Flash #792 // Review
Things have gotten complicated. There’s a huge one-mile radius perimeter that has emerged, cutting off a large section of Central City and Keystone. The speed force is involved, which is naturally going to be of interest to Barry Allen and his associates in The Flash #792. Writer Jeremy Adams continues the One-Minute War storyline in an issue drawn by penciler Roger Cruz, inker Wellington Dias, and colorist Luis Guerrero. The storyline is solidly carried through another issue that continues to somehow manage to juggle a very large ensemble in a very satisfying way. Cruz’s pacing is quite deft in the third part of the story.
Bart and Ace have taken off. They’re on their own. One might have expected a group of super-speedsters to have spotted them on their way out. Bart and Ace are super-speedsters too. And one of them calls himself Impulse, so it makes sense. The fact that the two of them have rushed off into danger is a bit of a problem. It’s particularly ill-advised as they’re currently on a team with some of the most experienced heroes in the whole of the DC Universe. Still...fortune DOES favor the bold. And what’s the worst that could happen?
Adams shoots through a fast-paced rush behind enemy lines. Nearly everyone in the extended Flash family gets at least one moment in the issue, but the big focus is on Impulse and Kid Flash as they do a little raid on the high-tech invading force. There still isn’t a great deal of focus on the villains and what the hell it is that they’re doing, but Adams is allowing the specific mystery of the villains to sneak in around the edges of a pulpy action story that is every bit as graceful as it needs to be.
Cruz and Dias work with the action in highly kinetic art that delivers the blows. The villains and their installation still feel breathtakingly generic, but the lack of personality in the surroundings allows for a greater focus on the personality of the Flash family as it works through the problems it’s currently facing. Guerrero’s color adds considerably to the glossy impact of an action fantasy story that shoots from cover to cover so quickly it scarcely feels like it’s there at all. It’s still kind of difficult to tell quite what’s going on in the larger picture, but “The One-Minute War” continues to be quite fun in its third outing.
With things moving as quickly as they are, the One-Minute War could easily continue for the rest of the year without feeling like it’s getting tired. Each issue seems like it’s moving along with such a satisfying celerity. There’s no reason why the story should have to speed up to get to its inevitable resolution when a simple raid behind enemy lines can be as satisfying as it is in issue #792. It’s not anything new, but Adams and company make it feel fresh anyway.
