Let’s Get Up To Speed — Reviewing ‘Absolute Flash’ #1

Running as fast as you can doesn’t actually mean being able to outrun any of life’s problems, issues, or tragedies. Not even for the fastest man alive.

DC Comics’ latest experiment at modernizing their classic characters continues, with Absolute Flash #1. This bold opening salvo comes from Jeff Lemire, Nick Robles, Adriano Lucas, and Tom Napolitano.

Like many people in my comic book-reading millennial age range, Wally West is my Flash.

I didn’t grow up reading DC Comics. I was very much a Marvel (X-Men & Spider-Man) and TMNT kid when I could find comics. The random ones on the newsstand at stores (Ah, those were the days) or sneaking into my parents room to read my mom’s X-Men collection. Yes, I was such a comic nerd I had to sneak into my parent’s room was to read comics. A real wild child here.

Anyway, my exposure to DC was mostly through watching Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Beyond repeatedly, any chance I could. Comics came a bit later when I was able to read collections of 1990s Green Lantern through the library as well as the Grant Morrison era of JLA. Eventually that turned into watching Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, of course, where Wally featured.

So naturally, Wally and Kyle were my Flash and Green Lantern respectively. Barry Allen, while interesting, bores me greatly. Same with Hal Jordan. It was these guys that stood out.

While I’ve not been up on a lot of Flash comics happenings for the past few years, this series was a must-read the moment I heard about it. It helps that, so far, the Absolute DC line has been pretty much full of bangers, as the kids say (Do they still say that?).

Everyone here is creating their ass off.

Robles took already amazing art and kicked it up like twenty notches for this series. I’ve loved Robles’ artwork in the past and this feels like an evolution, taking what was already amazing and grand to some new unexpected level. Everything has such distinct weight, depth, and detail in every single panel. What little we get of Wally and the speed moments (as the present day framing story) is so unique.

All the speed (maybe not Speed Force) moments with their twisted lines, bright spots, and overall trippy nature feel fresh, giving everything such a dynamic and bold feeling. Each paneling choice allows us to really feel the gravity of the situation. This keeps us mostly down in the actual space where the characters are residing. Before blasting us out further when necessary to really showcase how vast and world truly can be.

Noticing more and more what colorists bring to the table is something I’m very happy began when I started on the review circuit years ago. It means I am now able to really admire and love what Lucas does across multiple books, becoming one of my favorite colorists.

I’ve reviewed his work across Nightwing, Titans, Birds Of Prey, Justice League: The Atom Project and now Absolute Flash. None of the work is the same. Yes, there are the small stylistic things that point to one person’s style, but the overall palette choices are diverse. They vary, depending on what the given series needs in the moment.

Here things are very otherworldly vivid at times, building on the science-fiction aspects splendidly. All around it are colors of a more toned-down variety, used to create the foundational aspects of the world, those which we see all the time. Buildings, rooms, and spaces that are naturally going to be far more mundane to our eyes. All of the speed moments, the costumes, the technology, and other elements are where the bolder colors can play.

There was only one time I recall ever seeing Captain Cold and thinking “That’s an attractive man.” That was when he was played by Wentworth Miller in The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow for the Arrowverse. Now this series marks a second time. Because … hot damn. Robles has the Rogues over here looking like they walked off the model runway and I’m very much down for this.

We learn little about who these people are (other than us knowing who they are as legacy characters) in world context, but that’s okay. Lemire is slowly building this world and story with enough bread crumbs to keep the interest piqued. The way that this script allows and encourages Robles to go all out most assuredly helps.

Wally as a teenager is not a new thing, naturally, but him being the solo Flash at such a position opens some intriguing avenues. As does the fact that Lemire is playing with the idea that his speed abilities are tangled up with what seems to be anxiety. An issue that already makes your thoughts and brain run away from you mixed with speed powers is wild. As someone that deals with anxiety, sounds like a terrible position to be in, which makes for more dramatic and diverse storytelling.

Zipping back and forth (figuratively) between time periods is also not a new story structure. Normally it’s one that I find to be tiresome at times, while engaging at others. Like most storytelling format tools, it has its pros and cons, those becoming far too clear in most cases. In this case, the way it’s used makes sense and adds to the confusion and fear that Wally is already feeling.

I enjoyed the ways that Lemire and Robles seeded in familiar Flash elements (villains, spaces, people) without the requisite Leo DiCaprio pointing at the screen level attention. Sprinkling in these various elements without even mentioning them leaves eagle-eyed audience members to spot them and wonder if and how they’ll play into things.

I always love seeing Napolitano on lettering. After really marveling at his work first back in Catwoman years ago, there is just always something intriguing on display. A book like this really lets a creative mind like that expand and find ways to play with the lettering and SFX in bolder grander ways. Colorful, electrifying, and dynamic to behold, yet still capturing the right volume, tone, and emotional resonance with every single letter that hits the page.

Speedy almost blurred effects to the caption boxes, which stack on top of one another as the thoughts race into being, was a beyond solid touch. As was the red and yellow, natural, color combination, and how they move across the page. It fits not only the character, but the way that anxiety is being played with in the series, as noted above.

Absolute Flash #1 is now available from DC Comics.