious whisperer, but he does manage to compose himself and save the day by delivering one of those classic sappy Williamson sermons on hope. And then, for no reason at all, we get a splash page of just about everybody.

Flash Forward Epilogue

Scott Lobdell – Script

Brett Booth – Pencils

Norm Rapmund – Inks

Luis Guerrero – Colors

ALW's Troy Petri – Letters

Wally West now sits on the Mobius Chair, essentially possessing the power of a god. He claims to know everything, but in fact, he doesn't. He reviews many different images and realities and moments in time, but he has no idea what's happening. Wally is utterly unable to explain or comprehend or act on anything that is shown in this completely worthless story.

And that's that. It's a shame it had to end on a such a weak note from two of my least favorite creators. But overall, this was a delightful, celebratory comic book. It's a shame they couldn't find anything for Impulse to do on at least one of these pages, but the defeatist in me is used to this. Enjoy the splash pages you get, then hope and pray for something substantial at a later day.

Here are the house ads:

Celebrate 80 years of Robin history, from Dick Grayson to Damian Wayne! Robin 80th Anniversary.

The reviews are out of this world! Far Sector.

Next time, we'll actually get to see Impulse in action in Young Justice #14.

Action Comics #1020

Metropolis Doom! Part 4

Brian Michael Bendis Writer

John Romita Jr. Penciller

Klaus Janson Inker

Brad Anderson Colorist

Dave Sharpe Letterer

John Romita Jr., Alex Sinclair Cover

Lucio Parillo Variant Cover

Brittany Holzherr Associate Editor

Jamie S. Rich Editor

Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster.

By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Superboy based on characters created by Jerry Siegel.

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.

Our cover shows Superman caught in the middle of a fight between Lex Luthor and Leviathan. This busy, messy, ugly cover does not portray a scene that happens in this comic — except for Superman ordering the evacuation of Metropolis. I will never understand the appeal of Romita's art. There are too many lines all over the place and every single face he draws looks squashed and deformed. The variant cover is only a picture of Superman — no Impulse — so we won't worry about it.

Our story begins 40 minutes ago from the "now" of Action Comics #1017, with Young Justice, Teen Titans and Justice League members lying defeated in the streets. So a mere 40 minutes before that harrowing scene, our heroes were standing outside the Hall of Justice for some reason — geeking out about how cool it is to be there. Superboy has been reunited with his teammates, indicating that this story takes place much later in the current Young Justice timeline. (Amethyst is also missing, which isn't particularly unusual, since Bendis has largely forgotten her in the latest issues of Young Justice.) Conner is understandably nervous about meeting Superman for the first time and trying to explain how he's technically not from this universe.

Superman suddenly arrives and orders the Hall of Justice on full lockdown protocol. He's perplexed by the gathering of costumed teenagers, so Tim introduces everybody, wisely calling himself Robin instead of the stupid Drake. Superman recognizes Cassie and Naomi, but says there's no time for pleasantries, as they need to prepare for an imminent battle. Impulse says they're ready, and Superman explains that Luthor, the Legion of Doom and Leviathan are invading Metropolis.

As they race through the Hall of Justice, Superboy introduces himself as Conner Kent, and Superman apologizes for not having any time to talk. The Wonder Twins meet our heroes, reporting that both the Fortress of Solitude and the Batcave are also on lockdown and Batman is on his way. Superman orders everyone to evacuate a nearby park, elementary school and shopping mall (obnoxiously named after past Superman creators Joe Shuster, Otto Binder and Dan Jurgens, respectively). Meanwhile, Superman takes Superboy to directly confront the villains.

Taking full advantage of the element of surprise, Superboy pushes the gigantic Legion of Doom headquarters/spaceship out into the ocean. Or, as Jinny Hex eloquently put it, he kicked it with his "foot bone." Superman, meanwhile, is being pounded by Brainiac, Gorilla Grodd, Cheetah, Sinestro and Luthor. When the Justice League arrives, Young Justice joins them in rushing forward head-first to save Superman. For the sake of the story, Impulse is uncharacteristically choosing to be flown in by Teen Lantern and the Flash is stupidly riding on the top of Batman's stupid tank. So that means that two of the fastest men alive chose to leisurely "rush" to Superman's aid, and were unable to prevent Brainiac from setting off his bomb that knocked everybody out at the beginning of issue #1017 (and some of the Teen Titans suddenly and mysteriously appeared amongst the rubble, as well).

Only Batman and Wonder Woman are the only ones left to stand by Superman's side because ... reasons. Leviathan then decides the time is right to bring in his enormous flying city above Metropolis.

