DC Comics is in the driver’s seat for the first time years. DC is beating Marvel in the sales charts, putting out some of the best superhero comics of the 21st century (I know you’re used to hyperbole at times like this, but I legitimately believe we’ll look back on the ’20s as one of the better decades of the century for comics). There are lots of reasons for this – the quality of the books being the main one, obviously – but one everyone points to is the Absolute DC line. Absolute DC has been killing it, restarting the greatest heroes in comics in a new universe under the control of Darkseid. Absolute Batman sells like crazy and Absolute Wonder Woman gets all of the critical praise, but neither of them is the best Absolute book. In fact, the best of them is one that you’re probably not reading – Absolute Flash.
Absolute Flash came in the second run of Absolute books, debuting alongside Absolute Green Lantern and Absolute Martian Manhunter, from writer Jeff Lemire and Nick Roble, with WEBTOON superstar Haining acting as fill-in artist. It stars Wally West, the third Flash, as a teen. His father works for the military, doing top secret experiments for Elenore Thawne along with Barry Allen. An accident gives Wally super speed, leading to a book that has been wowing readers for almost two years now. Absolute DC gets a lot of praise, but Absolute Flash hasn’t gotten the attention of the other books. However, month in, month out, Absolute Flash has been a complete blast, paying off the promise of the Absolute Universe flawlessly.
There are numerous reasons for the success of Absolute DC. To begin with, it started the legends of DC Comics from the beginning. One of the big complaints of manga fans who want to read superhero comics is that it’s difficult to find a place to start. Everyone wants to read everything from the beginning and that’s just kind of asinine when it comes to the Big Two; there’s over 80 years of history. Absolute DC gave fans a new jumping point and it worked beautifully; there was a time when all of them were selling in the six-figure range, which is something.
The books’ central conceit is that this universe was based around Darkseid and not Superman, meaning that everything would have a little bit of a harder edge. So, in the normal universe, Wally West was a normal Midwestern kid. In the Absolute Universe, he was an army brat, his mother long dead, his father working on secret experiments to discover the secrets of the universe. The Flash is usually a fun superhero book, but Absolute Flash goes in another direction, adding in a heaping helping of sci-fi and cosmic horror to the book.
Lemire’s West is a sad, hyperactive youth with no friends when we meet him and it only goes on from there, as he loses his friend Barry and becomes a target for Thawne, who wants to know what he tapped into. She sends a new version of the Rogues, led by the DILFiest version of Captain Cold you can imagine, along with Captain Boomerang, Golden Glider, and the Trickster, to grab him. Instead of criminals, they’re soldiers working for Thawne, but they’re still teammates and friends with years of experience. Grodd is an alien telepathic primate that bonded with Wally. New versions of Heatwave and Mirror Master have showed up, with Reverse-Flash and Zoom both playing roles in the book.
Lemire does a great job of balancing teen hero on the run stories with the cosmic horror at the center of it. Elenore Thawne is obsessed with finding the Still Point, the place where her grandfather Eobard disappeared to, recruiting Allen, who had been working with a group of familiar scientists, including Ray Palmer, to plumb the secrets of their universe. The Still Point is basically the Absolute equivalent of the Speed Force, powering Wally and various other characters as well as playing an important role in the cosmology of the Absolute Universe. The writer has proven adroit at creating insane action set pieces, with Wally and the Rogues facing off against the fruits of the strangest science of all.
As cool as the big superhero stories are in the book, the ones that move the plot forward, it’s the quiet teen hero stuff that I think really helps the book shine. After escaping the military in the book’s first story arc, Lemire brought Wally to Central City, where he ended up in a halfway home ran by Ralph and Sue Dibney, meeting Linda Park. She’s basically become his sidekick in the book, pulled into his adventures, the two of them working together to survive the wildest situations ever. They have that manga slice of life/romance thing going on and it works so well for the book. Lemire is building two different stories here – the cosmic horror plot as well as just Wally as Central City’s hero. The book does both things beautifully and it shows that the Absolute creators are planning for their futures, when they just have to tell stories with these characters without revealing all the secrets of everything.
Robles and Haining have been handing off art duties. Robles set the visual standards for the Absolute Flash’s powers and has done a fantastic job of giving readers fluid, action-packed panels; Lemire’s massive action setpieces have allowed Robles to shine. Meanwhile, Haining’s manga-inspired art gives the book that WEBTOON feel that just works for this kind of teen hero finding themself sort of comic. The artistic consistency, along with Lemire’s character heavy storytelling, give the book the kind of indie comic feel that have helped the Absolute comics connect with new readers.
Lemire, Robles, and Haining are doing a fantastic job of taking the things we expect from Flash comics – the Speed Force, the Rogues, Wally and Linda, all of the classic characters – and using them in new ways. They could have just played it safe with the Speed Force and the story, but instead, the team keeps giving readers these old school ideas in ways they don’t expect. It’s a fantastic book and it deserves its flowers.
Absolute Flash has been a favorite of mine from the beginning. The book seemed like it was starting to slow down for a bit there after the opening story ended, but Lemire, Robles, and Haining were changing their pace, getting ready for more big sprints in the future. Wally and Linda are such great characters and watching their relationship unfold has been a lot of fun. Add in the unique directions that Lemire is taking the various Flash characters and you get a book that is never anything less than excellent.
Absolute Flash didn’t grab as much attention as Absolute Martian Manhunter did when it launched and honestly feels like the odd man out of the Absolute books, just off in its own little corner, doing its own thing. However, it’s found a way to mix cosmic horror and teen superhero hijinks beautifully. It’s a book that will consistently surprise you, constantly pulling further into its mysteries with every issue. This book is fantastic, sprinting past the front runners into first place while no one notices.
What do you think about Absolute Flash? Have you been digging its cosmic horror teen superhero vibe or is it not placing for you? Sound off in the comment section below.
