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The Flash by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar: The Deluxe Edition
- GenresComics
413 pages, Hardcover
Published February 25, 2025
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,785 books4,623 followersGrant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 4, 2026
Emergency Stop (130-132). Morrison and Millar show us right off that they're going to offer a different take on Wally. So we get a haunted costume, a speed-force costume, and timey-wimeyness. All of the weirdness is quite a bit of fun, but unfortunately the core of the comic rotates around big, long fights [3+/5]
Shorts (133-134). Morrison & Millar's two shorts are nice. The GA Flash (134) story is the stronger of the two, because the authors have such a great grasp of his really unblemished character, but the Mirror Master (133) story is fun for its over-the-top style [4/5]
Three of a Kind (135). The idea of the legacy Flash, Green Arrow, and Green Lanterns teaming up is terrific, but unfortunately that means crossing over with those other books, which weren't that great in the late '90s. So, we get a really mediocre Green Arrow and a slightly better Green Lantern before we move over to Flash. It's clear that Millar and Morrison are aware of the shortcomings of the crossover, because they move it to a fun courtroom frame, and manage to save what was otherwise a pretty uninspiring fight against uninspiring villains [3/5]
The Human Race (136-138). Another bit of Morrison-inspired craziness, as Wally races against his imaginary friend in a contest required by Kirbyesque gods. It's a little too inspired by the various games of the Grandmaster over at Marvel, and it's a little too action oriented, but there are great ideas here and the finale of getting everyone in the world to support Wally has been done a lot since, but never so successfully as what we get here [4/5]
The Black Flash (139-141). More of what we've come to expect from Morrison and Millar, but this is one of their more polished stories, with a nice addition to the Flash mythos (the Black Flash) who's remained quite evocative over the years. Also, there are plenty of twists and surprises and a strong use of the Flash supporting cast [4/5]
"Your Life is My Business (80P Giant). Good to have Millar's intro, which was missing from the previous Morrison + Millar collection. Him talking with the Flash about stories is vaguely funny, but this is still a pretty shallow piece [3/5].
"Flash of Two Worlds" (Secret Origins). Nice to see the modern take on Flash of Two Worlds, and Morrison does a nice job of presenting it as a written work, but it's an old fashioned story that's slow-going [3/5].
To a certain extent, it's hard to rate Morrison and Millar's Flash writing because it feels like apprenticeship-level work. Oh, everything you'd expect is there: shocking developments, wacky science-fantasy ideas, and unusual narrative structures. But this volume just doesn't hold up as well as some of what came before & after it. This volume is also hampered by not having the tighter continuity of the Waid and Johns runs that surround it. Still, it's a nice year of Flash and generally worth reading, especially the last half of the run.
Shorts (133-134). Morrison & Millar's two shorts are nice. The GA Flash (134) story is the stronger of the two, because the authors have such a great grasp of his really unblemished character, but the Mirror Master (133) story is fun for its over-the-top style [4/5]
Three of a Kind (135). The idea of the legacy Flash, Green Arrow, and Green Lanterns teaming up is terrific, but unfortunately that means crossing over with those other books, which weren't that great in the late '90s. So, we get a really mediocre Green Arrow and a slightly better Green Lantern before we move over to Flash. It's clear that Millar and Morrison are aware of the shortcomings of the crossover, because they move it to a fun courtroom frame, and manage to save what was otherwise a pretty uninspiring fight against uninspiring villains [3/5]
The Human Race (136-138). Another bit of Morrison-inspired craziness, as Wally races against his imaginary friend in a contest required by Kirbyesque gods. It's a little too inspired by the various games of the Grandmaster over at Marvel, and it's a little too action oriented, but there are great ideas here and the finale of getting everyone in the world to support Wally has been done a lot since, but never so successfully as what we get here [4/5]
The Black Flash (139-141). More of what we've come to expect from Morrison and Millar, but this is one of their more polished stories, with a nice addition to the Flash mythos (the Black Flash) who's remained quite evocative over the years. Also, there are plenty of twists and surprises and a strong use of the Flash supporting cast [4/5]
"Your Life is My Business (80P Giant). Good to have Millar's intro, which was missing from the previous Morrison + Millar collection. Him talking with the Flash about stories is vaguely funny, but this is still a pretty shallow piece [3/5].
"Flash of Two Worlds" (Secret Origins). Nice to see the modern take on Flash of Two Worlds, and Morrison does a nice job of presenting it as a written work, but it's an old fashioned story that's slow-going [3/5].
To a certain extent, it's hard to rate Morrison and Millar's Flash writing because it feels like apprenticeship-level work. Oh, everything you'd expect is there: shocking developments, wacky science-fantasy ideas, and unusual narrative structures. But this volume just doesn't hold up as well as some of what came before & after it. This volume is also hampered by not having the tighter continuity of the Waid and Johns runs that surround it. Still, it's a nice year of Flash and generally worth reading, especially the last half of the run.
