Can't believe I'm saying this. . but I think I just dropped "the Flash" from my list [Archive]

bert

12-30-2005, 05:10 PM

Sure, I was disappointed when Waid left, and I was disappointed when Johns left (his run, is easily my favorite run so far ever on the title. . .Johns' "villian spotlight" issues (particularly Capt. Cold) are brilliant).

I dispised the fill in issue -- Flash on a mountain?. . what the hell ?. . . . even the usually great Steve Liightle's artwork looked rushed.

but hoped that once the regular team came on, I'd enjoy it.

Ok. . so I have been pretty far behind on my reading, and I took today to play catch up (last few issues of Action, Supergirl, New Avengers, etc. . and the last 3 issues of the Flash).

These are just terrible! I'm shocked, since I had been expecting great things, but I'm finding the characterization to be "off"

the artwork, while a pleasant nod to Infantino (loved the Col. Computron statue in the Flash museum), is getting strangled by the writing. 4 parts to the current arc?. . goodness, I had already lost interest by the end of part 2, even WITH the big reveal of the villian being Vandal Savage (not a spoiler, since he's on the cover of the issue that shipped this week).

Am I the only one not enjoying this?. . I'm not seeing much discussion about Flash any more these days.

Please, if you are enjoying the current story, tell me what I am missing. . .cause I just am NOT getting it (and how does Linda all of a sudden know that Vandal Savage is running the church?).

I want to like the book. . . if you are enjoying it, please let me know!

I want to stick with it, but I feel like I'm wasting money. What am I missing?

bert

Chiasm

12-30-2005, 05:12 PM

Thinking of dropping it too for similar reasons but I'll probably wait til after the year jump to see whats going. Right now everything is filler leading up to that.

Adem

12-30-2005, 05:24 PM

The series will be cancelled soon just stick with it until then I think its January.

mohammedali

12-30-2005, 06:00 PM

Yeah, the series is ending and I think that's the reason for the poor quality. Batgirl and Gotham Knights are suffering a similar fate with poorly thought out, poorly executed issues. If you've been collecting Flash, it makes sense to keep reading to the end. I don't think there will be a OYL though.

Mohammed Ali

EZMOHR

12-30-2005, 06:27 PM

Next to Uncanny X-Men when I was 5 years old, the second title I ever collected was The Flash. THis arc has sucked, but just think about this....we will get good Flash stories again real soon, when they relaunch the book. We will, right?

The Wayner

12-30-2005, 08:39 PM

I'm holding out until the final issue to complete a full-run... haven't been too disappointed with the recent storyline, but it's nothing too great.

Captain Jim

12-30-2005, 09:36 PM

Actually, I dropped Flash after Johns' last issue. Then, a couple of weeks ago, when I heard it was about to end, I went out and bought the issues I'd missed (with the exception of the fill-in issue). Figured I should see how this run ends, whether it's good or bad.

BruceWayneSA

12-30-2005, 09:55 PM

Ditto here. Not particularly impressed with the last few issues, but hanging in there til the series ends. Then I'll make a judgement call on the new series. Might really be interested in Barry makes a comeback.

(In fact the mountain issue was so bad, I couldn't even read it.)

Unbreakable

12-30-2005, 09:58 PM

If the Flash is anybody other than Wally West, it's not worth reading.

Captain Jim

12-30-2005, 10:02 PM

I wouldn't go that far. Although, personally, I'm hoping that the rumor that Kid Flash (Impulse) becomes the new Flash doesn't pan out.

Unbreakable

12-30-2005, 10:05 PM

I wouldn't go that far. Although, personally, I'm hoping that the rumor that Kid Flash (Impulse) becomes the new Flash doesn't pan out.

Why not? Barry is such a total bore, that he even makes Hal Jordan look exciting. And Bart is not much better. Wally is the only Flash that is even remotely interesting.

bert

12-30-2005, 10:07 PM

yeah, that fill in was just atrociously bad. . .

but I just can't understand why the last three issues have been so un-involving.

