ABSOLUTE FLASH #17: The Tricks of the Trade

The Rogues have come to take out Grodd leaving Wally caught between two friends. Can he convince them that Grodd is not the enemy while they fight to liberate the town from Grodd’s father’s control?

Creative Team: Jeff Lemire, Haining, Adriano Lucas, Tom Napolitano, and Nick Robles.

The Story:

Trickster may as well be public enemy number one after this issue and Lemire has brought depth to a character in the Rogues gallery that has never been a focal point in this way. This issue is heartbreaking and emotional as Wally and Grodd’s relationship is left hanging in the balance due to the Rogues involvement.

As far as setting up the villains and the future conflicts Jeff has done a great job at giving personal reasons as to why The Flash and these characters would begin to come to blows. It’s giving us a reason to care rather than having the Rogues simply being agents of chaos to a degree. There is still plenty of humor within this issue and we see how smitten Linda has become with Wally. Everyone insists on calling Grodd a monkey and the running joke has become correcting them which seems so trivial but, still that humor aspect works for me. The longer this run goes on the more in love I become with it and it’s a run that continues to get stronger and gain legs.

The Art:

I love how Haining and Lucas style Wally’s new found abilities. There are some new tricks that get shown off such as a ground pound attack where Wally punches the ground sends bolts, incapacitating anyone nearby. The way Haining sizes and details this scene mixed with Lucas’s colorwork make it feel like a big moment. There are more subtle details such as the softness to Linda’s face and the way her eyes show how she is falling more and more for Wally that tell so much through the artwork. When the art is able to tell as much of the story and when the team takes chances to extend moments beyond one panel, these things work extremely well and make the issue feel more alive.

Final Thoughts:

Absolute Flash #17 begins to draw lines amongst Wally and certain characters and setting up for future conflicts. His search for Thawne makes headway but at what cost exactly? The more this run goes the more I fall in love with it and see all of the possible future storylines being laid out without sacrificing the current moments.

Overall Grade: 9/10

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