Ugh. It took me so long to write this review. And that's not just because of the holidays and my job hectically turning upside down. This was not a fun comic. The art is gross. The story is lame. Bendis hooked us with the shocking image of defeated heroes lying at the villains' feet three issues ago. But when it came time to actually show how those heroes ended up in the rubble, Bendis couldn't think of anything more clever than a bomb. A bomb that easily could have been avoided if any of the heroes acted with a shred of intelligence. This isn't just a "speedsters could have saved the day" thing. Every single one of those heroes idiotically charged straight ahead without a second thought. Stories where your heroes are defeated can be thrilling and engaging. Stories where your heroes are defeated because they acted out of character and incredibly stupidly are not fun at all.

Let's try to forget our troubles in these new house ads:

Superman: Year One by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. (Seriously, why do people think Romita is good?)

The Joker is dead. Did Batman kill him? Batman: Damned.

An interview with Amy Reeder, writer and artist of the six-issue Amethyst series. (Where's Impulse's?)

Next time, we'll get to celebrate the Flash's return to its legacy numbering with The Flash #750.

Young Justice #13

Warlords Part 1

Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker Writers

Michael Avon Oeming (p. 1-3, 8, 15, 17-18), Mike Grell (p. 4-7, 16), John Timms (p. 9-14, 19-22) Art

Gabe Eltaeb Colors

Wes Abbott Letters

Timms and Eltaeb Cover

Grell and Lovern Kindzierski Variant Cover

Brittany Holzherr Editor

Jamie S. Rich Group Editor

Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.

By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Our main cover shows and angry/evil Superboy decked out in full Warlord gear with blood dripping from his sword and hoards of monsters looming behind him. Nothing remotely close to this happens in the book. Apparently this cover is inspired by someone named Frazzetta (it's tough to read). Maybe it's supposed to be Frank Frazetta? But I don't really care. This cover does not fit the tone or content of this issue.

Our variant cover (which I nabbed from dc.fandom.com) is a rather unappealing '70s style pinup of Warlord and Young Justice. It's drawn by Mike Grell, who began drawing Warlord back in the 1970s. And I'm sure that style worked great for that time. But today? I feel like there's a reason nobody draws like that anymore.

Half this issue deals with Superboy and Warlord in Skartaris. Superboy spends most of the time crying because he can't catch a break and just go back home. Warlord provides his backstory, which only serves as an excuse for Grell to draw all his old favorite characters again. But we don't care about any of that. We're only here for Impulse, who is currently ... sitting around doing nothing.

Our heroes are still in Port Oswego, Oregon, standing around talking and checking their phones, despite last issue's triumphant charge to rescue Superboy. It's very strange. In between issues, they all decided to suddenly stop and talk some more. In fact, they've been sitting around talking so much, that Miguel's Spider-Man knock-off powers have worn out. Bart is understandably frustrated, telling Tim to stop worrying about the details.

Fortunately, the plot intervenes as several devices and items simultaneously begin glowing and emitting pink lightning. The Wonder Twins use a device they took from the Hall of Justice to trace the source of this energy surge to New Mexico. Bart makes the connection that Conner said the secret S.T.A.R. Labs base that sent him to Gemworld was in New Mexico. So Cassie announces that they're going to Nevada (huh?!). Tim tells Bart they need backup, so Impulse takes off, asking Drake to text him where he's going. (And I'm left wondering where Bart keeps his phone in his suit. Or is his phone built into his goggles somehow?)

Anyway, on the last page of the comic, we see the reinforcements Bart found: Spoiler, the new Aqualad (based off the version from the Young Justice animated series), Arrowette and Sideways. Aqualad proclaims them to be the "real" Young Justice and Arrowette says she's been waiting a long time for this.

I suspect this issue (and series) went through a lot of last-minute rewrites. First of all, last issue was incorrectly labeled the finale of a storyline, when it should have been the beginning of this new storyline. But when they bumped that "official" beginning back, this issue had to basically repeat all the setup from last issue. And I'm not sure what David Walker's role was here, but it can't be a good sign to randomly bring in a co-writer for no reason.

This issue was a complete mess. The three different artists had styles that were about as jarring as possible. Story-wise, Bendis is relying way to heavily on the factor of nostalgia to make up for a lack of plot. And he's even messing up the nostalgia factor! Old fans of Young Justice like me can't even get excited about Arrowette because we had to wade through so much of Mike Grell's soft porn Warlord nonsense! Warlord was way before my time, and I'd imagine before the time of the target audience of this book. If you were like me and picked up this series because you wanted to see Impulse, Superboy and Robin back in action, the last thing you wanted was a massive homage to a comic you've probably never heard of from 1978.

