There’s just something fun about Absolute Flash #15. While the other titles in the line, for the most part, are incredibly serious affairs where you’re waiting for bad to get worse, there’s a lightness and a brightness with Wally West. At times it feels like a sci-fi horror book, and others it feels like an episode of Dawson’s Creek, but all the time it feels entertaining and satisfying to see an Absolute Book where things might turn out okay.
A lot happens in this issue, and it’s juggled well by writer Jeff Lemire. Wally has a lot on his plate as he’s trying to find a way back to Still Point to save his father, and the more people he meets, the higher the expectations he places on himself. It almost feels like a bit of the ol’ Parker Luck is rubbing off on Wally, and it always works to make him a more endearing character. One you feel really bad for when things don’t break his way.
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And things do not break his way, because as light as the title feels at times, it’s absolutely (no pun intended) a book in a universe where Darkseid rests in every atom. Just as quickly as Wally began to build a support system around himself after losing his father, it’s shoved to the side so he can bear the weight of the world again.
After a quick two parter dealing with Mirror Master (in issues #13 and #14), it’s nice seeing the Rogues again. Their placement as what’s essentially the A-Team is incredibly fun, and their new mission seems like it could very easily put them on a collision course with Wally, despite ending on somewhat friendly terms at the end of the first big arc. Thankfully, they reminded readers of a character who’s been missing for a few issues, so it’s nice to see they haven’t been forgotten.
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Everything is lining up so smartly in this book, beyond just the story being told. The lighter (again, relatively – some dark stuff still happens) tone matches with the art so well. Nick Robles sets a pretty high bar here with how he draws Wally and Linda. There’s one panel in particular I have stuck in my head where Flash speeds away from Linda and instead of depicting it like a bolt of lightning, it looks like he de-pixelates, with some parts of his body leaving the frame before others, like digitized himself out of the situation. Though that’s been the ‘trail’ that follows Flash when he’s going high speed, it still feels really striking and appropriately fresh a year+ in.
The more washed out colors help add to the overall tone of this book. I probably lack the vocabulary to really explain it, but the reds and the yellows in particular, I think it’s because they’re flat? Something about them stands out and feels two-dimensional in a world that’s otherwise trying to look three-dimensional. Whatever it is, it’s smart because it makes Flash look like he’s hacking reality and navigating his way around the world entirely on his own terms.
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Absolute Flash #15 continues the impressive trend of the title to stand apart from the other books in the Absolute universe. With an addictive balance of hope and harshness, the book succeeds because of its unique tone and looser vibes. What makes it really special though is that its omnipresent threat to turn into a cosmic horror book at the drop of a hat. The creative team has been cooking up something something since jump and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
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