Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Will Robson, Matt Herms, Rob Leigh, and Taurin Clarke
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: May, 2023
Tragedy befalls the West family, which uncovers a mystery that will take our favorite red-headed hero beyond time and space as The Flash #798 by Jeremy Adams takes off! Mister Terrific joins Wally along with a few surprise guests to help him on a mission to save the Flash Family!
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THE DISPATCH
This whole story starts a bit… crazy.. to say the least. Wally’s baby is already here. Then, he’s not. Almost immediately, fans get an explosion, a flashback to Extant, Hourman, and some huge machine Mister Terrific is working on. My point is that we rush into Flash #798 head-first into the deep end with absolutely no swimmies. It’s kind of nuts, to be honest, and rather hard to follow. And frankly, the word “rushed” doesn’t do it, Justice. Being bombarded with characters and plot threads in conjunction to start a story is simply not a great way to kick off a comic. Plus, it felt like we were force-feeding angles with explanations due to time constraints. If that’s the case and Adams is trying to fit in elements to his story for one last hooray, then give him an extra issue or two. Or make his last couple of issues supersized. I think he’s earned that DC.
Additionally, the attempt at humor periodically in the Flash #798 was also not well timed. Wally is trying to track down his stolen newborn baby. Cracking comedic jokes or making a lighthearted issue out of the moment seems a bit out of touch for the moment. However, all would have been well managed if Adams just ended with the cliffhanger of Wally’s tag team partner… and that’s it! That would have been the only humor needed for this issue. But alas, the context is off. Plus, mixed with the speed of the story and the characters thrown at us too quickly to keep count, this story begins wildly too chaotic to keep track of everything involved which is disappointing seeing the characters and the moment Adams is trying to create.
ART
Readers, the art is all over the place. The multiple artists really hurt the Flash #798 and threw this reviewer out of the issue from page to page. It’s not even as if they’re in different time periods or moments. It’s almost as if it’s in mid-conversation or action sequence when the style and renderings switch. Plus, the styles are just so drastically different that it really impacts the flow of the narrative. Even over the fast-paced, jam-packed story from Adams, I would argue that the art hurt this opening issue so much more.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Flash #798 was busy in every sense of the word and comic. The multiple artists mixed with the incredibly fast pacing added this layer of confusion and chaos that made this issue a bit too hard to handle. Fans instantly jump in with a birth, a kidnapping, hypertime, and characters popping in from all over the place. Truthfully, chaotic doesn’t do this issue justice. Moreover, I feel like Adams himself was racing to get this story itself kicked off due to page count and issue constraints.
That could be why everyone dove into Flash #798 head-first. The expedited nature of this issue just made the story seem like it was being told directly to you instead of gradually uncovered through character interactions and discovery. Don’t get me wrong, I think there is certainly potential to be had in this story. However, the Flash #798 could have easily been separated into two, if not three issues and paced more effectively. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!