Flash Forward #2: King of the Impossible

Starting out with the art side of the house for a change, the combination of Booth, Rapmund, and Guerrero is certainly a winning combination on this particular book. The bright, vibrant colors and the sense of constant motion seems to be perfectly apropos as we watch Wally blitz cluelessly about the Multiverse. The bond between Rapmund and Booth seems near perfect and Guerrero ensures maximum effect with bright, bold colors. The page layouts are well constructed and seem designed to drive the narrative, which is especially good since the plotting remains heavily weighed down by events beyond Lobdell’s direct control.

I mentioned last month and shall reiterate here: Scott Lobdell was put in a bad position with this book. Wally should never have needed redemption in the first place yet here we are. Predictably, given the circumstances, the book is extremely predictable. Wally cannot help himself but help whom he can although he simultaneously helps but rejects the notion that he can stand for hope as he has throughout his career and questions whether he is worthy of redemption. There is a feeling of formula that permeates this issue. See a problem. Check. Help. Check. Push through self doubt. Check. Show the readers that Tempus Fuginaut isn’t being fully forthright. Check. And given the nature of Wally’s recent history, the “surprise” appearance of Jai and Iris at the end would also satisfy a checkmark, at least for this reader.

It isn’t that this book is bad, per se. It is more that the book isn’t great, as a whole, and if feels like it should be great. Much in the same way that Scott Snyder is playing with toys outside the current Earth Zero toybox, so too does Lobdell dig deep to uncover both the expected and unexpected corners of the Multiverse to add flair to the narrative but it still feels flat. The narrative is both overly-convoluted yet also terribly simple. It is probably worth the read when it is all said and done but is an unlikely candidate for a re-read.