DC Comics reviews 7/22/26 – JLU 21, Absolute Wonder Woman 22

The Flash 35

It’s a little frustrating that it took so long to realize The Flash has become a fun comic book again. The creative team of writer Ryan North, artist Gavin Guidry, colorist Adriano Lucas and letterer Buddy Beaudoin aren’t interested in bringing real world sensibilities and bleak outlooks on life into the pages of this series. Nope, it’s just a fun goofy read and we really need more of that in modern comics.

This issue finds Flash tangling with Heat Wave who’s discovered a ship filled with gold. Crazy thing is Heat Wave actually wasn’t trying to steal anything as his comprehension of maritime law was his recovery actions were perfectly legal. North having Wally go to the library to read up on maritime law made this exchange even better. It’s all in service of Wally further exploring his Prediction Horizon abilities with the help of Mr. Terrific.

With a bit more practice, Wally is ready to try his abilities out further making for a very fun sequence with Captain Boomerang. Guidry has such a pleasant style that he’s a great fit for this more lighthearted take on The Flash. Lucas’ bright color palette also allows for a more charming and engaging read while Beaudoin’s text and font choices add to the overall enjoyable sense of this issue.

The creative team has really hit their (sigh) stride and The Flash has quickly become a can’t skip title again.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Green Lantern 37

For this issue, Kyle Rayner has to deal with one of his biggest threats yet — online trolls. Odyssey is distraught over the social media reactions for her red-carpet night out with Kyle. Rather than take the high road, Kyle ends up wasting a night responding to the comments. He’s got incredibly bad timing as a genuine troll is running around that’s feeding on negative comments literally devouring the people making them.

Writer Jeremy Adams might be going a bit too on the nose with the commentary on nasty comments, but Kyle is a likable enough character to pull it off. Especially with a guest appearance from Jade helping Kyle and Odyssey deal with this new menace. Xermánico returns as the artist, which makes a huge difference for the title since he’s one of DC’s strongest artists even if he’s still a bit underrated. Romulo Fajardo Jr. brings his usual brilliant color palette to terrific effect for Kyle’s constructs with Dave Sharpe providing cleanly arranged dialogue and sound effects.

There’s little time for Kyle to rest after the end of this low-stakes side quest as he gets a surprise visit from a not-so welcome familiar face, which looks to set the stage for a big confrontation next issue. This wasn’t a pivotal issue in this run, but the creative team makes it a fun read that regular readers won’t regret checking out.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10