Review: The Flash #800

Comic’s greatest speedster zooms back on the scene reaching and amazing milestone with The Flash #800. Billed as a celebration of Wally West, this special edition issue is actual an ode to the many men that have held the mantle of The Flash. It is a collection of short stories, five in all, that show how great and versatile of a character The Flash truly is.

The stories range from a group of supervillains recounting tales of The Flashes heroic exploits to Flash needing to be saved himself by another Flash. A couple even revolve around Flash date nights. And as mentioned earlier, most of the Flashes make appearances including Flash’s kids Surge and Thunderheart, Kid Flash Bart Allen, Zoom, and of course Wally West and Barry Allen. Each writer brings their own take to the character. Mark Waid’s story leans heavy towards comedy while Joshua Williamson’s story is legitimately heartwarming. Geoff Johns does Geoff Johns things bringing his expertise writing DC Comic characters. The highlight is the final story “Between Love and You” by Si Spurrier. It encompasses everything that makes the character so beloved and so cool. While out on a date, Flash goes on an entire adventure in a blink of an eye, literally. There’s action, wit, super nerdy science, and even romance. And most importantly it sets up the Flash family’s next major adventure.

Like the writers, each artist also brings their own visual take to the characters. Bright colors and amazingly detailed characters populate each section. While most of the art does fall in line with the other short stories, it all looks really good and some of the artists come up with cool ways to represent Flash’s speed, not easy to do through still pictures. Mike Deodato Jr.’s art in the final story of the issue has some coolest series of shots/panels you’ll see in any comic anywhere. Overall, the issues displays some of the best of the modern style of comic book art.

It’s been 83 years since The Flash made his debut and reaching 800 issues is an amazing achievement in the comic book game. The grandmaster Flash shows no signs of slowing down and this latest issue celebrates his past and sets up an intriguing future for DC’s scarlet speedster.

Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Coloring – 4.5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Jeremy Adams, Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, and Si Spurrier
Art by; Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert. Todd Nauck, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Scott Kolins, and Mike Deodato Jr.
Colors by; Matt Herms. Ivan Plascencia, Luis Guerrero, and Trish Mulvihill
Letters by; Rob Leigh and Hassan Otsmane-Elhadou
Published by; DC Comics

Author Profile

Christopher R. Ford

Writer, author, and blogger. Published author of three children's books and also writes for the boy Creators For The Culture. Part-time sneaker head, full time nerd.