Monday, November 6, 2023

Book Review: Flashpoint Beyond


The world of Flashpoint returns! After sacrificing everything to help the Flash put the universe back together and save Bruce Wayne's life, Thomas Wayne wakes up in a world he thought was no more. Forced to don the cowl once again, Batman prowls the streets of Gotham searching for answers to how this world still exists, but what he starts to uncover will send him hurtling around the globe. But the answers Thomas is seeking will have drastic effects on the DC Universe and its past, present, and future!

This collection of Flashpoint Beyond #0-6 was released in December 2022 by DC Comics.

Just over twelve years ago, the original Flashpoint mini-series ended, and it did two things: kicked off the New 52 era where DC rebooted many of their series as a new jumping on point for readers and marked the end of my buying of monthly comic books after over three and half decades. It also served as the base plot for the more recent Flash movie as well.

I've still been keeping tabs, from time to time, on the DC line via the DC Universe Infinite service. I've read both more recent books as well as plenty of classics. I decided to give the 2022 mini-series Flashpoint Beyond a look as well.

This mini did a couple of things that writer Geoff Johns likes to do: look back at the past and tease out to the future. He does both of these fairly well. He did it a bit the first time with the original tale, and he does it here again. We get a revisit to the Thomas Wayne-Batman world, we get some old faces and some new, and the ending very much acts as a teaser to several of his projects that followed this: a new Justice Society of America series and the mini Stargirl and the Lost Children, two books I very much enjoy.

So, a dozen years ago I made the decision I did, and I am still happy for it. But, thanks to the service of DC Universe Infinite, I can still keep up and try things for a fraction of the cost of money I used to spend. So, for that I guess I do win.

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