The Flash #33

By Robert Venditti, Van Jensen, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, & Andrew Dalhouse

Things are moving fast for The Flash, as they should be. With many multiple story lines currently in progress there are no shortage of stories to tell each month, with the focus this issue on Barry’s hunt for a serial killer and Future Flash’s continuing journey to reach the present. Venditti and Jensen continue to present coherent flow of story as nothing seems out of place. On the artistic side of things, with Booth on pencils, Rapmund inking, and Dalhouse coloring, The Flash looks beautiful as ever and as the current stories grow deeper you can bet the creative teams will only become more dedicated to their work.

Barry Allen, as you should know by now, is a forensic scientist for Central City’s police, however, rarely do writers tend to capitalize on that part of his character. Naturally the Flash takes over the story, but Venditti and Jensen have made the Mashup killer a key plot point of late and the story, including dialogue, are examples of a good detective story. Mix the ongoing murder mystery with Flash’s natural high-speed action and fast-moving story and you’ve got yourself a fairly entertaining comic. But all of that takes a back seat to the more superior story of Future Flash, which grows deeper and more intriguing with every release.

The Future Flash is a take-no-prisoners kind of guy; like Barry without his remorse of conscience, and it couldn’t be cooler. Not only has the introduction of this new character created new life in The Flash series, but it has actually been the best part of the book. He’s mean, relentless, and mysterious, making his actions impossible to predict, creating a real page-turning story. And every reader loves a page-turner.

The collective talent of Booth, Rapmund and Dalhouse is amazing. Future Flash, whose costume rivals Barry’s in being well-crafted and awesome, is drawn to perfection by Booth, especially in large panels and close-ups where Booth has room to move and enhance even the tiniest details,. The Flash has always been one of DC’s more upbeat characters, but with the current story, darkness is a key factor, and the work of Rapmund’s inks and Dalhouse’s colors create a perfect contrast between light and dark. When the scene calls for a darker tone, the art becomes dark along with it, and vice versa with the light.

The Future Flash presents new opportunities to jump back and forth from the present to the future in order to effectively keep the story moving. It almost seems poetic that everything from the story to the art contains either a fast-paced plot or dynamic, exciting action; everything that’s common with the Flash, this book doesn’t miss a step. All directions being taken, both by Barry and the Future Flash, are leading up to one exciting showdown that you won’t want to miss.