The Flash Vol. 5: Ignition [Paperback]

Geoff Johns (Author), Howard Porter (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The idea of a superhero turning his back on his crime-fighting responsibilities has long been a comic-book staple, but in this story arc from Flash, Wally West has abdicated his title as the fastest man alive without even realizing it. After the villainous Zoom attacked Wally's pregnant wife and caused her to miscarry, the omnipotent Spectre made Wally, along with the rest of the world, forget that he is the Flash, and left Wally's town at the mercy of his superpowered enemies. It is, of course, preordained that Wally regain his memory and come to accept Spider-Man's famous maxim, "With great power comes great responsibility"; but writer Johns takes his time with Wally's rediscovery of his powers, setting it in the context of a suspenseful plot in which one of the Flash's foes is killing the city's police officers. Meanwhile, penciller Alberto Dose's moody, quiet art constitutes an atypical approach to the superhero genre, one that effectively accentuates the character-driven nature of this story. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204635
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204631
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.3 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flash Ignition is yet another great johns story, March 20, 2005

By 

Vernon Clark Mayo "Fastest gun, comic god" (Allen Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Flash Vol. 5: Ignition (Paperback)

First of all this Trade reprints issues #201-206, it's part of a series of trades colelcting Johns Flash run, more on that later.

Johns Flash is so very human, he shows us what problems could plague the fastest man alive, what can his speed not out run? how about your wifelosing the babies to a battle between the Flash (you) and a villain? worse yet she blames flash for it, and she has no idea you are the flash.

Wally West made a deal, to wipe the minds of everyone in creation of the knowledge he was the flash, only the deal backfired, he also forgot, he now works as a mecanhic for the police, him and his wife are settling in and tryign to deal with their loss of the two babies when Wally finds out..he is the man he hates, the flash, now will Wally tell his wife? how can he deal with it? and a copy cat killer is in town and they need the Flash.

that's the set up, and it leads to a great story, how far would you go to protect your loved one's? how much can a marrige take? all is explored in thsi book, and it even makes the villains human, Johns captain cold is a guy you could even like, there ars shades of grey all over, a lot of fun, a lot of cameos from other heroes, a must buy.

other volumes in the series that show the events leading to this
Flash: blood will run #170-176, Flash Secret Files #3
Flash: Rogue #177-182
Flash: Crossfire #183-191, Flash Secret Files
Flash: Blitz #192-200

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing., July 12, 2007

By 

R. J. Sterling (Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Flash Vol. 5: Ignition (Paperback)

Buy this volume only if you have to have a complete set of "The Flash"; don't buy it for the art, because the...art...sucks. Not only does the artist seem to lack the ability to draw super-speed action well, he seems to lack the ability to draw anything well. His work is ugly and he shouldn't have been given this assignment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Story - Lackluster Art, March 31, 2007

By 

Ricardo Jauregui (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Flash Vol. 5: Ignition (Paperback)

Geoff Johns has done amazing things for the DC Universe. He's attempted to right the wrongs of the past, although it took another Crisis story to set everything on an even keel. I love what he's done with Green Lantern, and I decided to poke around and see what he's done with the Flash, one of my favorite heroes from childhood.

Wally West has been though more than his share of troubles, many resulting from the unveiling of his identity. Here we see what happens when you get what you ask for, and of how the "disappearance" of the Flash from everyone's life (including Wally's) affects the balance of power. Wally begins to rediscover who he is, and it's fun to see the action that you usually only find in origin stories. The way his super-speed is depicted with time freezing for him is exhilirating.

I've only come back into comics over the last two years or so. One of the things that brought me back was the great artwork being created by masters such as Alex Ross and Michael Turner. So for me, the work of Albert Dose was borderline laughable. I read another review stating that the "atypical" artwork was meant to put more focus on the characters - and I did consider this possibility. It's actually quite plausible as for me the "atypical" artwork forced me to go to the storyline and character development as the only redeemable portions of the collection.

If I had a brother in the sixth grade, and he were forced to draw a comic, this may be what it would look like. I like my good art, and it just didn't happen here. Great story, though - Johns does it again, and does it nicely.