Review: The Flash Vol. 10- Force Quest

Quick Summary

Pros: The entire narrative is compelling and introduces several great new characters. The entire volume helps develop new storylines that already seem seriously exciting. The artwork looks great for the majority of the read.

Cons: The volume has some small problems with pacing and ambiguity.

Overall: This is a solid entry in the Flash series that helps put it back on the right track. The volume is interesting from the start and remains so as it details a host of exciting encounters and probes into intriguing mysteries. This provides a solid reading experience in the present while continuously setting more up for the future. There are some small problems here and there but not enough to make a big impact. Overall, this is a book that fans of the Flash series will enjoy, especially if they are interested in the mystery behind the new forces.

Story

The Flash Vol. 10: Force Quest, by Joshua Williamson, feels like a dramatically improved version of its predecessor. The volume takes the interesting concepts surrounding the emergence of powerful forces and uses them to launch forward intriguing new heroes and villains. It also pushes the series forward by introducing plenty of tantalizing new plotlines in the background. There are pieces of the story that still suffer from some pacing problems and frustrating ambiguity but these are pretty minor. Overall, this is a solid entry in the Flash series that helped renew my hope in the current storyline.

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The bulk of the narrative in Force Quest focuses on the introduction of the new avatars of the Strength Force and the Sage Force. These result into two unique stories starring two new, unique characters. The Strength Force story stars an optimistic new hero who is attempting to bash out corruption in her hometown. Meanwhile, the Sage Force story stars someone on the border between hero and villain, who steals from criminals but keeps all the money for himself. Both characters and storylines are compelling and the contrast between them improves their overall effect.

The rest of Force Quest focuses on revealing and developing the secrets within this series. The Flash initially believes he can bring the force avatars together to help save the world. However, in a great twist, it is revealed that the force avatars are destined to fight each other, with only one force coming out on top. Meanwhile, a subplot looks into the appearance of a mysterious version of the Trickster. All of this got me seriously excited to continue reading and discover what happens next.

The problems in this book are similar to the problems in the previous book. The pacing is still a bit quick, as the volume tries to stuff multiple introductions, conflicts, and secondary storylines into six comic book issues. Also, the ambiguity surrounding the Strength and Sage Force are still frustrating. This frustration is particularly noticeable with the Sage Force, which is particularly poorly defined. These problems are not as pronounced as they were in the last book but, unfortunately, are still present.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The quality of the artwork in Force Quest starts out strong and remains this way right up until the last two chapters. Rafa Sandoval’s pencils, Jordi Tarragona’s inks, and Tomeu Morey’s colors provide the bulk of this collection’s visuals. Chapters by these artists look great and hit a wonderful balance between darkness and light. They allow the collection to look bright and optimistic when it is called for, while also retaining the ability to get grim and serious when necessary. The character designs are also fantastic, as all of the new characters are cool and imaginative. The biggest downside is that the quality of the visuals slightly dips when other artists take over for the last two chapters. However, for the most part, the visuals here are positive and make for a solid read.

Continuity

The Flash Vol. 10: Force Quest continues the story from The Flash Vol. 9: Reckoning of the Forces (Review).

The story here continues in “The Price” crossover from Heroes in Crisis: The Price and Other Tales (Review) and then in The Flash Vol. 11: The Greatest Trick of All (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The Justice League dealt with Gorilla Grodd and the Still Force in Justice League Vol. 1: The Totality (Review).
• A few references are made to the Speed Force storm from The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes (Review).