I really WANT to like it, I'm just not getting into the story. . . .maybe it's just that the idea of a religious organization giving people super-powers is just so assanine that I can't buy it (nevermind that it's run by Vandal Savage).

:(

I'm sad, because I love the flash book.

Justin D.

12-30-2005, 10:10 PM

It's mainly the badly written dialogue that's killing this book. For the most part, it's poorly constructed. Although, I did like the bit with Jay taunting Vandal Savage, but the part later on with the beyond stupid minions of Savage letting loose the Flashes is just so damn poorly done. Also, I don't even understand the story as it's played out so far. Where did the Summoner come from? How did Savage know about it, but Wally didn't? How the hell did Savage give powers to those other people? Plus, it seems like the book ended right in the middle of the issue. I don't mean the issue ended on a cliffhanger, but that it felt like it had a purposelessly abrupt ending. There was little bulid-up to it. I've liked Val Semekis' art before, but it comes off as uneven here. Feels rushed. I, for one, am not disappointed it's ending and am ready for whoever the new team might be.

Captain Jim

12-30-2005, 10:12 PM

Why not? Barry is such a total bore, that he even makes Hal Jordan look exciting. And Bart is not much better. Wally is the only Flash that is even remotely interesting.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not hoping that Barry will come back either. But I think Barry had a lot of unused potential. For example, I think the short-lived TV series from a few years back was great. The old "there are no bad characters; just bad handling of characters" thing.

Since he's dead, I'd like him to stay dead. (I said the same thing about Jason Todd.) But if he's brought back and handled well, it wouldn't be unbearable. (My opinion on Todd once again.)

And I'm not down on Bart, but I think he's too young and hasn't even been Kid Flash all that long.

Calamas

12-30-2005, 11:24 PM

Well, I have always liked Barry. In fact, his Flash is my all-time favorite comic character. And I want him to stay dead too. As I’ve said before: He lived a hero’s life and died a hero’s death. Let him rest in peace.

Calamas

12-30-2005, 11:26 PM

As for the current state of the title, it’s about what I expected when it was announced that Joey Cavalieri would be writing it. He and Paul Kupperberg are my least favorite DC writers of all time. But at least Kupperberg could be good when he stepped away from superheroes (Arion and Checkmate). I can’t recall ever liking anything from Cavalieri. I tried his first issue anyway, was promptly bored to death for my trouble, and quickly got out.

I think this is a trend prompted by the success Stuart Moore--a former Vertigo editor--is having on Firestorm: editors deciding to take any opportunity to write a comic. Peter Tomasi did the Outsiders two-part fill-in and when Darwyn Cooke dropped out of the Flash, Cavalieri gave himself the assignment. Of course both stories were edited by someone else, as I believe that is still DC’s policy. But still . . .

OTOH, if you’ve come this far you might as well see it through. The ending might be worth it. That’s what I did with “Disassembled.” Behind in my reading I had already paid for most of it before I discovered what it was about. Up to date I never would have gone past two issues, but there was little point stopping with one to go. But that’s an individual thing. Only you can--and should--decide how to spend your money.

tony2074

12-31-2005, 06:32 AM

i really do hope that wally remains flash. i mean we've just had a new status quo put in place, one that if used well could lead to a few very good tales. theres not many superheroes out there with kids and a wife, let alone twins! lets see that used well.
current arc-bored to death, but ive been collecting flash for 5 years and i need to see it through.

BruceWayneSA

12-31-2005, 12:36 PM

Nothing against Wally, but I would have a preference for Barry under the right circumstances. Aside from the nostaligic perspective, of growing up with Barry Allen as Flash, his alter ego is a police scientist. In an era where DNA has such a high profile in the field of science, this could have the potential of being an interesting series. However, I understand that this might be a little too much to ask of a comic book writer.

Captain Jim

12-31-2005, 07:10 PM

BruceWayneSA

12-31-2005, 08:56 PM

The police scientist thing has all sorts of potential for interesting stories, but in the past DC never took advantage of it. Not to sound like a broken record, but that's one of the things I liked about the Flash TV series--I think they made great use of it there.

Yes, I can't recall anyone making interesting use of that aspect of Barry in the first 125 issues or so, of the silver age run (that was my exit point), but with TV exposure nowadays to forensics (Court TV etc.) plus all the science channels & magazines, we have a lot more common knowledge, and interest, in these sorts of topics.

As for the Flash TV series, it never fit my schedule at the time, so I never did catch much of it.

Patriot07

12-31-2005, 10:11 PM

Why not? Barry is such a total bore, that he even makes Hal Jordan look exciting. And Bart is not much better. Wally is the only Flash that is even remotely interesting.

I like all the Speedsters. Barry is a really strong character and he has the distinction of having the best death in all of comics. Also, I really like Jay. He's just a really awesome character.

Guts/Batman

01-01-2006, 01:45 AM

I picked up Flash #226 but didn't bother reading it....

Still trying to figure out how the hell Vandal Savage got the Summoner out of the vault...

The Wayner

01-01-2006, 08:29 AM

As for the Flash TV series, it never fit my schedule at the time, so I never did catch much of it.

You can rectify that next month when it arrives on DVD! ;)

Gingold

01-01-2006, 09:02 AM

The last few issues have been dreadful. I think DC would've been better cancelling both Flash and JLA at the conclusion of Geoff Johns's stories this summer, rather than ending two of their flagship titles with such mediocrity. Will anything significant happen in either of these two titles in the coming months? I doubt it. Any important changes are going to happen in the pages of Infinite Crisis. What a waste.

Jared_Humpherys

01-01-2006, 09:21 AM

Yeah...I dropped Flash shortly after Johns left. I've read the recent three in the store, and they were pretty darn bad. Which is a darn shame, as Flash has been one of the most consistently good titles in my book(Morrison/Millar, and especially Waid and Johns).

I'm hoping the rumors of Waid returning to the pages of Flash are true. That's pretty much the only thing that can save it now in my book.

Paradox

01-02-2006, 12:53 AM

I'm sort of in the same boat with JLA although I'm used to hopping on and off with this book depending on personnel. Bob Harras??? Who thought THAT was a good idea? The work he's doing is just proving them wrong. Not that Harras is AWFUL, just mediocre and blah. Only reason I'm hanging on to it is the whole IC connection, and so much is being explained there (probably being spoonfed to Harras from the IC "commitee").

Gentlegamer

01-02-2006, 01:11 AM

As a Flash fan, I'm grinding my teeth through this last arc before the reboot. I intended to drop it after Johns left, but I just can't!

The Shadow

01-02-2006, 01:17 AM

I dropped it with John's last issue

Shem the Penman

01-02-2006, 09:15 AM

I guess I'm going to stick it out. I wasn't as wowed by Johns's run as others -- and I was willing to give Cavalieri a chance -- but the last few issues have been terrible. They'll probably be quickly forgotten once the new team takes over, though.

titanfan

01-02-2006, 11:05 AM

I did like the bit with Jay taunting Vandal Savage, but the part later on with the beyond stupid minions of Savage letting loose the Flashes is just so damn poorly done.

It was very Silver Age'ish in terms of villain incompetence. You'd think Vandal Savage would hire more intelligent employees.

I agree the book has been terrible the past few months. Since it is being cancelled, just one of the books I'm buying to be a completist at this point. I liked the idea behind the Mountain Story, just that it was written at a very odd pace.

noh-varr

01-02-2006, 02:48 PM

I'm just curious, why does everyone want the complete run? You all agree the story sucks, so why keep picking it up? Not wanting to incite anything but I'm very curious is all.

BruceWayneSA

01-02-2006, 03:12 PM

I'm just curious, why does everyone want the complete run? You all agree the story sucks, so why keep picking it up? Not wanting to incite anything but I'm very curious is all.

