It’s been a tough week for me. I’ve recently just started a new placement at work and although it’s only been a few days, it’s as if all those years of knowing that surgery wasn’t for me were right. So now that the weekend is here, I thought to myself I need to relax and maybe read some comic books! And whilst I was thinking of which comic book I should read, I thought which character would be the best one to read whilst I’m feeling exhausted and down? Turns out there was only ever one answer; The Flash!
‘Gorilla Warfare’ continues exactly where ‘Rogues Revolution’ left off. Having come to terms with the fact that the Rogues had Captain Cold back in their roster, it was time for the Flash and the Rogues to be enemies again. That plan is quickly set aside when Gorilla Grodd and his army of apes attack Central City! Hellbent on acquiring the Flash in order to eat his brain, Grodd sets out to beat the Fastest Man Alive. Initially, Barry thinks to himself that this is going to be easy, however, it soon appears that Grodd has new powers and he’s almost just as fast as Barry now! Meanwhile, whilst the Flash and Grodd battle it out, the Rogues torn about what to do, decide to help their city and fight off Grodd’s army. When they notice that the gorillas are kidnapping people, they set about a plan to rescue the kidnapped people and hide them in Mirror Master’s alternate reality. In the heat of battle, the Flash has an idea and takes Grodd into the Speed Force to battle it out, on his home turf. Towards the end of the novel, there is a two-issue story in which Barry attempts to prove the innocence of none other than the Trickster. During his attempt to question the Trickster in prison, the Flash loses his powers temporarily and has to get by as plain old Barry. Can he make it out of the prison alive? And can Barry Allen prove the Trickster’s innocence without his powers?
This is an odd one. The first two novels in this series were fantastic, and I thought really good for anyone that was looking to get into comic books. This novel is similar in that it explains pretty much at every stage what is going on so that new readers probably don’t have to do much research. That being said, I did feel that ‘Gorilla Warfare’ was a downgrade from previous stories. Another qualm that I have, although it may seem silly, is that there is a lot of internal dialogue in this novel. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind having an insight into the Flash’s mind and what drives him, but it almost seems that in each issue in the novel, there was vast internal dialogue that I feel is sometimes redundant. That being said, I like that the narrative of these novels roughly follow on from each other so even when it’s been a while since you picked up the series, it’s easy to just get back into it!
The artwork will hear very few complaints from me. Francis Manapaul drew all the covers and most of the issues and I think his artwork is exquisite. He can really draw the nuances of human and non-human emotion on all the characters that he draws. Therefore when I compare the artwork of the last two issues in the novel, they were never going to live up to Manapaul’s art. Overall, not a bad novel, but a step down in the series!
Favourite Panel:
Yeah! How do they do it! Hahaha!
Favourite Character:
Once again, there is no question. It’s the Flash! Even when the dude didn’t have powers, he’s still so optimistic and focused.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★★★
Artwork: ★★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★★½
Level: Beginner