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A review by caterpie_reading
The Flash, Vol. 2: The Road to Flashpoint by Geoff Johns
4.0
Actual rating: 4.5/5 stars
This was such a fast paced, quick read with great characters and a good, interesting plot that drives the over all story continually forward. I really enjoyed reading this volume.
Just like his predecessor, The Flash Vol. 2: Road to Flashpoint has an interesting and strong plot all the way from the beginning to the end. Geoff Johns just knows how to pace stories the right way. His writing is excellent, as always.
Other than that, I loved the beginning and that we got to see Thawne’s origin/background a little bit more. It was so gripping seeing all his evilness and all his motivations and how he came to be the man he is today. It just captures his character perfectly and gives him even more the feeling of a psychopath. Seeing his future – self traveling back in time and correcting everything Thawne doesn’t want to bother with: his brother, his parents, the professor at the Flash museum and maybe the creepiest thing, his love interest, was extremely fascinating to read about. His is definitely one of my favorite Flash villains, even though I have not seen much of him yet, but his concept, for some reason, is just interesting to me. Also, I loved the element of the additional powers that the (negative) speed force can give a speedster and that Thawne is ruthless enough to use them for his own gain.
Apart from that, I really liked the focus on Barry’s character, on how he acts and feels after seeing his mother in the broken mirror of the Rogues. Him being closed off, not letting anybody in – Barry’s development, his characterization in general is fantastically written and completely in character. Everything that happens in this story is just one more step towards his breaking point and as much as I love my Barry, I absolutely enjoyed reading this character journey.
Moreover, I adored the scenes with his speedster family, their interactions and how they care for each other always touches my heart. So this aspect of the story was a major plus for me. I especially loved Bart in this volume, it was so heartbreaking to see him feeling rejected from Barry, to whom he looks up to the most. Patty was also a good element in the story, it was nice to see someone else, apart from the speedster family, that is important to Barry. I really enjoyed the dynamic and the conversations between them.
In general, all the characters were on point in this volume.
Hot Persuit was a great, interesting addition to the plot and brought freshness into the story. I liked the idea that there was someone who was actually foreseeing that something drastic is going to happen and is trying to change it all, but sadly, fails. But still, the idea of another player from a parallel universe is something I really enjoyed. The Reverse Flash stealing years from people and altering his own age was such a cool concept as well.
Hot pursuit falsely targeting Bart as the chronal anomaly and later the final fight was a greatly executed climax. I was reading the panels and flipping those pages so eagerly, because I wanted to know how the story would end, that’s how thrilling it was. And it did end in a way that made me so excited for Flashpoint. I mean, after seeing Zoom using his new powers and a red lighting streak shooting across the sky, I can’t understand how anyone could not be excited. Everything that happened in this volume made me so pumped for what’s coming , I can’t wait to dive into it.
Furthermore, Manapul’s art is stunning as always. His depiction of actions scenes, of facial expressions – of characters in general is just so vivid and beautiful to look at. This is how I want every art style to look, it is just perfect. Kolins’ art on the other hand was what made me take off 0,5 stars. In the first issue I didn’t mind it at all, I even think that it is quite fitting for the story that was told with Thawnes background and all. In general though, his illustrations were more plump and sometimes quite disorientating. Characters and facial expressions just looked weird and not well proportioned. And sadly, it took a little bit away from the story, which bugs me, because the writing was still excellent.
But overall, I had nothing majorly bad to say about this volume. I really, really enjoyed it.
This was such a fast paced, quick read with great characters and a good, interesting plot that drives the over all story continually forward. I really enjoyed reading this volume.
Just like his predecessor, The Flash Vol. 2: Road to Flashpoint has an interesting and strong plot all the way from the beginning to the end. Geoff Johns just knows how to pace stories the right way. His writing is excellent, as always.
Other than that, I loved the beginning and that we got to see Thawne’s origin/background a little bit more. It was so gripping seeing all his evilness and all his motivations and how he came to be the man he is today. It just captures his character perfectly and gives him even more the feeling of a psychopath. Seeing his future – self traveling back in time and correcting everything Thawne doesn’t want to bother with: his brother, his parents, the professor at the Flash museum and maybe the creepiest thing, his love interest, was extremely fascinating to read about. His is definitely one of my favorite Flash villains, even though I have not seen much of him yet, but his concept, for some reason, is just interesting to me. Also, I loved the element of the additional powers that the (negative) speed force can give a speedster and that Thawne is ruthless enough to use them for his own gain.
Apart from that, I really liked the focus on Barry’s character, on how he acts and feels after seeing his mother in the broken mirror of the Rogues. Him being closed off, not letting anybody in – Barry’s development, his characterization in general is fantastically written and completely in character. Everything that happens in this story is just one more step towards his breaking point and as much as I love my Barry, I absolutely enjoyed reading this character journey.
Moreover, I adored the scenes with his speedster family, their interactions and how they care for each other always touches my heart. So this aspect of the story was a major plus for me. I especially loved Bart in this volume, it was so heartbreaking to see him feeling rejected from Barry, to whom he looks up to the most. Patty was also a good element in the story, it was nice to see someone else, apart from the speedster family, that is important to Barry. I really enjoyed the dynamic and the conversations between them.
In general, all the characters were on point in this volume.
Hot Persuit was a great, interesting addition to the plot and brought freshness into the story. I liked the idea that there was someone who was actually foreseeing that something drastic is going to happen and is trying to change it all, but sadly, fails. But still, the idea of another player from a parallel universe is something I really enjoyed. The Reverse Flash stealing years from people and altering his own age was such a cool concept as well.
Hot pursuit falsely targeting Bart as the chronal anomaly and later the final fight was a greatly executed climax. I was reading the panels and flipping those pages so eagerly, because I wanted to know how the story would end, that’s how thrilling it was. And it did end in a way that made me so excited for Flashpoint. I mean, after seeing Zoom using his new powers and a red lighting streak shooting across the sky, I can’t understand how anyone could not be excited. Everything that happened in this volume made me so pumped for what’s coming , I can’t wait to dive into it.
Furthermore, Manapul’s art is stunning as always. His depiction of actions scenes, of facial expressions – of characters in general is just so vivid and beautiful to look at. This is how I want every art style to look, it is just perfect. Kolins’ art on the other hand was what made me take off 0,5 stars. In the first issue I didn’t mind it at all, I even think that it is quite fitting for the story that was told with Thawnes background and all. In general though, his illustrations were more plump and sometimes quite disorientating. Characters and facial expressions just looked weird and not well proportioned. And sadly, it took a little bit away from the story, which bugs me, because the writing was still excellent.
But overall, I had nothing majorly bad to say about this volume. I really, really enjoyed it.