Flash 11 review

The Road to Flashpoint Part III

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Scott Kolins
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Cover: Manapul and Buccellato
Variant Cover: Kolins w/ Atiyeh
Assistant Editor: Darren Shan
Editor: Brian Cunningham

Geoff Johns picks up the Road to Flashpoint storyline right where the last issue left off with Barry Allen and an ex colleague looking after a young boy. Barry is investigating a potential crime by Hot Pursuit, his doppelganger. After rereading the issue today I have a problem with the number of pages given to a particular angle and even though it did its job it could have been condense.
This issue flows well with the previous one but the intervention coming from the Bart interaction in issue #10 took up forty percent of the issue. (8 out of 20)This part of issue#11 could have been done in five pages in my opinion. It spends three pages on why Barry needs a so called intervention with the Flash family. The last three pages shows Bart getting angry with Barry. That could have been a page less. The introduction to the scene lasted three pages as well and would probably have done better shorten. I am ok with one page each for Jay Garrick and Wally West.
The eight page family scene took away from the action part of the book. Barry’s conversation with Hot Pursuit felt quick. Speaking of Hot Pursuit, his stubbornness to focus on Bart as the time anomaly does nothing to help convince Barry that he is on the up and up. That young boy from the beginning of this issue turns out to be Professor Zoom. I had to do a double take to make sure it was not Bart at Barry’s lab. If it was not for the age difference between Bart and Professor Zoom disguise as a young boy they could be mistaken for each other. Bart is drawn very evil on the bottom panel of page 12
If Kolins had remained the artist from issue #7 onward the book probably would not have been canceled. Professor Zoom claims to be changing history to set up Flashpoint which would leave us to believe it has to be the real DCU.

7(out of 10)