The Flash by Geoff Johns, Book Three

The Flash by Geoff Johns

by Geoff Johns

RUN RIOT!

In 2000, writer Geoff Johns took over THE FLASH and redefined a comic book icon for a new generation. Now reexperience Johns’ unforgettable five-year run in these stunning tales of Wally West, the Fastest Man Alive.

What starts as a fantastical journey featuring the Flash and Hawkman taking on the fairy tale horrors of the Brothers Grimm ends up with the fastest man alive racing through Iron Heights Prison as he tries to take down a rampaging Gorilla Grodd. And, in the epic storyline “Blitz,” find out the secret history of the villainous Professor Zoom. All this plus Linda Park, The Flash’s wife, has delivered startling news that has changed Wally West’s life forever!

This third volume in THE FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS series collects THE FLASH #189-200 featuring art by the veteran Flash art team of Scott Kolins and Doug Hazlewood.

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

350 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2016

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

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the run that made people stand up and take notice of Geoff Johns. He shows why in this volume. Even just the simple stories are fun and exciting. Then mix in the threat and tragedy of Zoom and you have a winner.

[iain jones uk 🇬🇧 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟 I haven’t read a “comic” since I was a kid, this was fantastic, the art work was amazing. I’m definitely going to read more of these. It was fun. 🤩
THWAK…. KABOOM…

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was incredible, can’t believe this run keeps getting better and better!

The first part of this book enjoyable with some good stories but after the story with Grodd a whole story arc begins leading to Zoom. The issues with Zoom were really interesting and definitely the best of flash that I’ve read. The book also ends in an interesting spot and I’m looking forward to where this goes next.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great one!

We have stories regarding Pied Piper and whatever is going on with Heatwave and then a team up with Hawkman to take down Brother Grimm in the fashion of Jack and the beanstalk and then the big storyline vs Grodd in Gorilla city and that's my favorite one. It was so well done just showing how dangerous Grodd is and the way Wally takes him down.

And finally the greatest storyline Blitz where Hunter Zolomon becomes Zoom and we see his origins, motives and why he targets Wally "one bad day, tragedy" And what his actions leads to particularly for Wally and Linda.. It's such an emotional distraught.

Ahh it's so well done and kinda shows how lethal he becomes and it's like one of the greatest origins of a villain and like birth of Wally's arch nemesis and the ending was so good with Hal and Barry and like what Wally does next. This is Johns at his best showing Wally to be the tragic hero who persists through the problem and not give in despite the horrible days he has to face at times.

I like how he taps into the emotions in the story and even you feel for the villain, is he really wrong? And then the limbo he is stuck in and I like how he is different from other speedster villains. Some great work done here. loved this storyline!!

[Alex E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoff Johns continues building and world crafting in his famous flash run, and by book three, you can really tell he is comfortable, having fun, and very much in the zone.

The story itself is great, but the execution of the writing...Johns makes a 300 page book fly by with what seems like effortless ease. I am so engrossed by John's Wally West that I sometimes forget that there was a different Flash, Barry Allen.

Not to say one is better than the other, but what Johns is doing with the character is essentially creating a modern day Flash for a new generation. And as cliche as that sounds, its absolutely the best way to describe how much new energy Johns is putting into this title.

And not only is the writing great but Kollins absolutely brings it in this chapter. He elevates his craft to a new level and I am surprised at how much he has grown just from the start of his tenure on the flash to issue 200, which is the last one in this volume.

The story has to deal with the escape of Grodd, which leads to the rebirth of Professor Zoom. And its so integrated within the story, the way everything unfolds and is connected, it really speaks to the skill of Jonhs and Kollins to not only match the quality of Waid's run, but in alot of ways evolve it into a new thing entirely.

The Flash isn't always a colorful world with action and fun, and unfortunately in this volume, we get one of the darkest moments not only for the Flash, but for comics in general.

Dont pass this one up if you are a fan of the Flash!

