MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Flash, whether it’s Barry Allen or Wally West, is a superhero with lots of story potential. The best Flash stories are the ones where the creators mine his super speed power in innovative ways and link it to character-driven drama. Because of this, JV Tanjuatco stands by his claim that Terminal Velocity is peak Flash, and here’s why:
1. The Premise – Wally West gets a glimpse into his future; super terrorist Kobra will cause a calamity that will force Wally to run like he’s never run before, to the point that he becomes pure energy. Equipped with this knowledge, he uses it to try and avert this fate. Yet even with the help from his super speedster friends and his girlfriend Linda, all his strategies seem to do is accelerate him closer to his fate…
2. Wally West and Linda Park – At the center of this drama is the mature and stable relationship between Wally and Linda. It’s a relationship that signifies how much Wally has grown from a self-involved young man living under the shadow of his predecessor Barry, transformed by Linda’s genuine belief in him to be a fully validated and personable hero. Linda is determined to save the man she loves even if she puts herself at risk. Together they make for a couple that make readers understand the stakes and who to root for.
3. Mark Waid – Before graphic novels like Kingdom Come, JLA, Captain America, and Daredevil made him a household name in comics, Waid seemed fully formed writing The Flash! His expert use at interior monologues makes readers emphasize with our main characters while his dialogue makes them feel like real people. Each of his issues seem speed up in pace, setting up the bigger moments but not without having things pay off. Waid should teach a master class in the art of the cliffhanger using the end of each Terminal Velocity chapter!
4. Salvador Larocca/Jose Marzan Jr – All this sequential storytelling brilliance is made possible by the main art team of Messrs. Larocca and Marzan Jr! His design work on Flash makes him super slick and heroic. His climatic chapter even allows him to capture the other DC heroes at their iconic best. And while Larocca would eventually gravitate to a more photorealistic style, here his art feels a bit more loose and clean giving it a more of an animated feel – which serves a comic that is all about gaining momentum with each issue!
