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The Flash (1987) (Old Editions) #12
The Flash, Vol. 5: Blitz
Wally West acaba de recibir la noticia de que va a ser padre, y su felicidad no puede ser mayor. Quiere reunir a quienes considera su familia para contárselo. Pero la felicidad se verá empañada por la llegada de un nuevo enemigo, probablemente el más cruel y peligroso de todos.
¿Qué hará Flash cuando haya dejado de ser el hombre más veloz sobre la Tierra y la vida de sus seres queridos esté pendiente de un hilo?
¿Qué hará Flash cuando haya dejado de ser el hombre más veloz sobre la Tierra y la vida de sus seres queridos esté pendiente de un hilo?
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
About the author
Geoff Johns
2,706 books2,414 followersGeoff 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 8, 2014
Run Riot (192-194). Johns' take on Grodd continues to be one of the scariest around, and this arc does a great job of looking at what Wally is willing to do for his family. And there are lots more fun rogues too [7+/10].
Rogues (195-196). This is pretty much a breather, advancing lots of subplots and offering up a few rogues to fight. The Peek-a-Boo plotline is good, but it's the leadup to Blitz proper that really stands out. Despite being "in-between" issues, Johns continues to make these interesting thanks to his strong arc and characterization alike [7/10].
Blitz! (197-200). The storyline that finishes off the Blitz! TPB is one of Johns' best Flash stories. First, we get a great profile of Zolomon, then we get a terrifying new villain in Zoom. Beyond that the story has real consequences and also bounces Wally into an interesting new era [8+/10].
Overall, this is a terrific collection, and if it sags to merely "good" in the middle, that's because you need some breathing room between the masterpieces.
Rogues (195-196). This is pretty much a breather, advancing lots of subplots and offering up a few rogues to fight. The Peek-a-Boo plotline is good, but it's the leadup to Blitz proper that really stands out. Despite being "in-between" issues, Johns continues to make these interesting thanks to his strong arc and characterization alike [7/10].
Blitz! (197-200). The storyline that finishes off the Blitz! TPB is one of Johns' best Flash stories. First, we get a great profile of Zolomon, then we get a terrifying new villain in Zoom. Beyond that the story has real consequences and also bounces Wally into an interesting new era [8+/10].
Overall, this is a terrific collection, and if it sags to merely "good" in the middle, that's because you need some breathing room between the masterpieces.
June 28, 2020
Blitz was the first Flash solo story I ever read. At the time, I thought it was phenomenal. I went back and collected the earlier Geoff Johns trades to get the back story and followed the rest of this volume of Flash until it ended with Rogue War. Back then, I believed that the pre-Blitz issues were not as good as the post-Blitz ones.
Now, years later, I'm not sure. My perceptions about Geoff Johns's writing have changed significantly. And, honestly, his writing style evolved in a way I didn't care for: Johns went from the guy who could reliably breathe new life into stale characters to the guy who relentlessly tried to make comics into a grimmer, more violent version of the Silver Age. While this review is not really an essay on Geoff Johns's evolution as a writer, I think it is relevant, because Blitz acts as a bridge between Geoff Johns as a character revitalizer and Geoff Johns as a nostalgia junkie.
On its own, Blitz is a really good story. It's an absolute tragedy, it is the result of a logical string of events and choices, and in the end, it breaks Wally West. Without getting too deep into spoilers, even if it is a 15+ year old story, I call Blitz a bridge because the Wally West at the end of the story is not the Wally West at the beginning in a major way. It's a One More Day level status quo shift. (Although the mechanism is a lot less horrible.)
Blitz also acts as a bridge because Wally takes a step from trying to follow in Barry Allen's footsteps in his own way to being a little more like Barry Allen himself. The narrative thread of recreating bygone eras begins to pop up in a lot of Johns' stories in this period: Alan Scott abandons the name Sentinel to become Green Lantern again. The Teen Titans return to an approximation of the Wolfman-Perez roster with Impulse even undergoing a personality transplant to become Kid Flash. Hal Jordan got a revival and absolution from the crimes he committed as Parallax. Infinite Crisis is just around the corner with it's message that things were better in the Old Days. Over the next several years, Geoff Johns goes on a one-man quest to bring about a funhouse-mirror Silver Age at DC, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I read a lot of it. I even liked it at the time. But rereads can be awkward. The stuff doesn't age all that well, in my opinion.
I can't give Blitz 5 stars today, though I would have when it was new. I can't do it because Because Blitz heralds an era of joylessness ascendant in DC Comics that is personally really hard for me to look back on fondly.
Now, years later, I'm not sure. My perceptions about Geoff Johns's writing have changed significantly. And, honestly, his writing style evolved in a way I didn't care for: Johns went from the guy who could reliably breathe new life into stale characters to the guy who relentlessly tried to make comics into a grimmer, more violent version of the Silver Age. While this review is not really an essay on Geoff Johns's evolution as a writer, I think it is relevant, because Blitz acts as a bridge between Geoff Johns as a character revitalizer and Geoff Johns as a nostalgia junkie.
On its own, Blitz is a really good story. It's an absolute tragedy, it is the result of a logical string of events and choices, and in the end, it breaks Wally West. Without getting too deep into spoilers, even if it is a 15+ year old story, I call Blitz a bridge because the Wally West at the end of the story is not the Wally West at the beginning in a major way. It's a One More Day level status quo shift. (Although the mechanism is a lot less horrible.)
Blitz also acts as a bridge because Wally takes a step from trying to follow in Barry Allen's footsteps in his own way to being a little more like Barry Allen himself. The narrative thread of recreating bygone eras begins to pop up in a lot of Johns' stories in this period: Alan Scott abandons the name Sentinel to become Green Lantern again. The Teen Titans return to an approximation of the Wolfman-Perez roster with Impulse even undergoing a personality transplant to become Kid Flash. Hal Jordan got a revival and absolution from the crimes he committed as Parallax. Infinite Crisis is just around the corner with it's message that things were better in the Old Days. Over the next several years, Geoff Johns goes on a one-man quest to bring about a funhouse-mirror Silver Age at DC, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I read a lot of it. I even liked it at the time. But rereads can be awkward. The stuff doesn't age all that well, in my opinion.
I can't give Blitz 5 stars today, though I would have when it was new. I can't do it because Because Blitz heralds an era of joylessness ascendant in DC Comics that is personally really hard for me to look back on fondly.
October 21, 2019
Phenomenal writing.
September 29, 2024
It was me, Wally. 😈
August 14, 2023
Just an excellent villain origin and story with actual consequences for our hero. Definitely worth the read.
May 29, 2014
Okay, yeah, this was a solid, engrossing superhero read, starring The Flash, much of the extended Flash world (including several past and future flashes and assorted relatives) . If you're not familiar it might be a hair overwhelming, but even if that's the case, I think this story is worth pushing through the confusion. It's brutal, and touching, and deeply sad.
The overarching story seems to be about the dangers of being close to a superhero - not only as a family member or loved one, but just as a friend or business helper. If a monster wants to hurt a hero, the best way is almost always through those they care about, right? This book looks at that aspect of the genre with painful meticulousness.
The first two stories are great - the first showcasing Gorilla Grodd who manages to be deeply terrifying and the second a story underlining how Flash tries to interact with his enemies. But it's the third part of this book that's the real standout, as a new Professor Zoom sets his sights on the Flash. Fantastic closer, ending on an ambiguous note.
The overarching story seems to be about the dangers of being close to a superhero - not only as a family member or loved one, but just as a friend or business helper. If a monster wants to hurt a hero, the best way is almost always through those they care about, right? This book looks at that aspect of the genre with painful meticulousness.
The first two stories are great - the first showcasing Gorilla Grodd who manages to be deeply terrifying and the second a story underlining how Flash tries to interact with his enemies. But it's the third part of this book that's the real standout, as a new Professor Zoom sets his sights on the Flash. Fantastic closer, ending on an ambiguous note.
May 24, 2014
I wish when a new series is announced, or a new writer comes on-board an existing series, they could tell you upfront, "Hey, this writer is going to be on this book for a few years. We know what he has planned. Get on board now." You can see how much more rewarding an experience it is when the writer is building his world, re-introducing old characters, creating new ones, and seeding future plots throughout. Plus they don't always feel the need to write for the trade; they have points they want to hit, and they'll break them out as they feel is best. Geoff Johns did this incredibly well with his time on The Flash (and later/concurrently with Green Lantern and JSA) and it's been a treat re-reading these books, especially once you can see him setting up future events.
I also really missed Bart. I think shortly after this he officially became Kid Flash and, while he was still a great character, it was never as much fun as when he was Impulse.
I also really missed Bart. I think shortly after this he officially became Kid Flash and, while he was still a great character, it was never as much fun as when he was Impulse.
February 8, 2017
Man I love Reverse Flash
February 10, 2012
This remains the best Flash story I've read. Kolins brings the right energy to the action, while Johns is particularly adept at making you feel that a C-list villain is a AAA threat. I haven't seen energy and threat come together for The Flash since issue 200.
February 11, 2013
Good stuff. I had never read the origin of the second Zoom/Reverse Flash so this was cool. I really like Wally as a character; he's like Peter Parker but without the complaining. The few Grodd issues felt like filler but I like we're this series is heading.
May 6, 2011
The incredible climax to the first half of Geoff John's run on the Flash! The introduction of a compelling villain and a shocking shake-up in the West family. Top notch art by Scott Kolins!
September 26, 2011
Great ending! I didn't even see it coming. :D
February 20, 2013
This issue was so intense! Super sad though. Did not leave me feeling happy
April 19, 2017
Great Flash volume!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews