The Flash 23.3
Special “Villains Month” Title: The Rogues 1
Brian Buccellato, Patrick Zircher
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
The third Flash tie-in to Villains Month and Forever Evil gets half credit for one and one alone: The artwork of Patrick Zircher. He is, simply put, one of the best artists working in the industry right now. The script, on the other hand, is much like that of the regular series. I used to think maybe I just hated Barry Allen, but that’s not the case. Sure, I grew up with Wally West as Flash, but that argument is neither here nor there. After reading several Silver Age reprints and even the pre-Flashpoint Geoff Johns penned issues featuring Barry’s return to greatness, I’ve discovered two things: I don’t actually mind Barry Allen as the Flash, but I absolutely despise the writing of Brian Buccellato.
The Rogues issue was the one I was most looking forward to (hence my blind forgiveness of the crap that was both the Reverse-Flash and Gorilla Grodd issues). But, like I said, a poor script can do very little in terms of advancing a plot or even making me care at all about its characters. The Rogues used to be cool before the reboot. Sort of a D-list version of the Batman rogue’s gallery, if you will. But the fact that they actually worked together, rather than apart (for the most part, that is) was what made them interesting. But, like the first two years of the main Flash series, yet another issue has passed and absolutely nothing of merit has happened. Captain Cold makes a comment that they’re the best at what they do and they’ll rob you blind while you’re busy making fun of them for looking ridiculous and then he ends by saying that the city is theirs for the taking, the Society are idiots, and people are going to pay if they hurt his sister. So, essentially, this entire issue (much like the last three) serve only as a bridge between the regular (horrible) series and the upcoming (hopefully not horrible) tie-in miniseries.
The unbeatable art paired with a terrible story makes for a difficult read. Buy the regular cover, if you must. The fancy one’s not worth the extra dollar. And to be quite honest, unless you’re a huge Flash fan or a staunch Patrick Zircher supporter, there’s no reason to really get this issue at all. Which serves as a very disturbing reminder that I’ve been blindly supporting this series through 23 regular issues, two annuals, a zero issue, and now three villain-themed one-shots, one of which had good art but all of which had bad writing and very little story to make me reconsider my viewpoint on the reboot as going off without a hitch.
My Rating: 2.5/5
