Saturday, April 9, 2016

The Flash, Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution by Francis Manapul


Rating: ★ 1/2

After reading this 2nd volume I have to admit that the storyline has excel considerably compare to the first book in the series but I have to admit that the writers are negligent when it comes to providing background information when it comes to certain characters and their conflicted issues with the Flash. I am an amateur when it comes to superheroes comics and I am not going to invest countless hours trying to study every single character and their origin story and that issue can be fixed efficiently with only a few pages of backstory in the comics.

I am delighted that we finally get to learn about Barry Allen's past specifically when it comes to his parents and how his mother got killed (Even though I know this already thanks to the television show) but we still are left out of the loop when it comes to villains like Captain Cold, Heatwave, Captain Glider and others. 

Periodically when it comes to comics, these issues get answered later or not at all but between the artwork and the action scenes, these questions often get put aside and in this book this issue is transparent. I do not know why we have this elephant in the room but I hope the issue gets fixed because when the creators/writers do not provide the essential details it comes across that they don't care about the readers and it ruins the experience of reading our favorite heroes.

Now back to the story... The Flash discovered the speed force and trapped inside this vortex is a man named Turbine who appears to be causing the raucous of ripping the fabric of time whenever Flash reaches high levels of the speed force. Turbine wants to escape and thanks to the Flash he has found his escape and both him and Flash get sucked back into Earth except Flash meets a civilization of sophisticated gorillas who has a new leader called Grodd. Apparently this source of lightening has been trying to find an individual who can use these powers effectively and throughout civilizations every time this flash of electricity has shined on a certain tribe it either flourished for a certain period of time or wreaks havoc because they cannot handle this power.

Before Barry Allen received his powers, this group of Gorillas got shot by lightening and the aftermath of this incident has lead these Gorillas to become intelligent beings who the likes have never been seen by humans and they realized that Barry is the messenger that their time on Earth has ended since they have become a savage society under their ruler and Grodd cannot accept and wants to kill the Flash.

The other storyline that develops is these groups of villains known as Rogues are now taking advantage and causing chaos in the city which the Flash needs to take care of asap. I admire tremendously the amount of handwork these illustrators put into the graphics and making the story believable with a superhero who runs at the speed of light and they make the effort look smooth. I have absolute no clue what is the direction this comic is heading but I have faith that the storyline will improve the further we venture along in the series. I would recommend this graphic novel to those who love the television series and need their daily dose of Barry Allen.

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