I only have the last couple dozen issues. Knowing that the series will end, I have enough interest in the book to follow it through to the end, especially knowing that there will likely be some sort of key moment in the last issue or two.

Certainly, if I had all 200+ issues to date, I wouldn't even think about dropping it at this point, with only 3 or 4 issues to go.

AceOfSpades

01-02-2006, 05:52 PM

This last arc has been bad... With him just having twins you'd think there would be a much better arc waiting for us, or at least an issue dealing with being a dad. But NOOOOO we get this arc that has confused the hell out of me instead.

Guts/Batman

01-02-2006, 05:56 PM

I'm just curious, why does everyone want the complete run? You all agree the story sucks, so why keep picking it up? Not wanting to incite anything but I'm very curious is all.

Well if you are a collecter who has been around since the reboot of the series, having the "first" copy of all 230 comics would seem to me to be much easier to sell because you have all 230, so that the buyer doesn't have to search for issu 178 or 227 or something like that.

noh-varr

01-02-2006, 07:30 PM

Guts/Batman

01-02-2006, 07:33 PM

I'm still on board because of my loyalty to the character. I follow the character not the writer.

Though I am certainly thinking of changing my policy on that with certain writers on certain DC books.

Captain Jim

01-02-2006, 07:50 PM

Guts/Batman

01-02-2006, 07:53 PM

As am I. I'm interested to see the end. I am a continuity freak so I have a continuity (aka timeline) interest in it.

bert

01-02-2006, 07:54 PM

Okay forget the complete run part (mostly cuz I see if I have #1-now I would finish it too), I'm more wondering why follow it still if your not liking it? There have been a lot of posts on here saying essentialy, "I don't like this story right now, but it's ending soon so I'll buy it til it ends". I understand character loyalty (there are characters that I will check out whenever they pop up) but buying something you don't like cuz it's ending soon is what I don't get. Again not trying to start anything or be insultive, I'm wanting honest answers and this is out of my own curiosity.

Well. . I dunno if I'm the one you wanted an answer from (since I'm the thread starter, and I *did* drop the book just a few issues shy of the end -- and I've been buying the book since well before the reboot at #1 w/ Wally).

I think people continue to buy it because they are hoping it will get better.

after 4 bad issues in a row, I finally thru in the towel. But I can understand why some folks hang in there. . I mean, I stuck with it during the incredibly drawn-out (and mostly horrid) "Trial of Barry Allen" at the tail end of the previous Flash series. . . .

for me, the current writing is just so awful, that I can't see wasting my money any more. But I'll certainly be there for the restart.

but, as I said, I think many who keep buying, do so because they love the character, and really WANT it to be better. . and just keep buying in hopes that it will.

just my take on it

Guts/Batman

01-02-2006, 07:56 PM

I think people continue to buy it because they are hoping it will get better.

That's definitely part of it as well.

Captain Jim

01-02-2006, 08:11 PM

Good ol' Guts; he agrees with everybody. ;)

noh-varr

01-02-2006, 08:15 PM

Okay, another question. If your hoping for great things from the Flash OYL, why spend money on the thing many are calling crap? Does that maybe send the signal to DC that they can have a lackluster Flash product and still have it bought? I'm all for the Flash, have loved many of his comics (loved Waid's run didn't get into Johns sadly), but I want a great story with my Flash comic.

Guts/Batman

01-02-2006, 08:19 PM

Good ol' Guts; he agrees with everybody. ;)

Heh.

I try my best. ;)

I can't nail it down to one reason. It's almost impossible, ya know? :D

BruceWayneSA

01-02-2006, 08:50 PM

Does that maybe send the signal to DC that they can have a lackluster Flash product and still have it bought?

I think both DC and Marvel think that a title can support a few bad issues, if it has a good history. I don't think either Flash or JLA (dropped that one) are particularly strong right now, but Wonder Woman is keeping my interest.