DC Comics reviews 9/18/19 – Justice League #32, Batman #79

Flash Forward #1

I don’t envy Scott Lobdell. He’s been tasked with fixing one of DC editorial’s biggest blunders over the last three years — redeeming Wally West.

Heroes in Crisis did a fantastic job of ruining all of the goodwill DC earned with Wally’s return. Now Lobdell has to take Wally on a multiverse-spanning quest set up by a Watcher-type character.

But first, Lobdell reestablishes Wally’s remorse over being written completely against character in Heroes in Crisis. He’s at Blackgate Supermax prison awaiting his trial for killing off 12 heroes. Naturally Wally isn’t the most popular guy at the prison and has to constantly watch his back. That won’t matter soon as this mysterious being sends him off on a new mission with the fate of the Multiverse at stake.

As far as writing a character out of the main continuity plots go, this is fine. Lobdell writes Wally fine with the appropriate amount of guilt and regret. It’s a tough position for a writer, but Lobdell can make this premise work if the cliffhanger ending is any indication.

In a nice touch, Brett Booth is handling the art for this mini-series. Booth was the main artist for the Titans series in the Rebirth era that reintroduced Wally back into the fold. Luis Guerrero provides vibrant colors with deep reds, appropriate for a book with Wally West.

Flash Forward is a right step toward bringing Wally back to prominence in DC even if it’s taking a significant detour. With this creative team, Wally should be in a much better place  than Heroes in Crisis left him.

Rating: 8 out of 10