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume the most. The best story was the last: Blitz. Up to this point, I really didn't care for Wally West. Nothing against him, just didn't latch onto him like I did with Barry. However, Blitz really had me empathizing with him and kudos to Geoff Johns for doing that. I really felt the threat in that story and now I want to keep reading.

I did some research and this volume concludes the Flash by Geoff Johns Omnibus Volume 2 so there's still some material left with Wally before he moves on to writing Barry.

I still don't really care for Scott Kolins' art. It's certainly fine, just not my cup of tea and I think the light colors don't really help, but that's a personal preference.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

The big showcase here in the rogue profile of Hunter Zolomon as he learns that he’s been transformed, and subsequently decides to become Professor Zoom, the new Reverse-Flash, and in the process temporarily remove the children of Wally and Linda West from their future. I don’t remember how they were brought back, perhaps by Mark Waid, perhaps earlier, but it doesn’t matter. “Blitz” ends this volume at the point I started my journey to becoming a fan of Geoff Johns, but that’s a story for the next one.

This one reads quickly. Heh. Johns isn’t quite in the command role he had in the last one, perhaps because he knew he was sprinting toward Zoom. I imagine all of this read differently at the time, in single issues, having no clue how it would unfold, but the inevitability of it, in hindsight, feels like Johns sketched the results. At any rate, it’s a key difference from how Waid would have done it, but then Waid wouldn’t have had the patience to set it all up like this, either. So “Blitz” is truly the reverse of “The Return of Barry Allen.”

From setting up Bart’s role in Teen Titans (where he would rapidly transition from Impulse to the new Mid Flash) to Jesse Quick’s own new parameters (in the pages of JSA she would decide to become the new Liberty Belle) and even foreshadowing Green Lantern: Rebirth and all but plugging his Hawkman…clearly Johns was settling in. This whole volume is a moment of transition, but again, the incredible thing is that it’s also payoff for a long term arc (and also another resolution of a red herring, as we find Irons Heights director Wolfe to be another supporting character to be both more and less than he seemed).

The most intriguing development here is probably the one that seems to have been completely dropped, or at least forgotten, a new leader of Gorilla City, which is kind of disappointing. As Wally heads toward his confrontation with Zoom, he’s forced to confront what kind of hero he is, if he’s willing to cross the line. For Grodd, for this brief moment, he’s willing to consider it, but the society he glimpses in Gorilla City helps him reconsider. Maybe it’s picked up another time, maybe it was abandoned, and reset. It happens.

The callback to “The Trial of the Flash” is something Waid tried to do, but I think is more effective here. “Trial” happened at all because sales were so abysmal that DC just didn’t care enough not to let it happen, and then Barry Allen died soon after during Crisis on Infinite Earths anyway. Waid was building up Wally as a worthy successor, and building up his own legacy. Johns is able to evoke it and build on it, and in a way prepare the reader for an arc that truly humanizes a speedster’s world. But again, that’s a story for the next volume…

[Gabriel Llagostera · Rating 5 out of 5]

EL tomo de la colección. Más allá de otras historias, el foco está puesto en dos grandes villanos: el brutal e implacable Gorilla Grodd, y Zoom. Este último protagoniza un arco impresionante, con un número increíble que cuenta su origen. La frase "I fit the profile" te hace salir corriendo al Obelisco.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunter Zoloman is kinda scary idk why he isn't always a main villain in the current publications

[Hillel Sztern · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is really really good especially the last one which give the reader the background for the main characters and makes the reader really understand the motives behind the villain and the struggle of Wally west. Barry was and still is my favorite flash but this book just represent Wally west great, Bart Allen as well.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most Geoff Johns' comics this is perfectly fine, but it never rises above that. Its a book that is so mired in the past that it can't reach for the future. It also is missing the heart of the Mark Waid run on this title.

[Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff Johns is Mr. DC, as from 2016 to 2018 he was DC's Chief Creative Office, eventually stepping down to create his own production company to produce movie, TV and comics for DC and the parent company, Warner Bros. This is quite a meteoric rise for a person who started by writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E which was a re-introduction of the golden age hero Stripesy into the modern DC Universe along with a new version of the Star-Spangled Kid, who eventually became Stargirl. Johns was lucky to work alongside James Robinson (who had a genius run on Starman) and David S. Goyer (who co-wrote Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale as Batman) on JSA, and eventually had a very memorable run with Green Lantern (where Hal Jordan didn't completely suck) that lead to his appointment as head of DC creative.

Johns' work on The Flash is where DC let him take off the training wheels and let him fully engage with one of their signature heroes. Yes, it's the Wally West version, not the Barry Allen version (that comes later) and he has the burden of history on him--Mark Waid had a very long and successful run on the book with Wally...probably one of the reason DC was able to wait 25 years before resurrecting Barry after his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, when reading the Geoff Johns Flash you can see why he was eventually handed the reins to the DC Universe.

In the previous collection, Wally is able to save the twin cities (Keystone and Central) from a new collection of Rogues (updated for Wally, not Barry) and the Thinker. This volume involves the aftermath of those events, which is still no picnic for Wally. The best story arcs happen at the end of the collection where there is a three issue Gorilla Grodd story arc and a four issue arc with Zoom, a familiar and yet not familiar version of the classic Reverse-Flash. Even though it is obvious that Johns is trying to update the Flash Rogues gallery to make them uniquely Wally's (Waid's run, at least the parts I've read have more to do with Wally filling Barry's shoes against Barry's classic rogues--there is not nearly as much self-doubt in Johns' handling of Wally) it doesn't detract from the story telling. Of course the end of the "Zoom" arc ends with what was issue 200 of The Flash so Johns has to set up the post issue 200 bit of his run...and it's pretty crazy. I'll reserve judgement until I read the next volume.

I'm still probably a bigger fan of Waid's take on The Flash, but Johns shows a deft hand here, and reveals some of what eventually lead to greater success with DC in his future.

[David Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoff Johns' Flash is a brilliant milestone of Modern Age DC Comics. Book Three is the high point of Johns' Flash, largely in part to Zoom. Johns has always had a perfect voice for Wally, Linda, the Rogues, and the rest of the supporting cast, but all of that comes to a head here when most of the cast is challenged by Zoom. What makes Zoom such a wonderful antagonist for Wally is the intimacy in their relationship, which is something Barry Allen and Eobard Thawne never had. Zoom was Wally's friend, and, in his own words, becomes Zoom in order to make Wally a better hero. Regardless of if we're supposed to take Hunter at his word, his intimate connection with Wally is what gives their conflict so much weight. It's difficult to praise this book for how good it is without spoiling it, but man, Zoom is the best Flash villain out there, and this is Zoom at the top of his game, so this is definitely worth the read.

Before Johns fully goes into Zoom, however, there's a really interesting sequence of issues that feature the return of Brother Grimm (from Book One of his Flash), Hawkman, Gorilla Grodd and Gorilla City (this story was especially cool), and a new Rogue, called Peek-A-Boo.

Overall, Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins are at the top of their game here. This book is by far the best out of all of Johns' Flash thus far, and while I recommend reading the whole story (because it's massive and amazing), if you had to pick only one book to read, this would be it.

[Darik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of decent (if not exactly spectacular) Flash adventures than subtly but inexorably build up to Geoff Johns' magnificent gut-punch of a four-parter "Blitz"-- which introduces Wally West's very own Reverse-Flash, Zoom.

I honestly feel that Zoom is Johns' greatest and most clever creation: an archenemy who used to be Wally's friend and who sees it as his life's mission to forge the Flash into a better hero... by putting him through the greatest tragedy possible. His powers are truly unique: rather than achieving super-speed through power or force, he's essentially able to control the rate at which he's traveling through TIME-- making him potentially faster than even the fastest speedster.

The story itself is tense, gripping, and often heart-wrenching; Zoom makes for such a formidable foe that he's virtually a horror movie monster. The tale ends on a note of tragedy, and a genuinely stunning cliffhanger that leads into one of my personal favorite Flash storylines.

Overall this is some of Johns' strongest work-- made all the better by Scott Kolins' dynamic pencils, Doug Hazlewood's sharp inks, and the vivid colors of James Sinclair (seriously, the reds and yellows of Zoom and the Flash POP like few things I've seen in contemporary comics). It doesn't get much better than this for the Fastest Man Alive!

[Christian Oliverio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y'all. The last half of Geoff Johns' run is so intertwined, I'm going to just combine my thoughts on books 3, 4, and 6 as they are essentially a larger story with two interludes that tie into the main story and greatly impact the main story. That's right. NO Filler (the Hawkman team up doesn't count as that was just tying up a loose end). Now what is the larger meta story? The Rogue War.

Johns does a great job balancing multiple plots, somehow tying the main DC crossover stories into his own Flash narrative and making Identity Crisis essential reading to this arc, and the volumes are conveniently broken up in a way where you can read Identity Crisis right between books 4 and 5 and not feel like this story is interrupted (and yes, you definitely need to read Identity Crisis to understand the final volume). It even ties in perfectly as a next step in the narrative after the "Ignition" interlude. The way the story naturally built up to this already great cross over, both through characters and themes, was nothing short of amazing. The art in the Ignition section was also phenomenal. Wally and Linda go through a lot in this collection as does their supporting cast.

Zolomon becomes a very interesting character with some pretty cool [spoilers], leading to a great [spoilers]. Similarly, the Rogues are great, especially Captain Cold and the original Trickster, who begin hunting each other. You see, due to the events of Identity Crisis, some of the Rogues are now good. Thus the reformed group begins hunting down their old team. Flash and his family end up getting caught in the middle. The dynamic between the Flash and all of the Rogues, including their relationship to each other, were all great. The long nature of this story really allowed us to connect to them and make the climax of endless action feel earned. It took awhile for the true Rogue War to start, but the buildup made it all the more satisfying.

In short, this is a LONG story, especially for a comic. But this allowed it to overcome a lot of the shortcomings of comics, namely rushing through stories and sacrificing character development. By slowing down the actions, we were able to connect with every single character in this story, including the villains. Thus when we finally get our typical comic story of balls-to-the-walls action, it feels earned. Is this the best Flash story? No. But it is certainly the best written.

[Seán Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from the start with a shorter story of Pied Piper escaping prison, followed by Grodd’s breakout and paralysis of Hunter and this is before getting into the main arc of this book. Although as a Flash fan I already knew the gist of the events which unfold, the final storyline with Zoom attacking the Flash Family and causing Linda to have a miscarriage still had me very emotional, and with the moment that I had no prior knowledge of, Barry Allen from the future, just before Crisis on Infinite Earths and Hal Jordan as the spectre appearing to Wally and giving him some deep, heartfelt support and advice brought me to tears. These are my two favourite superheroes, with Barry being my favourite fictional character full stop, so this moment really meant a lot to me, as this book was released during the time which both iconic characters were dead for years. I also have to say that I really enjoyed the moments in the Gorilla City arc every other in this book where they call back to past events in DC history, including the infamous trial of Barry Allen’s the Flash and other moments in comics history, and I can’t wait to read more of Geoff John’s work in the future.

[Avishek Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff Johns has always been a wonderful writer and this is him at his freshest before the haydays of the Green Lantern saga and Justice League. Creating a wonderfully compelling villain and pushing the theme of tragedy defining a hero, he serves us Wally West in conflict like never before.

