ABSOLUTE FLASH #8: the Life and Death of Barry Allen

Barry was a prestigious scientist at Princeton before being shut down and forced to teach at a second-rate college. That is, until Dr. Elenore Thawne showed up offering him the chance of a lifetime to restore his life’s work. A chance for the life and even death of Barry Allen to mean something once more.

Creative Team: Jeff Lemire (WRITER), Travis Moore (ART), Adriano Lucas (COLORS), Tom Napolitano (LETTERS), and Nick Robles (COVER)

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Story:

You never can trust a Thawne, and Jeff ensures to keep that legacy alive with this issue. We take a step into the past and show how Elenore approached Barry to continue her grandfather, Eobard Thawne’s work and his findings. Jeff does an incredible job building the intrigue as Barry and Eobard both find the mysterious red matter and portal to this other weird dimension that would have me wanting to step inside even.

We know what happens to Barry but, Lemire does just enough to make us curious as to whether we truly do or not in this issue. They are building to something larger on the horizon and this issue gives us essential details and even easter eggs to continue putting together the puzzle.

The Art and Letters:

Travis builds on this world and takes us inside this portal that has opened up, crafting lines that fill up the panels and splash pages without it feeling too overwhelming. He can create tension and intrigue as he details both Barry and Elenore’s faces during their discussions, to which Tom adds layers with his lettering.

As things become supercharged with their work, Adriano brings out the vibrant reds and flashes with the coloring that ties together these epic splash pages excellently. The artwork is beautiful in this issue and stands out vibrantly.

Overall Grade: 9.5/10

Absolute Flash #8 takes us down memory lane as we discover the beginnings of what Barry, Thawne, and West were all working on that changed Wally’s life forever. It adds much-needed details and clues about what is going on, as well as some familiar names, bringing the hype train to full speed ahead!

This has been a review by Matt from the weekly podcast Hops ‘Geek’ News. To find more reviews or their episodes, head over to http://linktr.ee/hopsgeeknews