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A review by emily_m_green
The Flash, Vol. 6: Out of Time by Robert Venditti, Van Jensen, Brett Booth
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Multnomah County Library for making Flash: Volume 6 Out of Time by Robert Venditti, Van Jensen, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhousie free and readily available to the public.
In Flash: Out of Time Barry is discovering that there is a tear in the speed force. In the structure of the volume, the story moves back and forth between present Barry and future Barry. Present Barry is dealing with a cleanup of the city after a crime spree left the city significantly damaged. Future Barry is correcting the consequences of the tear in the speed force: all of the rescues that he did not quite make because he lost time when he used his super speed. The stories move to a larger question: what will happen when present Barry meets future Barry?
Amidst all the superhero stuff, Barry also has real life drama: being under appreciated at work, a case that is not just more than it seems but will also ruffle feathers, an angry partner who comes last in the allocation of time, and a boy who needs a positive role model. With all of the different pulls on Barry’s time and attention, he cannot keep up the pace.
The comic is written so that Barry is a sympathetic character, a guy who is doing his best. The peripheral characters are not round and exist only to fill out the rest of Barry’s existence.
Overall, entertaining, but mostly I feel for Patty, the long-suffering partner who gets the scraps of Barry’s time and attention. If I could speak to her, I would tell her to run away from her neglectful partner and take care of himself. He might have a lot going on, too much to be a decent partner, but if he doesn’t have time for a partner, he shouldn’t have a partner.
Would I teach this book? Being that it comes in the middle of a series (this is volume 6), it is unlikely. However, if I did teach it, Out of Time could be used to discuss managing multiple timelines, making superheroes human, and depiction of women and underrepresented groups. It is clear that an effort is being made to show better representation, but simple representation is not enough, it also matters how they are represented—what kinds of characters are BIPOC? What roles do they play? Are they round or flat characters? If they are stereotypes or basically cardboard cutouts, it is not much progress.
In Flash: Out of Time Barry is discovering that there is a tear in the speed force. In the structure of the volume, the story moves back and forth between present Barry and future Barry. Present Barry is dealing with a cleanup of the city after a crime spree left the city significantly damaged. Future Barry is correcting the consequences of the tear in the speed force: all of the rescues that he did not quite make because he lost time when he used his super speed. The stories move to a larger question: what will happen when present Barry meets future Barry?
Amidst all the superhero stuff, Barry also has real life drama: being under appreciated at work, a case that is not just more than it seems but will also ruffle feathers, an angry partner who comes last in the allocation of time, and a boy who needs a positive role model. With all of the different pulls on Barry’s time and attention, he cannot keep up the pace.
The comic is written so that Barry is a sympathetic character, a guy who is doing his best. The peripheral characters are not round and exist only to fill out the rest of Barry’s existence.
Overall, entertaining, but mostly I feel for Patty, the long-suffering partner who gets the scraps of Barry’s time and attention. If I could speak to her, I would tell her to run away from her neglectful partner and take care of himself. He might have a lot going on, too much to be a decent partner, but if he doesn’t have time for a partner, he shouldn’t have a partner.
Would I teach this book? Being that it comes in the middle of a series (this is volume 6), it is unlikely. However, if I did teach it, Out of Time could be used to discuss managing multiple timelines, making superheroes human, and depiction of women and underrepresented groups. It is clear that an effort is being made to show better representation, but simple representation is not enough, it also matters how they are represented—what kinds of characters are BIPOC? What roles do they play? Are they round or flat characters? If they are stereotypes or basically cardboard cutouts, it is not much progress.