REVIEW: The Flash Annual #3

The Flash Annual #3 is published by DC Comics, written by Joshua Williamson, art by Stephen Segovia and Brandon Peterson, inks by Jason Paz and Brandon Peterson, colors by Hi-Fi and letters by Steve Wands. Following the events of Suicide Squad #5, Captain Boomerang takes the squad to one of his old rogues’ hideouts in Central City. But they quickly run into the scarlet speedster. Will he help or hinder the Squad as they attempt to make good their escape.

Comic writing often hinges on giving the reader a god’s eye view of the story. We get all the dialogue no matter what kind of explosions are happening, or how far away a character is. We get close-ups of every sneaking maneuver, so we can keep all the details of the story straight. Every now and then though, you gotta throw the book out. And that’s what writer Williamson does with The Flash Annual #3. And it’s brilliant.

As our tale opens, Captain Boomerang is being interrogated by federal agents. They want to know what happened to the Squad as they attempt to elude capture after their escape from the authorities. So, Boomerang tells them the tale. And what a tale he tells. Williamson leans into the concept of the unreliable narrator brilliantly. Boomerang takes every opportunity to build himself up, and every opportunity to make The Flash look like a simpleton. And even though you can tell where the details are going a bit far afield, the story never loses a clean feeling of cohesion. The high point of this narrative track is when Boomerang, too far from The Flash to hear what he actually said, add libs him as saying, “blah blah justice blah blah.” Which, to be fair, was probably the gist of it.

While the narrative is fun, it doesn’t really provide much of substance. A daring escape and a villain cameo, highlighted with Boomerang’s humorous narration are all this story offers. And it does it with glee.

The art of The Flash Annual #3 also delivers on the fun adventure. Peterson and Segovia do a great job of utilizing an oversized cast. Even when they aren’t the center of attention the characters always look alive and moving. Few blank stares and boring poses are seen, reducing characters to window dressing. Which is awesome. As a huge fan of the newest Suicide Squad members, and the overabundance of personality they have in their series, I’m glad to see their personalities carried over into this crossover.

Further aiding the art is the lovely colorwork. The already fun and kinetic artwork is further amplified by the bright, vibrant color choice. Every panel catches the eye. From the opening page right up to the big finale.

The final element of The Flash Annual #3 is its lettering. Wands does a spot-on job with the letters. Clarity and placement are both what one expects from the pros. The story never finds itself blocking the art. And the decision to alter the color of the text to further highlight Boomerang’s ad-libs was a small flair that adds to the comedic touch.

The Flash Annual #3 is, simply put, great fun. A simple daring escape is granted more legs than it might have had thanks to some clever narration. The utilization of characters kept everyone in the story busy and produced an enjoyable ride from start to finish.

The Flash Annual #3 is available June 16th wherever comics are sold.