Comic Review: The Flash (2016-) #65

The Flash (2016-) #65

DC Comics

Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Rafa Sandoval

Heads clash, relationships break, tempers reach boiling point and Gotham Girls fate is revealed in the conclusion to the 4 part Heroes in Crisis tie-in crossover ‘The Price’!

As seen in Batman #65, the third chapter in this crossover, Gotham Girl injected herself with the super venom, causing her to display power levels not too distinct from those of a super saiyan, wanting to prove herself to be one of ‘the greatest superheroes of all time!’ As Batman and Flash hurry to save Central City from Gotham Girls disillusioned moments of….’heroism’, Williamson actually shows that the conflict isn’t just with the overpowered insane Supergirl Expy, but between the two heroes themselves, with things building up over the last three parts and reaching a scorching point here.

Overall this arc was quite enjoyable, I actually found myself looking forward to each part with a bit of excitement each week, which can be quite rare with some of DC’s titles at the moment. I certainly enjoyed this more than the event it is tied to, and exploring a little into the characters and how they deal with loss was great. I really hope they expand more with certain characters after what happens this issue (I won’t spoil don’t worry) although it’s worrying to see what happens to some relationships after the fallout of this issue. Seriously if this is Didio’s fault someone stop him.

Art is by the fantastic Rafa Sandoval and it is as gorgeous as ever. I was a massive fan with his work from the series Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps and this certainly doesn’t disappoint. Sandoval is a master for bringing energy to each page in its own dynamic way, and you can really feel the tension between characters from the way he draws them. His work is also heavily complimented by Jordi Tarragona’s inks and Toneu Morey’s colors. Some truly breathtaking cinematic shots are created, something that’s highly evident in the large page spreads.

Overall a nice conclusion to this little arc. I’m interested to see where things go with certain characters relationships and how they plan to develop them further after this whole Crisis. Williamson writes human characters and their arguments astonishingly well, he’s much better than King’s take on these characters. I was delighted also to see more development on Gotham Girl’s story, a character who was highly important at the start of King’s run but faded a bit too far into obscurity to play up other events like the Wedding. Where next will the characters go is the exciting part, and with the way we are left at the end of this issue with the epilogue I’m even more (cautiously) excited on where we go next.