Reviewer: Andy Campbell
Story Title: Post-Crisis
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Howard Porter
Inks: Livesay
Colors: James Sinclair
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Assistant Editor: Rachel Gluckstern
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Publisher: DC Comics
I just can’t say enough good things about Geoff Johns. At this time last year,
I was as I had been for most of my life — primarily a Marvel guy. After
reading the columns and reviews by many of my now-colleagues (at the time at
411Comics), I decided to give some more DC comics a try. One of the main subjects
of praise at 411 was Geoff Johns, so I picked up the first JSA trade. I loved
it, so I immediately followed up with the following trades. After I finished
those, I found that I didn’t want to wait for the next one to be printed, so
I bought all of the back issues in order to catch up on the story. That’s how
much I loved it. Then I thought to myself, maybe I should check out some more
of Johns’s work, since I liked JSA so much, so I picked up The Flash and Teen
Titans; I loved them both. I continue to pick up more back issues of Johns’s
stuff, including the full run of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. This all leads me here…Flash
#217.
The book begins by expanding on the emotional reunion that ended last issue.
Wally and Linda rekindle, and off they go to Paris for dinner. From there, we
go to the funeral for Captain Boomerang. Tensions are high, as many different
personalities gather to pay their respects to a fellow outlaw. Captain Boomerang’s
long-lost son is the source of a great deal of the tension, as he had only just
gotten to know his father before he died. He is now struggling with trying to
figure out what to do with himself, whether or not to join the Rogues, etc.
From there, Zoom meets Cheetah, the Rogues pay tribute to Captain Boomerang,
Flash shares a very emotional conversation with Batman, and the seeds get planted
for the upcoming "Rogue War."
Geoff Johns is very good at conveying diverse emotions, and also at giving
every character his own voice. It’s this sort of writing that is the reason
I have been devouring all of Johns’s material. I also absolutely love Howard
Porter’s art. I like his style, and I think he has a great eye for layouts.
This is especially evident in the funeral scene, with the scores and scores
of villains. This book gets my highest recommendation, and I strongly recommend
that you pick up back issues as well, because Johns is just that good.
