Collecting the six-issue miniseries from 1999-2000, this volume recounts the long and complicated friendship between the Barry Allen Flash and the Hal Jordan Green Lantern.
This is a friendship that on paper shouldn't really be. Barry is a nerd, nebbish and sorta a prude. Plus he's a family man, married to Iris West and surrogate father to Wally. Hal is a playboy, a loner, a rebel. He's devoted to Carol Ferris but he plays the field quite a bit. The closet he has to a family is a pair of brothers that he only sees maybe for Thanksgiving and Christmas if lucky.
Clearly this friendship is proof that opposites attract.
This book is beautifully illustrated by A.D. 2000's Barry Kitson and Tom Grindberg. It's topped off by the epic storytelling of Mark Waid (Daredevil) and Tom Peyer (Batman '66).
Just as with the history of these two characters, there's highs and lows. I thought the entire book was great. But I hated seeing how both characters were affected by loss and tragedy. Both Hal and Barry have gone through some really crappy stuff in their nearly 70 some years of existence.
The best chapter has Barry and Hal going on an intergalactic camping trip with their Earth-2 predecessors Jay Garrick and Alan Scott. It's very funny seeing the generation gap between Jordan and Scott and how much Barry and Jay are like mirror images of each other.
A great book that is a must for any fan of the Silver Age Flash and Green Lantern! But be sure to read with tissues nearby.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
The Batman/ Elmer Fudd Special got all of the attention during last month's release of DC/ Warner Bros. crossovers. But one of the best unsung specials was this one. In the Wonder Woman/ Tasmanian Devil Special, the evil goddess Circe has turned the Amazons of Themyscira into stone. In order to save her sisters, Princess Diana must obtain a mystical object from the fabled Minotaur of the Labyrinth.
This will not be an easy journey for Wonder Woman. For the walkways of the Labyrinth are constantly in flux and soon the changes to the Amazons will become permanent. Seeking a guide that can transverse the maze without getting lost, Wonder Woman enlists the help of the Tasmanian Devil. But Diana and Taz have a precarious history together. Will the world's most destructive force assist the Amazonian princess before time runs out?
Birds of Prey's Tony Bedard crafts a very heart-felt story that combines the spirit of the DC Universe with Greek legend and Warner Bros. humor. The back-up feature which stars Wonder Woman, Taz, and a score of Looney Tunes icons acting out the scenes of Illiad and the Odyssey follows that same formula. Writer Ben Caldwell pens that story in verse, much like the Looney Tunes cartoons of old. The whole special was a delight. Unfortunately, it just didn't get the critical praise it deserves because a sister title hogged it all.
With dynamically different but both just as masterful art styles by Barry Kitson and Byron Vaughns, this is an enjoyable special that deserves a read.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