April 13, 2025
Inconsequential Flash comics, which are mostly alright, except one standout story.
This picks up directly from The Flash Omnibus by Mark Waid Vol. 2, but it would also easily work as a standalone collection. I'm gonna touch upon all of these stories:
Emergency Stop #130-132: The first story arc features both a complex villain and a complex resolution. Flash is being handicapped and other Speedsters have to step in. It is a nice change of pace, but the focus of this arc is a bit off and I can't stress how much I dislike having too many speedsters. The handicap is also thrown out of the window soon after. [3/5]
#133-134: Two one and done stories. The Mirror Master is funny and the ideas of how his powers can affect the Flash are really creative. But it's still quite goofy. The story focusing on Jay Garrick is charming, but showcasing him as the perfect character without any flaws hurts the Flash book in my opinion. [3/5]
Three of a Kind #135 (plus crossover issues): A crossover between Green Lantern, Green Arrow and the Flash. The lowpoint of this collection. The villains are boring, the setting is uninspired and the three series feature completely different writing and drawing styles. Doesn't work at all. [1/5]
The Human Race #136-138 : The best story in this book and possibly my favourite Flash story period! The stakes are really high, the story (almost) focuses solely on the Flash and the story touches upon aspects, I've seen in Bokurano and Dragon Ball. The villains are interesting, the panels look great and the mystery kept me reading, to get a satisfying resolution, leaving the door open to revisit this story. [5/5]
The Black Flash #139-141 : I couldn't come up with a more uninspired title and story, if I've tried. What you're gonna do if the Black Flash comes for you? The resolution is kinda fun, but the concept of having Death come for you, because you've run too fast doesn't work. At least the status quo is advanced in a more meaningful way. [2/5]
Something that really bothers me in these Flash comics is the inflationary use of other speedsters, who don't feel unique at all. This is touched upon and actually praised in the introduction of this collection, written by a DC Comics editor. For me it is baggage. Baggage, that questions why a single Flash is necessary and what makes him unique among the others.
The artwork on the other hand is quite good. I can see the improvements almost with each issue, as the comics races towards the new millennium.
Not really recommended, but probably necessary for those who want to read the Mark Waid run undisrupted.
This picks up directly from The Flash Omnibus by Mark Waid Vol. 2, but it would also easily work as a standalone collection. I'm gonna touch upon all of these stories:
Emergency Stop #130-132: The first story arc features both a complex villain and a complex resolution. Flash is being handicapped and other Speedsters have to step in. It is a nice change of pace, but the focus of this arc is a bit off and I can't stress how much I dislike having too many speedsters. The handicap is also thrown out of the window soon after. [3/5]
#133-134: Two one and done stories. The Mirror Master is funny and the ideas of how his powers can affect the Flash are really creative. But it's still quite goofy. The story focusing on Jay Garrick is charming, but showcasing him as the perfect character without any flaws hurts the Flash book in my opinion. [3/5]
Three of a Kind #135 (plus crossover issues): A crossover between Green Lantern, Green Arrow and the Flash. The lowpoint of this collection. The villains are boring, the setting is uninspired and the three series feature completely different writing and drawing styles. Doesn't work at all. [1/5]
The Human Race #136-138 : The best story in this book and possibly my favourite Flash story period! The stakes are really high, the story (almost) focuses solely on the Flash and the story touches upon aspects, I've seen in Bokurano and Dragon Ball. The villains are interesting, the panels look great and the mystery kept me reading, to get a satisfying resolution, leaving the door open to revisit this story. [5/5]
The Black Flash #139-141 : I couldn't come up with a more uninspired title and story, if I've tried. What you're gonna do if the Black Flash comes for you? The resolution is kinda fun, but the concept of having Death come for you, because you've run too fast doesn't work. At least the status quo is advanced in a more meaningful way. [2/5]
Something that really bothers me in these Flash comics is the inflationary use of other speedsters, who don't feel unique at all. This is touched upon and actually praised in the introduction of this collection, written by a DC Comics editor. For me it is baggage. Baggage, that questions why a single Flash is necessary and what makes him unique among the others.
The artwork on the other hand is quite good. I can see the improvements almost with each issue, as the comics races towards the new millennium.
Not really recommended, but probably necessary for those who want to read the Mark Waid run undisrupted.
October 26, 2025
What can I say? I’m a fan of pretty much anything Flash related lol. The GL, GA, and Flash one was a bit weak starting out, but ended all right; the worst one was the weird report thing at the end. I was hoping for a wedding of Linda and Wally; it acted like it was promising that. Instead, the last issue was a very bizarre school report by 8 year old Garfield Logan, future Beast Boy. Also, there was one where the art made Bart look really really weird and it was almost to the point it was making my skin crawl lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews