Written by Mark Waid; Brian Augustyn; Pat McGreal; & Joe Casey.
Art by Paul Pelletier; Doug Braithwaite; Scott Kolins; Duncan Rouleau; Ron Lim; Tom Morgan; José Marzan Jr.; Doug Hazlewood; Robin Riggs; Jon Holdredge; Dennis Janke; Vince Russell; Aaron Sowd; Denis Rodier; Tom McCraw; Gaspar Saladino; Steve Dutro; Bill Oakley; & Ken Lopez.
Collection Cover Art by Steve Lightle.
SUMMARY:
Released in 2021 by DC Comics, this 400-page trade paperback concludes Mark Waid’s first shift writing Wally West’s adventures by compiling 1999-2000’s The Flash # 151-163, plus Annual # 12 and Secret Files # 2. This compilation is also available digitally.
Note: Waid briefly resumed writing this series with Issues # 231-236 during DC’s 2007-2008 post-Infinite Crisis era.
Wally West’s Flash has vanished, as he is searching for his beloved fiancé, Linda Park. Other than Wally’s teenage protégé, Bart “Impulse” Allen, no one else (i.e. Jay Garrick, Jesse Quick, & Max Mercury) has caught on that someone has erased an abducted Linda seemingly from existence.
Meanwhile, an older/brusque Flash from an alternate reality emerges to assume Wally’s responsibilities protecting Keystone/Central City. As this Flash acclimates to a new status quo (having lost his own Linda to tragedy years before), he finds himself drawn to police chemist, Angela Margolin. Among the Flash Family’s first adventures with this new Flash is a Gorilla City caper.
The Rogues’ Gallery find that their powers have been duplicated by a new villain: Replicant. Other formidable threats include Abra Kadabra, the Folded Man, Kobra, and possibly a new Reverse-Flash, as Wally finally reunites with Linda. In addition to his own savvy disguise, Wally needs the Flash Family’s firepower to thwart Kadabra’s nefarious time-warping scheme.
In the present-day, two versions of Wally West must uneasily co-exist. With his super-friends’ help, the true Wally at last marries Linda before they embark on a literally whirlwind honeymoon. To prevent Hypertime (a recent Waid invention) from eroding reality, the other Wally realizes he must return to his own rightful point within the multiverse. That means a potentially heartbreaking end to this new Flash’s romance with Angela.
As an old foe seeks long-awaited vengeance, Wally and Linda’s globetrotting honeymoon is jeopardized. Elsewhere, Jay Garrick recalls for his fellow Flash Family members his own post-war honeymoon with Joan in 1947 Las Vegas. It’s revealed that more than just Jay’s Justice Society belated-bachelor-party buddies have tracked the Garricks down.
Settling into married life, Wally and Linda (back as a journalist) team with Billy Batson’s Captain Marvel against Felix Faust’s worldwide Y2K-inspired scheme. Lastly, Barry Allen’s dubious foe, the Turtle, resurfaces to eliminate the newlywed Wests. As Wally soon discovers, the Turtle’s explosive ‘shopping’ list also includes Batman, Superman, Aquaman, and Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern.
Additional guest appearances and cameos include: Wonder Woman; Plastic Man; Martian Manhunter; Beast Boy; the Titans/Silver Age Teen Titans: Nightwing, Donna Troy, Tempest, & Arsenal; the Golden Age Justice Society (Alan Scott’s Green Lantern; Al Pratt’s Atom; Wildcat; Dr. Charles McNider’s Dr. Mid-Nite; & Rex Tyler’s Hourman); and Jay Garrick’s dubious trio of sidekicks.
REVIEW:
Volume 8 mostly focuses on the Walter West/Flash arc, plus an unremarkable stretch finally delivering Wally and Linda’s long-teased wedding/honeymoon. Working with writers Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn, the various art teams deliver consistently good visuals for that era that mesh well with the routine plotting. This compilation’s contents make for an overall decent read, given Waid deploys his cast of characters well – as far as entertaining an all-ages audience.
Waid, in that sense, is just as invaluable to constructing Wally West’s Flash universe, as his more acclaimed successor, Geoff Johns, would become. Both writers consistently scripted an energetic Wally and a high-caliber supporting cast – as opposed to how stale Barry Allen’s previous 350-issue series had gradually become by the mid-80’s.
Closing with fun self-contained tales (specifically, Issues # 161-162: Jay Garrick’s Golden Age JSA honeymoon caper in Las Vegas; and Wally’s team-up with Captain Marvel/Shazam surpass # 163’s Justice League crossover), a vibe of ‘business as usual’ is unmistakable. More so, an abundant page count doesn’t mask how average this collection’s stories otherwise are.
Still, their creative appeal holds up – if only because Waid’s 100-issue stint (including the seven prior volumes) predates DC’s excessively convoluted rebooting for the past two decades. Flash By Mark Waid, Book Eight, in terms of an innocent nostalgia run, makes a welcome find at the library.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
For starters, the necessary table-of-contents proves helpful. Each full-page cover precedes its issue. The cover artists are:
- Steve Lightle: Issues # 151-154, Secret Files & Origins # 2 (1999), and # 155-163; plus
- Arthur Adams: Annual # 12 (1999).
A single-page “Gorilla City: Secret City of Simian Super Science” map is produced by writer/artist Eliot Brown. Brown is assisted by colorist Tom McCraw and Digital Chameleon’s color separations.
In a spoofy Silver Age homage to Barry Allen’s Flash, there’s the four-page “Lost-Pages Adventure: The Stunning Secret of the Scarlet Speedster’s Super Slow-Down!” Stopped literally in his tracks, the Flash witnesses Turtle Man’s gang commit a brazen Central City bank heist utilizing his stolen super-speed. The joke, of course, is that the convenient pseudo-science reversing the Flash’s predicament really makes no sense. Writer: Brian Augustyn. Art by: Tom Morgan; Denis Rodier; Tom McCraw; Digital Chameleon; and Gaspar Saladino.
Next is a cartoony four page fashion industry parody featuring the Rogues’ Gallery entitled “Gambi: Middle of The Rogue.” Writer: Tom Peyer. Art by: Stephen DeStefano; Tom McCraw; and Digital Chameleon.
Full-page Secret Files profiles are supplied for: 1. Walter West’s alternate-reality Flash (Writer: Mark Waid. Art by: Paul Pelletier; Vince Russell; Tom McCraw; & Digital Chameleon); 2. Cobalt Blue (Writer: Mark Waid. Art by: Steve Lightle; Tom McCraw; & Digital Chameleon); 3. Angela Margolin (Writer: Mark Waid. Art by: Phil Jimenez; Tom McCraw; & Digital Chameleon); 4. The Folded Man (Writer: Mark Waid. Art by: Hilary Barta; Tom McCraw; & Digital Chameleon); 5. Replicant (Writer: Mark Waid. Art by: Hilary Barta; Tom McCraw; & Digital Chameleon); and 6. Sela Allen (Writer: Mark Waid. Art by: Humberto Ramos; Wayne Faucher; Tom McCraw; & Digital Chameleon).
Barry Allen’s iconic Flash ring is briefly explained in a single page. Writer/Artist: Eliot Brown, with assistance from colorist Tom McCraw and Digital Chameleon’s color separations.
This compilation concludes with Waid’s insightful two-page “Afterword,” reflecting upon his contributions to the Flash franchise.
BRIAN’S OOD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
