Script: Joshua Williamson
Art: Howard Porter
Color: Hi-Fi
Letters: Steve Wands
The Flash #22 brings part four of “The Button” crossover. It’s the final issue of it and it ends with quite the cliffhanger. This issue picks up right where Batman #22 left off. Batman and Flash are chasing Thawne in the time stream and they’re unable to catch up. During this, Jay Garrick shows up and is able to get Bruce and Barry back to the present day before he himself disappears.
Joshua Williamson does a nice job with this crossover. His writing style and tone worked well with the situation at hand. With more coming in regards to the button later this November, there’s obviously a place DC knew they wanted this story to get to. Despite that, we’re left wondering what Doomsday Clock has in store for us. Williamson captured the essence of Barry, Jay, and Eobard with ease.
Hi-Fi might just be one of my favorite colorists. His work combined with Howard Porter makes for an appealing look. Bruce has the grit to him that we expect to see with Batman, but it’s never too dark in this issue. There’s a full page spread of Jay Garrick and it’s a great image. Throughout this book, I found myself really noticing the art more. And as more of a story person, that’s always a plus to notice something new.
In the epilogue, we get a glance of Dr. Manhattan and it’s an exciting moment. We also see a glimpse of Superman in the final panel. There’s still a lot that needs to unravel from this story. Overall, this was a solid crossover and it was an enjoyable time between Bruce and Barry despite how grim it was at times. Hopefully we get something in between now and Doomsday Clock in November to tide us over.
Verdict: Buy. This issue is more of a buy only if you’ve read the previous three issues connected to it. But on that note, definitely check out this crossover in full if you’re interested in seeing how things play out. This all started with the one-shot to launch Rebirth and things are getting good.
