The Flash, Vol. 3: Rogues

The Flash (1987) (Old Editions) #10

by Geoff Johns

Keystone City is on the brink of destruction again, and only The Flash can save it in THE FLASH: ROGUES, collecting THE FLASH #177-181. But can he handle Captain Cold and the Mirror Master as well? Throw the Plunderer, Gorilla Grod and the Pied Piper into the mix, and it's a recipe for disaster!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still having issues about getting into the weird and colorful cast of characters having read just a bunch of Flash comics in my life, but being a fan of Wolfman and Perez run on Teen Titans it was nice to see Wally and Vic together again, Scott Kolins’ artworks are spectacular ones, to say nothing of Brian Bolland’s wonderful covers, so let’s say this series from Geoff Johns is slowly growing on me.



And that Grand Canyon panel, which probably inspired one of greatest and more hilarious scenes from The Big Bang Theory tv series, just made my day.





Three stars and a half.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a great collection of short stories and is about Flash fighting various villains of his like first saving his friend Chester whose a living black hole and then facing off against Grodd and thats like such a scary thing and then a fun story with the Joker and what he does to Pied Piper and there is a big mystery being set up there and then the fun stuff with Peek-a-boo which was just a child trying to save their father and it brings into question some medical laws and finally Fallout and Wally trying to save him, his enmity with Wolfe rising and a great twist with Plunderer! I loved this volume as it just shows the everyday life of Wally and how he fights villains, the insane ones in order to save others and a good twist with Iris coming back and the art is growing on me and Wally always trying to save people no matter what <3!

[Vojtěch · Rating 4 out of 5]

V tomhle volume, jak už název napovídá, je každej sešit více či méně zaměřenej na různý Flashovy záporáky a je to úplně super. Johns všem postavám dodal hloubku a nejsou to jen šílenci v kostýmech který chtěj páchat zlo. Poslední issue který je celý jen o Cpt. Coldovy je úžasný.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more uneven collection than the previous one, but still Geoff Johns at the top of his game. He continues to find innovative ways to demonstrate Flash’s powers, and continues to add new wrinkles to old foes. The stories are all good, without being outstanding, with the exception of the Captain Cold story, which is superb. Cold was always a two dimensional minor foe, but in Johns hands he becomes a sad middle aged man burd3ned by the past and his failures. Superb writing. Scott Kolins does decent duty on the art chores, though I find his style a little too loose some times. He does excel though on those big panels.
Very nice collection, well worth a read.

[Matthieu Savignac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quel bonheur. Le talent de Johns afin d'écrire sur des personnages, de leur apporter un background juste et cohérent, d'apporter de l'émotion, de l'enjeu, du suspens est intarissable. Pendant son run, chaque Rogue a vu sa backstory développé, l'enjeu de leurs affrontements avec Flash s'en trouve grandit.
Et Wally n'est pas en reste, sa vie privée qui se mêle à sa vie publique est difficile à concilier et Johns fait grandir et avancer Wally tout autant que son entourage.

De nouveaux personnages apparaissent, d'autres évolue. On est loin de s'ennuyer pendant ce run.

Et le tout avec un talent de Collins qui lui non plus ne tarit pas.

Allez, c'est les 5 étoiles qui tombent.

[Paul Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume highlights different metas and Rogues in the Flash’s world. We’re introduced to the Warden of Iron Heights prison and the union leader, Goldface. And we get more information on Detective Morillo and the rogue from the mirror world, Plunder.

We start to see more of Wally’s personality (and importantly how he differs from other heroes) with how he relates to the Rogues, like Piper. We saw a bit of this in previous volumes: Magenta is an ex-girlfriend (who is struggling) and he worked with Mirror Master and Captain Cold.

This volume feels like a good beginning over the previous two and issue 182, the backstory of Captain Cold, is particularly good.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 rounded up.

[Fred Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to the earlier work of Johns on the Flash. I read The Flash: Rebirth by Johns and I felt completely lost. While Green Lantern: Rebirth introduced new readers to the Green Lantern, The Flash: Rebirth seemed like you had to have a little background knowledge on the character. My knowledge consisted of knowing that the dude runs fast. This trade paperback that collects some of Johns' earlier run on The Flash didn't give me what I was looking for, but it was a great set of stories. Part of the fun of "discovering" a new character is the journey. I did this with Green Lantern and I think it's time to add The Flash.

If he hasn't already, Geoff Johns will garner legendary status as a comic book writer. The art by Scott Kollins is amazing as well. I remember seeing some work he did on The Avengers and thought it looked beautifully sloppy--looked okay, but out of place for the book. However, wth The Flash, it appears that Kollins' art soars. I plan on getting all the other trades and reading them as well.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, Johns does a good job of highlighting a variety of Rogues in this volume. He shows off how dangerous characters like Cold and Grodd are while simultaneously introducing newbies like Plunder, Peek-a-Bo, and Fallout — all of whom are interesting. However it's the very end of the volume that's the best, as Johns introduces a magnificent twist regarding Plunder, then offers a terrific backstory for Cold, the first of several for the Rogues.

Meanwhile, the art by Kolins and coloring by Sinclair continue to be great.

[Edward Cheer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting introduction to The Flash for me. While some superhero comics will confuse me as I get into them (Wonder Woman comes to mind), when I start unexpectedly in the middle of the novels- blame it on my library, not me- this book knew that I didn't know crap. The Flash filled me in on all the villains, the Flash's life, friends, and problems. By the end of the comic, I felt very satisfied, and still curious about where this Mirror Master scheme would be going. I'll definitely go back and read the previous volumes, and see what the rest of this story is all about.

[Yoshio · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a brief but detailed look at each of the Rogues. Background, motivations and personal tragedies are given just enough spotlight to endear us to the characters and see how they ended up this way. In a way, this makes us care for the characters, and in another, it shows what kind of horrible persona- victims or otherwise, they are.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like reading about Wally West as the Flash. I felt that the stories were too short though, a little more development would have been nice. I did like the fact that Wally was put into several situations where he questioned his role as a hero.

[John Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johns, particularly in these earlier years, does not disappoint. His specialty in character-building for the villain element particularly comes through, but he doesn't stray from the development of Wally's ongoing speedster journey.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Flash's Rogues Gallery!
Geoff Johns did a great job of reminding us that these guys are pretty badass and cool and he still kept Captain Cold in his original outfit.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I know some (but not all) of what's to come, but it feels like Johns is just getting up to full speed here. These are good stories, but he hasn't gotten there yet with the Flash.

[Emmah · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as much fun as the Mark Waid issues, and a little overwritten, but it's always good to see some Wally West Flash.