THE FLASH #214.
© DC Comics

Mania Grade: B
Issue: 214
Authors: Geoff Johns, Howard Porter, Livesay
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.25

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THE FLASH #214

Of course, what that secret is you're just going to have to wait and see. Not because I'm not going to tell you, but because I can't tell you it hasn't been revealed yet. Given the promise of the cover and the hyping of this issue in the news, it's almost like we've traveled back in time to the days when a big reveal was promised in a particular issue, only to be put off to the following month. Good marketing trick, and a good trick for maintaining narrative tension but annoying as hell.

I have a feeling that this issue will annoy other fans because it's also an extremely talky issue, more concerned with Wally's reactions to the events of IDENTITY CRISIS so far than with any actual action. Personally, I like talky issues, especially when they give us the same depths of character development that we're seeing in the aforementioned miniseries. Johns makes sure to give all the major characters a turn here, too. Green Arrow's seemingly brazen acceptance of Light's torture takes on a slightly different dimension here than it does in IDC, for example, and even Bart gets a moment that's enough to make us forget the IMPULSE series if only for a moment. Moments like this are also almost enough to make us forget the "bait and switch" of the cover, too, as well they should be. Kudos also to Johns for making reference to events going on in IDC without spoiling them we get to see Ray leaving to check on Jean here, for instance, but we won't see what he finds until we pick up the latest issue of the miniseries. Most crossovers (and indeed, most crossover writers) aren't careful enough to avoid muck-ups at moments like this, but Johns is.

I also have a strong respect for Porter and Livesay's art, enough that it makes me wish they were the ones doing the art for IDC. It's clear, crisp, and moody, all at the same time, especially the final moment in which Wally opens that fateful letter which, remember, we don't get to see yet. If this team can make this much of an impact with an issue that's primarily devoted to the windup, though, just imagine what the pitch is going to be like...