Fast as Lightning

The Flash #231

Well, the last time we checked, we had a single issue of “All-Flash” and before that, 13 issues of “Flash: Fastest Man Alive.” What’s with the #231? Well, before they cancelled the series before that, something like two years ago, they were up to #230. So they’re starting where that series left off.

Of course, a lot has changed since then. Wally West and his family have spent an unspecified amount of time in the other-dimensional Speed Source, his kids have prematurely grown into their pre-teens, and his wife Linda has used her pre-med skills, with the help of an alien race, to set up a ton of scientific equipment and expertise.

Anyway, the twins, Iris and Jai, have powers of their own — Iris can turn insubstantial by vibrating her molecules at superspeed, and Jai can “temporarily superaccelerate the myofibrillar hypertrophism” in his muscles — in other words, he can get superstrong, but only for a few minutes at a time. And the whole family is investigating a mysterious ferry accident that seems mundane until some fairly creepy monsters make their appearance.

Verdict: Thumbs up. I was expecting to be happy with Mark Waid’s story, but Daniel Acuna’s art is a pleasant surprise. I was really worried it would be too dark, but so far, he’s able to get the proper style of light humor and drama that a mainstream comic like “The Flash” requires. Of course, this level of detail usually means the artist will have to take a few breaks, so we should expect some fill-in artists over the next few months, too.

MODOK’s 11 #2

Last issue, we were given the basic skinny: MODOK, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, wanted a bunch of low-rent supervillains to rob an alien super-fortress for him. This issue, we get to see the bad guys train (and mostly fail), the much-too-overconfident Mentallo goes snooping around in the other villains’ brains, and the Chameleon reveals some unexpected secrets. And what’s MODOK really up to? You can bet it’s nothing good…

Verdict: Thumbs up. So far, we’ve got a perfect heist caper. A devious plan, a bunch of expert operatives, and a few twists, betrayals, and surprises. I hope the rest of the series can keep up with the first two issues.

B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground #1

The B.P.R.D. — the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense from the “Hellboy” comics — is back with another miniseries. We see some new changes to the team. Johann Kraus, previously just a spirit confined to a diving suit, has acquired a new body — one of the manufactured superhuman bodies that the B.P.R.D. acquired in their last adventure. Ben Daimio finds himself frustrated by his coworkers’ mistrust of his grandmother’s Nazi past. Liz Sherman is seeing more and more disturbing visions of the future. Meanwhile, an unknown enemy has gotten access to many of the Bureau’s codes and secrets, Panya the mummy takes up residence in the B.P.R.D., and a savage wendigo captured by Hellboy years ago is brought to the Bureau’s containment facility.

Verdict: Thumbs up. I always expect good things from the B.P.R.D. comics. We’re just getting re-introduced to everyone now — Johann Kraus’ reaction to having a body after so many years is pretty amusing — he now spends all his time eating and chasing women. And Ben Daimio’s reaction to everyone’s suspicions is also good. They say things are gonna start going nuts next issue, so hold on tight.