The art in this issue was different from what the typical artists, Howard Porter or Carmine Di Giandomenico, would produce. However, I really enjoyed it because it was gritty and blunt and fit the emotional themes of the book. Read Full Review

The action and tension continue to mount as Grodd continues to manipulate Barry. It's a good story that is working so far. Read Full Review

Perfect Storm has been a fun read so far and issue 42 kept the momentum rolling. Read Full Review

All in all, this continues to be a great arc, making fantastic use of all of the supporting characters, and even the villains that Williamson has set up over the course of his run. Hopefully, Barry Allen will snap out of his funk and start making the right decisions soon, but if the end of this issue is any indication, it might already be too late for him to redeem himself. Either way, the future of The Flash looks like its going to be a must-read. Read Full Review

Good as it is, as Part Three of the current Perfect Storm storyline, The Flash #42is not a good issue for those who are new to this series to start with. New readers would do well to track down The Flash #40 and start from there, with the understanding that the artwork between issues is somewhat erratic and the story a fast-paced one. Read Full Review

Flash War continues as Barry Allen, for better or worse, does one of the things Barry Allen does best. Read Full Review

This is a thrilling storyline and I can't wait to see how it continues to develop. Next issue should be harrowing as Barry will have to face four of his Speed Force protgs, who are now mind-controlled by Grodd. Read Full Review

There's a lot of twists and turns in this issue, and while the story is a little jumbled at times, it's still easily the best run on Flash we've had in a long time. Williamson is finally putting the epic scale back in the Flash's world. Read Full Review

Dan Panosian's art lends The Flash #42 a kind of Silver Age feel that slows down the fast-moving blast radius of the "Perfect Storm" story just when you need it to. Read Full Review

Barry's idiocy and some of the art may be the pitfalls of this issue, but the story and characters keep it afloat. Even with those problems, this is still a very entertaining and exciting issue. The story gets even better and bigger, I can't wait to see what Williamson has planned. Especially how this will setup Flash War. Read Full Review

Overall: The Flash #42 is another strong read. Williamson continues to impress with this title. The Flash has become one of DC's better and most consistently good reads on the market. Williamson is setting the stage for what should be an excellent big event story in Flash Wars. Read Full Review

Joshua Williamson continues showing that an obsessed Barry is not a good Barry and in the end, it looks like everything is going according to Grodd's plan.  The Flash War may not be beginning yet, but after seeing the cliffhanger, you could have fooled me.  I eventually warmed up to Dan Panosian's art and in the end, this was a good issue of the Flash inching towards the Flash War. Read Full Review

Williamson writes an amazing Wally in this issue who contrasts with an awful Barry, which is a shame. Read Full Review

The Flash #42 is here for the diehard Flash fans but otherwise there's not a ton to really sink your teeth into. Read Full Review

Pretty decent issue and this arc is still going somewhat strong compared to the past few. The change in art was a bit sudden but nothing too bad. The main drawback, as others have already pointed out, is that Barry Allen at points is written so out of character that it's hard to believe that it's actually him.

Welcome to the Oblivion Bar where the first round is on me and the pretzels are free! Be warned: like the pickled eggs at the bar, this issue is going to get SPOILED rotten.

So, why is Barry a turd? When did this happen? Why does he think he is the only one who can stop Grodd? Heck, Grodd even admits that Red-headed Wally seems pretty formidable.

We left Barry last time freeing August to now find them both at an old hideout of Blackhole trying to figure out how to use the lightening rod to get Barry’s powers back.

Avery and Lil Wally try to confront Meena to see if they can sway her to their side but that doesn’t work. And Red-head Wally takes down Raijin, who we got no real build up for and has done basically nothing in this story other than show up for a cliffhanger.

The story ends with Barry getting his powers back by using the lightening rod even though Red-headed Wally tries to tell him repeatedly not to get the rod close to Grodd...... and we find all of Team Flash, including August, all taken over by Grodd, the speed force, and Grodd’s mind control.

