Absolute Flash (2025-) #13

Absolute Flash (2025) (Single Issues)

by Jeff Lemire, Haining (Artist)

Wally tries to pick up the pieces of his life after the battle at Fort Fox. Adrift and unsure what to do, the young speedster looks for a way forward.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2026

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picking up the pieces.



The battle is over, the Olympus Project shuttled, and Elenore Thawne is in the wind. Wally decided to go his separate way from the Rogues, and Grodd is nowhere to be found. So, with his father lost in the Still Point, where is a teenage superhero to go?



Well, right back to Ralph Dibny's youth center in Central City.
Linda Park is still there, and after proving that she knows who he is and what he can do, the two reunite to investigate the ruins of Fort Fox in the hope of finding something that can lead to Wally's father.
But wait. Isn't there still a Rogue unaccounted for?



Loved this one! The overall plot has really taken off, and the characters are starting to get some real depth to them.
Recommended.

[Neil Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried this title a few issues ago and found it impenetrable and slow paced but I promised myself to try again at a legitimate "jumping on point" as the first wave of Absolute books did this to great effect. I'm pleased I did as this book gave me a much better feel for this interpretation of the Flash. Lemire likes putting his characters through the emotional wringer, particularly the younger characters and it's good to see him doing this here while making the characters likeable instead of navel-gazing whiners. Wally has had a tough time but it doesn't mean he's incapable of being fun.
Lemire also introduces what presumably happened in the first 12 issues with what feels like natural conversations with two different characters. I also like how both the people he speaks to know he's the Flash and how he reacts differently (and how each respond to Wally's reaction) reveals a lot about the characters and their respective relationships.
It is a talky episode but there's some light action to break up the conversations and I really like how quickly it switches to a horror in the last few pages. The artist deserves a lot of credit for making these tonal shifts work and for keeping talky scenes engaging. Haining has a cartoony/manga feel which I feel works well with a teenage flash. I'm not familiar with their work but will keep an eye out for it in future/existing trades. The absolute books always deliver with interesting and engaging artists.

I'll be checking out the next issue because I really like the villain and their power set which lends to interesting visuals, especially looking forward to how Haining interprets it.


Overall = 4/5
Writing = 4/5
Art = 4/5

Will I read the next issue? Yes

Wait for the trade collection? This is a 2 parter and if this issue is anything to go off, it should wrap up next issue.

Did I need to read previous issues/series? Not to understand this story but I imagine it adds depth.

Will I read previous issues? Yes, in trade.

[AJ Easterday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This issue was fire!!!! This issue feels like Jeff Lemire doing what he does best: down-to-earth character explorations and discussions of mental health. I love seeing Linda become a big part of the story. The chemistry between her and Wally is immediately fantastic. I think this is my favorite issue of this series so far! It was excellent!

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so the ending from the previous issue was just the ending to that arc and here we are once again with Wally West whose secret is less of a secret now and it captures the attention of new friend Linda (sure she is already and established character but Absolute is my first foray into The Flash so shes new to me) who acts as both the angel and devil on wally's shoulder, i love characters like that. And a new foe is reflected.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving the start to this new arc. Wally and Linda have great chemistry off the bat and I enjoy Haining's lighter art style. This series has really gotten good and is more on par with the other Absolute titles now.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Wally and Linda moments which is 90 percent this issue. So great.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright we are so back, the last issue definitely left me wanting a lot more and then this issue came along to fill that void, that rocked. I mean I’m sure Wally doesn’t think it rocked, he is dealing with some serious trauma…but that’s exactly where the real meat of this series comes in. We ope this issue with Wally back in the Dibney mission as he tries to sleep through a nightmare where he can’t see to reach his father after he went through the still point to save Wally at the end of the last story. As Wally wakes up in gasp he retreats to the solitude of the roof where he listens to an old voicemail just to hear his dad’s voice. That is where Ralph finds him to try and talk with Wally about everything, especially about everything that happened with the giant magma creature (heat wave) which attacked last time Wally was here. His suit really doesn’t hide his identity well so Ralph knows it was him and is a little scared about how all this crazy stuff may be connected, by Wally keeps it close to his chest and claims he was gone before all of that went down and how he doesn’t need another father figure in his life. But the last thing Ralph wants to do is push him away, so Ralph leaves it at this…he pulls out the card a man in a black suit gave him after everything went down, it’s a card for Agent Hunter Zolomon of the DEO (ZOOM!!). I wonder if Cam (from ABS GL) has worked with him before, lol. Ralph rips the card up in front of Wally and promises him that he will always have a home here.

