Broken Frontier

Keystone’s greatest champion returns to defend the city he holds dear to his heart, but this time he’s brought some new friends along for the ride.

It’s great to have The Flash return to the title’s original numbering, not to mention the return of Wally West as the one and true Scarlet Speedster. In doing so though, there are a myriad of questions surrounding his return and of the strange circumstances now surrounding his family dynamic.

So much has changed, particularly with how his son and daughter have both grown rapidly within the span of a few months. To complicate matters even further, Jai and Iris exhibit powerful abilities which need to be monitored constantly by Linda. In the meantime, the kids wear costumes and are often racing alongside Wally as a trio of crime fighters protecting the city.

Just what this all means is surely anyone’s guess, but writer Mark Waid returns to this title to provide a solid script for all the answers. The most obvious question that seems to be addressed in this issue though is how Wally and family spent some time vacationing on an alien planet, during which time his kids began exhibiting their powers. At least we get a more clear understanding of the status quo with this plot thread, but more importantly this move pushes the dynamic of the West family to new heights. The possibilities seem endless, and Waid is a seasoned pro with enough talent to lend credibility to this dynamic by supplying believable dialogue and stellar plotting.

His partner in crime is artist Daniel Acuña who brings a completely different looking dynamic to the title. Daniel is a relative newcomer to American comics who’s been carving out a significant reputation for himself in the last few years. Here though, he relies on a style that is colorful and busting with energy on every single page. He’s also one of the new breed of artists relying upon Photoshop techniques to illuminate his sound drawing abilities. The result is something different than we have been used to seeing gracing these pages in the past, but I believe it makes for a more unique reading experience.

As a whole, this issue is filled with enough intrigue to round out the dynamic surrounding the West family. I have always thought that superheroes should evolve over time, and now we are getting a chance to glimpse Wally’s evolution into an important father figure and role model for his kids. It’s also great to have a talent like Mark Waid come back to chart Wally’s return, and in a bold move Daniel Arcuna brings along a fresh visual approach. I can’t wait to see how explosive these results will be on the title in the months to come, but I am sure it will be interesting.