Review: ‘The Flash’ #776 Is A Fun Twist On The Norm

Interactive comics are a concept that have been done, but not as often as you might think. That means whenever they pop up, they’re a lot of fun. The Flash #776 takes the idea and makes the reader integral to the actual story.

In this fun follow-up to last issue, the main characters are Wally West, Doctor Fate and a very surprising hero. Digital readers, make sure you turn off your screen rotation. It was created by Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan, Jeromy Cox, and Rob Leigh.

Eclipso is back, and Doctor Fate and the Flash are the best chance to stop him. But first, they need to travel through a dangerous dimension between dimensions. To do that successfully, they need to team up with the most unexpected hero possible- you.

Right up front, this is a novelty issue. BUT it’s a very fun novelty issue. The only problem I had with it was that it was late when I read it and was a little lazy in turning off my screen rotation on my tablet (as in, I didn’t do it). Wally’s voice continues to be spot on, but this is definitely more of a Doctor Fate story than a Flash story. It was fun, a little silly, and an engaging twist on the normal DCU issue.

Pasarin and Ryan’s line work compliments the story incredibly well. Though I have felt that Pasarin’s work can be a little on the stiff side for the Flash in the past, here he is able to show motion and action really well. When the issue gets experimental, they do some fun things with layouts and figures that really convey both the weirdness going on and how disorienting it is for the characters. Really my only issue with the art was at one point, the reader was supposed to go back and find symbols in previous pages and I couldn’t see them anywhere (and in that case I wasn’t lazy about it).

Cox’s color art is clear, but does a really solid job of making this alien dimension feel dark and cold without obscuring the central figures. Leigh has some fun with the letters, and was really crucial in directing the reader flow through each page.

This issue was just a blast. It executed a silly novelty concept well, with only one real hiccup, and the need for a warning for digital readers on the first page. I wish more creators would do something fun and unusual like this occasionally.

The Flash #776 is available now from DC Comics.