FLASH #9

[ MONKEY MANIA ] 

I once went to Gorilla City. And I have to say that it was very pretty. The Monkeys showed me around. I fell to the ground. Because I laughed at the sight of some titty. Well, it was either that or something told to me by the creative team of Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, plus Publisher: DC Comics in April 2012. Boing!

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

This issue of the Flash, entitled 'Fear', comes across like a ping pong ball stuck in a washing machine. It fly's about all over the place through no will of its own.

• Well, to be completely honest with you, I have to say that some of the inhabitants of Central City are having pretty strange time of it at the moment. For example:
• Iris West and some of the other people trapped in the speed force, are all wondering why Flash zipped off out of nowhere like he did.
• David Singh, the director of the crime lab at the Central City Police Department, he wants to know why his 'friend', Hartley / Pied Piper, wants to play hero.
• And as for the Flash? Well? He has amnesia. He is being held hostage by an angry Gorilla called Grodd. Plus he is in a city full of speaking apes. 
• OK, I have to admit, the Flash does eventually find his faculties again. Just in time for a crash, bang, wallop! And a stormy time ahead.

  

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

If you heard a very large Gorilla say to you...

'He's no messenger. He dessert'

...what would you do? Run? Correct. That's what Flash did. I laughed because I thought it was blooming hilarious.

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

How can anybody not love to watch a couple of talking Monkeys fighting each other? I especially liked the savagery behind it. It just seemed that every one Grodd hit, ended up as a bloody mess on the floor.

Also, the dual-cliff hanger at the end of this story is a real zinger. If it does not rain, it pours!

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

The first quarter of this issue was a bit too wavering for my own personal tastes. One segment was about the Flash. Next it was about Iris. After that it was about David. Before returning back to the Flash again, to continue his adventure.

OK, fair dues, this is a only small gripe within the scheme of things. It's just that I found these initial scenes broke the momentum of the 'Flash strand' of the story a little bit too much for the sake of pace.

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?

STORY: I thought that the Gorilla City / Speed Force connection was an original concept, because it now links these two domains together in more ways than just the Flash. Also, the Pied Piper / David 'relationship' is a welcome addition to the Flash-mythos too, and one that I look forward reading about in the future.

ART: Honestly, I got a right kick out of the introductory segment of this issue. It was just marvellous!!! (Not 'Marvel'). Just in the way that the initial grid little panels gave you a hint as to what is to come, before you turned over to page two and, BANG! 'THE FLASH IN FEAR'. Bold as brass, and reminiscent of a Hollywood epic. Bravo Francis.

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

WISE WHITE GORILLA: Just like the new 'Monkey movies', I will concentrate more on casting the voice of the actor, due to the fact that this hairy git will be made up in CGI. OK, so who sounds like a cleaver monkey? Steve Buscemi? Sounds like a match to me!

GOMEZ: As of yet, this speed-force stranded slacker seems like a very well to do chap with his head in the clouds and his ass on a rock. So are you thinking what I am thinking? No! Not retirement. Soon to be Zorro, Gael Garcia Bernal, of course.

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?

What's Faster Than A Cheetah? Cuter than Mike Tyson? And Has A Helmet? No. Not Ron Jeremy. Gorilla Grodd. Beware.

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

OK, so which 'Planet of the Apes' movie should I compare this story to? Oh! I know. The most brutal one. Conquest For The Planet Of The Apes. Not the Markey Mark one. That was inadvertently brutal.

FINAL thoughts...

Although I really did enjoy the majority of this issue, and am coming to terms with this new state of play in the 'Flash-verse', I still feel that too much retro-continuity can make Wally-Flash fans (like myself) confused as to what is happening at times. Granted, innovations like this new Gorilla City / Speed Force connection does work as a new concept. But the Piper's new revisionism back-story, and Wally's disappearance is starting to grate.

This does not need to be so. Correct?

MARKS out of 10? 8.5