Review: The Flash Vol. 3- Gorilla Warfare

Quick Summary

Pros: The main story are is action-packed, exciting, and has a great team-up. The main story capitalizes on threads started over the last two volumes and pushes the series forward even further. The second story arc has an interesting detective adventure. The artwork looks beautiful and really assists the narrative.

Cons: The final story arc concludes with a frustratingly random explanation. Some of the setup for future story arcs feels intrusive.

Overall: This is a fun volume that uses the success of this series to continue to tell captivating stories. It has excitement, action, and drama that is all backed up by some gorgeous artwork. It also does a lot for the Flash and the characters around him. There are places where the narrative slips up but nothing too significant. Anyone who enjoyed the previous two volumes is likely to enjoy this one as well.

Story

The Flash Vol. 3: Gorilla Warfare, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, is a solid comic book and a great way to continue this series. At its core, this volume contains a tremendously exciting battle, a fun-team up, and plenty of great moments from the Flash. All of this capitalizes on the development that has been taking place over the past two volumes and uses it to weave a story that helps further define the Flash in this era of comics. This volume also contains a quick detective story that is also entertaining and a few tantalizing teases for the future. There are places in this volume where mistakes are made but none significantly take away from the collection’s appeal. In the end, this is another solid installment in a series that has been nothing but positive.

(spoilers start here)

Gorilla Warfare starts out right where Rogues Revolution (Review) left off, with the armies of Gorilla City invading the Gem Cities. This forces an entertaining team-up that allows the Rogues to operate as heroes, which is a delightful turn of events. It also has the Flash going head to head with some seriously intimidating enemies, with Grodd giving him a genuine run for his money. The entire arc is action-packed and celebratory in a way that is consistently fun and entertaining.

This entire arc also works very well as a great way to advance the series onward to its next phase. Flash appears to gain some control over the powers he has been developing over the past two volumes, his girlfriend learns about his secret identity, and his role as the city’s protector becomes more clear. Barry Allen also appears to accept his role as a the Speed Force’s “chosen one”, which could have interesting applications in future storylines. In general, I would say that the actions taken in this arc help define the Flash for the New 52 era and further elaborate on his importance to the DC Universe.

After the “Gorilla Warfare” arc, the next two chapters are spent dealing with some of the war’s aftermath. Some of the Speed Force refugees now have unexplained powers and one of the Rogues is being framed for murder. It boils down to a detective-style story with an added twist coming from the Flash temporarily losing his powers. The entire endeavor is entertaining and the whodunit mystery, though basic, makes continued reading more rewarding and exciting.

However, this final story arc ends with an explanation that feels incredibly random and out of place. Flash explains that he temporarily lost and gained his powers due to some freak accident completely unrelated to any of his recent adventures. It feels like a cheap way to force an interesting situation that actually ends up taking a bit away from the story. 

Alongside all of this, future story arcs are being developed in the background. Iris’s brother makes a few appearances and his contentious history with his sister is somewhat explained. Meanwhile, Reverse-Flash shows up in a few frightening ways to tease his future antagonism. There are even a few moments that explain why Barry and Iris are not currently in a relationship, which may help develop their relationship in the future. Though all of this is nice to see, it ends up being a lot to take in alongside everything else. In the end, these small teases clutter the collection in ways that occasionally feel annoying.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Gorilla Warfare is almost entirely positive. The bulk of the volume is drawn by Francis Manapul, who’s work continues to look fantastic. Within this book, he ensures that every action sequence is exciting and that every emotional moment is reflected on the characters’ faces. Then, in the book’s final few chapters, visual contributions from Marcio Takara’s work well in telling the collection’s final story. These chapters are able to properly continue the visual style present in the rest of the volume without looking exactly the same.

In addition, Manapul’s artwork does a lot to enhance the narrative of this particular story. Flash’s speed and the Rogues’ unique powers are depicted in ways that make their battles feel energetic and unique. In addition, the Flash’s special, new power, which has been developed over the past two volumes, is approached with some really novel visuals that help show exactly how it works.

Continuity

The Flash Vol. 3: Gorilla Warfare continues the story from The Flash Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution (Review).

The story here continues in The Flash Vol. 4: Reverse (Review).