Featuring one of his most fearsome rogues in Gorilla Grodd and the friend turned foe Hunter Zolomon aka Zoom, West finds himself standing up to the shadow of his deceased mentor even as his public life crumbles before his eyes.

The highlight though is obviously Zoom. If you have followed him through the Johns run, he proved a wonderful ally to the Flash. And the theme of 'allies turning enemies and vice versa' permeating through the DC universe with Identity Crisis and Barry's own secret - this is a wonderful entry showing how a hero going public with his identity can create mayhem

The art is kinetic and while not as well defined as some of his contemporaries, Scott Rollins is perfect for this title. Must read if you are a Flash fan

[Berneta Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The development of Hunter Zoloman was fun. [Spoiler alert]

The whole time I was wondering what was going to make him finally snap and become Zoom. I appreciated his backstory a lot and the emphasis on how so much tragedy can break a good person. That said, it was a bit much that he went very quickly (within days) from being very sane to suddenly "I must kill everyone to help Flash grow into a better hero." I think Peek-a-Boo had better development as a villain (her motives seemed more reasonable, and I wanted to see Flash help her find redemption). But, hey, it's a comic book. :) Overall, this was an entertaining collection.

[IamT-Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This run only gets better and better. The longer it goes the more comfortable Johns becomes with writing the flash. I am loving this run it's starting to add some real tension and the slow transformation from fun and goofy time to a darker and more serious tone is welcome. New villains coming for Wally like Zoom are fantastic and the ending stuff with him and Linda. Jeez this was for kids huh wild

FANTASTIC GO READ IT

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best story arcs I've read in the past twenty years - on the one hand, a new villain, on the other, a bright new start for the Flash, as the world ends up forgetting that he's Wally West. Public identities work for Wonder Woman, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk, but not so much for anyone else.
The writing and plotting were both superb, so much so that I forgot about the simplistic art. Zoom is the sort of nasty villain Flash NEEDS to balance out the goofier Rogues.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was the best volume of them.

Hunter Zolomon was a great villain, and Johns knew how to use all this story about tragedy on the Flash' lives. It's just awesome.

And the art is vert good in this one. I believe we got a new inker and a new colorist, but his art was more mature e more evolved over here.

Just awesome. A must read for every super hero fan.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go Zoom

It's times like these you see characters and their humanity. Both the good with stonefaced Wolfe and the bad with Hunter Zolomon. Gotta say this is probably the biggest shift. Familiar and unfamiliar territory going into this. Almost makes Flashpoint look totally redundant.

[José Ignacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of Johns' run so far

This is the definitive Wally West book, holy crap. This book is fun, exciting and has some tear jerking moments, especially once Zoom is introduced.

This is just brutal and brilliant, super enjoyable, either as a continuation of the run or even as a standalone book, it’s so damn good.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a Geoff Johns scripted book and I’d heard his run with Wally West The Flash was sublime, and having only read his Barry Allen series I was intrigued. That steer and anticipation was well-founded, what a great read with very fluid and kinetic visuals.

Highly recommend

[Brad Loeffler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible finish to the first half of Johns’s run. The stakes have never been higher for Wally West while encountering Grodd and Zoom, and this volume ends with a very significant status quo change. Can’t wait to see where we go from here

[Aneesur Rahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's the best book, compared to book 1 and 2. Loved those books, but this one, it introduced ZOOM! Wow I loved it, but I gotta find out more about wally and Barry, I am not too sure if this is pre 52 or post 52? Confusing as heck but I loved the stories.

Onward to book 4.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will forever be sad they didn't go this route with Zoom on the TV show and instead of an incredible build up just had him be some rando from another Earth.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rounded down. Another great volume from John's, we get his version of Zoom and some tragic moments play out in the Flash family.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now we are picking up speed....this book is really going somewhere. Loved the character Zoom, liked the cliffhanger at the end. Just a good all around book.

[Malena · Rating 4 out of 5]

the ending 😭😭