Ralph may be able to play it cool and subtle and but Linda Park cannot, she saw Wally with his powers in action and the next day during lunch she immediately got on his case about it. First Wally and Grodd and now Wally and Linda, it’s really these hyper personal relationships where this series shines, I love these two together. After Linda pulled out a few videos of Wally in action and really started asking about the deal with the green monkey, the two finally went to a junkyard for a bit more privacy so Wally could truly talk to her about it. She definitely thought the suit was a bit dorky, but the moment he got it on and had her hanging on while he ran…dorkiness was replaced with how insanely cool that is. She finally got him to stop by threatening to barf on him, but really that was an excuse so they could talk further which eventually led to them getting a bite to eat after Wally mentioned how many calories he burns while running. The two got some good and went to an abandoned drive in to continue talking as Wally told her all about the crazy events with the Rogues, Fort Fox, and Thawne. He does have a way to contact the rogues if he wants to, but he isn’t sure what happened to Grodd during the chaos and only hopes Grodd will find him soon. Wally also had a moment to talk about his dad and his desire to find him, before all of this the two of them weren’t on good terms. His mother suffered from bipolar disorder and his dad was constantly gone, she was fine when she was on her meds…but when she went off of them it wasn’t good and the way Wally describes it, it sounds like she took her own life. Wally knows it’s not his fault that she didn’t take her meds even if he wishes he made her, but Linda can share his pain when it comes to a child being forced to take care of a parent, she has done the same even at her young age. Wally hated his dad for a while and blamed him for not being there. But Wally later realized it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

So now Wally has to find a way to get back to the still point, but with all of Barry’s equipment destroyed he doesn’t have a way back or any clue how to start. Linda has a suggestion…time to go back to Fort Fox, really take a look around, and she offers to accompany him. It never really occurred to me, but Wally’s outfit is really just a jumpsuit with a red jacket, so when he takes the jacket off for Linda to wear it (which looks really cute on her), he is left wearing a black jumpsuit…which totally caught me off guard, lol. Fort Fox had been fenced off, but using a bit of speed force directing, he is able to see a blast of lighting to blast the gate open. That’s one of the tricks he is picking up, but still has much more to learn. As they get to the central command area, full of computers Linda is itching to dig into, Wally suddenly heard a voice call his name. As the two walk towards it they find one of the bathrooms with all of the mirrors smashed…all but one anyway, and the last one seems to duplicate within itself. As Wally reached out to it…Linda suddenly screamed, and Wally turned around to find her stuck within the mirror. He reached out for her, only for his arm to be grabbed as he was pulled into the mirror dimension as well!! If you haven’t figured by now then you will be meeting Mirror Master right alongside Wally and Linda! He immediately starts yelling at Wally, with cloned bodies, to let him out…which makes me wonder if the mirror master we saw at the start of this series and in the FCBD special is now the same mirror master we find here. What if this is a version confined to Fort Fox, and only once Wally helps him get out will he be able to travel freely and learn more about this world. We’ve already seen his connection to the main universe, and if he is not bound by dimensions I wonder if he isn’t bound by time either. But right now it’s time for Wally to grab kinda and run as fast as he can, for as much good as that will do, lol.

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the slice-of-life elements mixed in as we spend almost the whole issue with Wally and Linda just hanging out. My main gripe with this book for the first 12 issues was that none of the relationships really got developed (except for Wally and Grodd!), and then there’d be a whole bunch of emotional weight put into a moment that didn’t feel earned (again, except for Grodd…please don’t let him become evil…). This issue is putting in the work so that Linda and Wally’s relationship actually means something.

I’m also very glad to see Mirror Master finally show up! Between Hawkman and Mirror Master entering the scene, the seeds planted in previous one-shots are starting to payoff.

[ალან სკოტი · Rating 4 out of 5]

as a main earth Wally fan I really love how much of a great chemistry Linda and Wally have already, she really added a lot to this series. and let's just say if something happens to her I am dropping this book... and the book really went through a major upgrade after first main villain was "defeated" like absolute superman.

[Xaanua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inicio de la trama que conecta con el final del número 1: los espejos. Puede que sea el punto de arranque del crossover del universo Absolute. Me encanta la visibilidad a la salud mental y la ansiedad producida por ser el adulto que cuide de sus padres #

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have the intro of Hunter Zoloman, and Linda Park, intrepid reporter just blackmailed Wally into showing her what he can do. But Mirror Master was the icing on the cake.

[Cheyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really BACK!! Just don’t like the way Linda is drawn

[Richard A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is excellent. Exciting, fast paced and so well written. I enjoy the characters and the relationships they are creating to this point.

[Ushnav Shroff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun?

[Powerman61 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big drop off from last issue.
The writer definitely hit the pause button.

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of the stronger issues. It felt more slowed down, which allowed us some room to breathe as well as to actual start going a bit deeper into the story. This was a fun issue!

[Jordie Novack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right as I was about to abandon this series, they make an issue that grabs my attention. Guess I’m back in, but they are on thin ice.

[Juliano Stefani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wally gets to know Linda better; meanwhile someone is eavesdropping through the mirror…

[Roland Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection as always

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[scarlet♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wonder how grodd is doing

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid start to year two. Mirror Master is very creepy and I'm glad Ralph and Linda are both back in the book. I hope they stick around this time.

[nai · Rating 5 out of 5]

the art and coloring is absolutely beautiful!! and I just wanna give wally a big ol’ hug :(((