After a solid year on this series, I still have a hundred questions about my favorite character. And sadly, I've resigned myself to the reality that I'll never get satisfactory answers. In the meantime, let's check out the new house ads:

A lost kingdom. A dark secret. A brave princess. Amethyst. (Is it too much to ask for an Impulse miniseries?)

Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey.

A DC Nation interview with Tom Taylor, writer of DCeased: Unkillables.

Next time, we'll take a quick look at Superman: Heroes #1.

Actually, I lied. Since Impulse only appears on the cover, I'll just show it here.

Next time (for real) will be Action Comics #1020.

Justice League #39

Justice/Doom War Finale

Scott Snyder Writer

Jorge Jimenez (pages 1-11), Daniel Sampere & Juan Albarran (pages 12-21) Art

Alejandro Sanchez (pages 1-11) & Hi-Fi (pages 12-21) Colors

Tom Napolitano Letters

Tyler Kirkham & Arif Prianto Cover

Kenneth Rocafort Variant Cover

Ben Meares Associate Editor

Jamie S. Rich Editor

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Our cover shows the Hall of Justice floating in space with the Justice all falling/floating/dying/who knows? It's vague and strange, which is perfectly fitting for this story. And it gives a sense of defeat, which is also perfectly fitting.

This is the end of a long, confusing story involving the Multiverse and an all-powerful deity called Perpetua. It'd be impossible and pointless for me to try to recap this sprawling tale. So instead, I'll merely say that Perpetua succeeds in destroying the Justice League, but instead of our heroes dying, they are saved by the Quintessence — basically an organization of some of the most powerful beings in the universe: Highfather, the Phantom Stranger, Hera, the wizard Shazam, Ganthet and the Spectre. The Quintessence saved the Justice League from dying and explained to them that forces of evil have divided the universe, but they have also saved a door that connects everything. So our heroes valiantly run through that door to see a world where all stories matter.

I could be wrong, but it seems like Scott Snyder is implying that Young Justice and Naomi existed outside of regular DC continuity. But Brian Michael Bendis clearly showed that this was not the case, as they repeatedly crossed over into his Superman stories and were referenced in his Legion stories. The past few years of continuity confusion at DC really makes me yearn for the pre-New 52 days. It seems like ever since Flashpoint happened, no one at DC has been able to definitively say what "counts" and what doesn't. And these sprawling stories that allege that "everything matters" only serve to create more confusion.

Next time, we'll get back to a story where Impulse actually gets to do something — Young Justice #13.

Dial H for Hero #11

Dear Dad

Writer – Sam Humphries

Artist – Joe Quinones

Colorist – Jordan Gibson

Letterer – Dave Sharpe

Cover – Joe Quinones

Editor – Brittany Holzherr

Group Editor – Jamie S. Rich

Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster.

By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Our cover shows the hero of this book, Miguel, split into four alterations of the Reign of the Supermen characters: Steel, Superboy, Cyborg Superman and the Eradicator. It's a pretty cool concept that is expertly executed by Joe Quinones, who has emerged as one of my favorite artists. Throughout this series, Quinones demonstrated an ability to perfectly mimic every different style imaginable — from Golden Age comics to Japanese magna. Every issue is such a treat.

As fun as this series is, this is an Impulse blog, and he only makes a quick cameo in this issue. So I'm not going to break down everything that happens in this issue. Suffice it to say, the H-dial is a device that can transform people into random superheroes. But there are actually four dials, and Miguel is manipulated by a man named Mister Thunderbolt to give him all four dials, which he uses to tap into the Multiverse itself. This action sends a burst of energy throughout different aspects of reality, and is noticed by a handful of characters, including the Monitor, Darkseid and our lovable Impulse. Bart can feel something is wrong with the Speed Force, saying it feels like crazy people who build trebuchets ripped right through it.

Sadly, that's the full extent of Bart's involvement in this series. He experiences a momentary "blip" in the Speed Force, but that's it. I highly recommend this series, though. It's an imaginative story with gorgeous, diverse art on each page. Let's close with the new house ads:

Hell Arisen. Lobo "The Main Man" vs. Kara "Supergirl" Zor-El.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer. The action-packed thrill ride that inspired the graphic novel!

A DC Nation interview with Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti on Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey.

Next time: One more quick cameo in Justice League #39.