I’m not going to lie; I’m a bit down on this issue compared to the rest. It’s not terrible by any stretch. I’m just tired of Barry to be honest. I was actual happy that he lost his powers. I thought Red-headed Wally could step in and be Flash for a bit while maybe Barry became the tech guy for Team Flash, like an Oracle in a way. Something different incorporating both characters.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the art. The art wasn’t bad but Grodd looked so much better in the last two issues.

Ultimately, I need Barry to be optimistic and uplifting. He is the kind of guy that is always their for his friends, always gives you the benefit of the doubt, and will never let you down. This has not been Barry for a LONG TIME now. He’s been nasty, and awful friend, mean, a mope, and full of himself. At first, I thought it was because of the negative speed force. I’m not so sure. more

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• GL Mike

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Dispatchdcu - Mar 15, 2018

If you like what you heard, love talking all types of comics, and are interested in joining a comic chat group, hit me up at dispatchdcu@gmail.com or @dispatchdcu on twitter. Catch you all later! Peace

egonnn244 - Mar 18, 2018

Exacly my problem with this book of late. Barry was always for me "optimistic and uplifting" person and now I have no idea what the heck is happening with him.

Dispatchdcu - Mar 18, 2018

He’s a train wreck right now. But the only way out of this is the Rogues... maybe those future Rogues... we haven’t seen them in forever. They were introduced and then forgotten

egonnn244 - Mar 18, 2018

Maybe they'll set Barry's head on straight. They and Hunter Zolomon.

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Will the real Barry Allen please stand up? This guy isn't him! Who is this guy? This Barry says to Godspeed..."I broke you out because, despite everything we've been through, I TRUST you." Huh, he trusts Godspeed? Seriously? Do we really need to go back and list everything Godspeed did in the past? Barry must have amnesia. I have no idea what Williamson is doing here. I was hoping Barry would turn the Flash mantle over to red-headed Wally for longer than just one issue! As a Wally fan from years past, I was looking forward to him being THE Flash for an arc or two. Nope. And the artwork didn't help. Not a fan of it. This isn't the worst book out right now, but it's not going the right direction in my opinion. Williamson needs to step up his game soon or turn the reigns over to someone else. more

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Dispatchdcu - Mar 15, 2018

Exactly! Well put. I Sooooooo wanted Wally as the Flash for a bit. TBH, J-dub set Barry up just for that. The character portrayal of Barry has been So off it was the perfect time to pass the touch to Wally for a bit so he can “find himself” and come back ready to go. Plus, Wally seems to not really fit in anywhere else. I could have given some of these arcs like “negative speed force” a pass if I knew it was a build up to something like Wally taking over for a bit.

Dispatchdcu - Mar 15, 2018

Maybe get Cyborg out of watch tower duty and put Barry there for a couple months? But I was pumped for Flash War. It better not be Barry vs team flash and Godspeed.... not as excited anymore

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Just when I get my hopes up again, we get an issue like this. Issue that makes me ask question "Where, the hell, Josh Williamson is taking this serise?".

At the beginning we got hopefull hero who believed there's good in everyone. Then we hit a major bump when he got all angry, moody and Negative.
Then with Perfect Storm I thought old Barry was back. When he lost powers he said to Wally "Now you are The Flash" and that was awesome. But only issue later he started acting all weird again. Saying that only he can save Central City, releasing August, because "he trust him despite everything" (come on man, Captain Cold is more trustworthy).
And in this issue he was so obsessed with getting speed back that he acted like some bullheaded junkie.
I'a not even going to touch on the fact that Wally (Kid Flash) was fooled second time by Meena on the same trick. "I can't get out, they saved me/They control me... oh, no I'm just evil because I want to.

As for the art in this issue. It was atrocious. After wonders we got from Porter and Di Giandomenico, we are served with this.

The only redeeming thing in this issue is the ending, that may lead to some interesting developments in coming issues. Yeah, but I got fooled by that once already.
We'll see. more

The art was bad and terrible in some panels. The story is ok.