Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Ghosts: Flash Annual #11!


So, far the Martian Manhunter Annual has been the best of the Ghosts crossover, but today's maybe could beat it! Flash Annual #11, "Haunts" Written by Brian Augustyn, pencils by Anthony Williams, inks by Ray Kryssing.

Wally West didn't think he was prone to sleepwalking, until he found himself sprinting around the world, with the ghost of dead speedster Johnny Quick. Later, Wally contacts speed guru Max Mercury, who can't quite nail down what it could mean, but suggests he contact Quick's daughter/fellow speedster Jesse. (Jesse may be better known under her mom's identity, as the modern JSA's Liberty Belle.) Who promptly shows up, having a weird feeling about her dad. Wally wants to try to avoid that conversation, but can't get rid of her before Tina McGee, an old girlfriend, also arrives. Linda isn't bothered by that, because Tina has a bigger problem: her husband Jerry, creator of super-speed drug Velocity 9, had suddenly had a flashback relapse, and was tearing around as Speed Demon.

Briefly mixing it up with Speed Demon, Wally sees Johnny again momentarily; and realizes he only sees him when at full speed. Later, he tells Max that he wonders if he should've tried to go into the Speed Force to save Johnny. But usually when a speedster goes into the Speed Force, they don't return; while Wally has done so twice, he doesn't know if he could do it again. Fortunately, it doesn't come down to that: grabbing Speed Demon and accelerating him into the Speed Force to burn out the Velocity 9, Wally gets to finally talk to Johnny, who had been trying to reach Jesse, but she couldn't reach the level of speed needed to see him. Wally gives Jesse a boost, so she can say goodbye. Linda asks Wally if he still feels haunted, but all Wally's ghosts are friendly ones.

A little thin, and a bit of a throwback to the days when there were seemingly a bunch of Flashes and associated speedsters running all about. Next week: the conclusion of the "Ghosts" crossover, JLA Annual #2!

2 comments:

SallyP said...

Always fun to see Wally running in his underwear. But gosh, I do like Jessie's cosume from Justice Society SO much better.

Mr. Morbid's House Of Fun said...

Yeah that uniform's seen better days, but I like that she tried to live up to her father's legacy, despite not wanting to for years, as we all saw in the early 90's short-lived JSA series.

This is why I'll always miss Wally. Damn shame they couldn't have saved him if they really wanted to.
He lived his dream, got the wife and kids, and then got screwed over and erased. Just doesn't seem fair.

Nice appearance by Tina McGee. Damn, haven't seen here since what? The early 90's at least.