The Flash: Stop Motion (Justice League of America) Mass Market Paperback – February 24, 2004

I've been reading Flash comics since 1977. The Flash was a big part of my childhood, and will always be my "favorite super-hero." My hat is off to Mr. Schultz for creating such a fine portrayal of the character in print form. No easy task, because many of the physical aspects of the Flash's powers have to be *explained* to the reader in a plausible way. This job was made even harder in the 1990's by the unfortunate introduction in the comics of the "Speed Force," a load of mystical mumbo-jumbo that has essentially replaced any kind of physics or science-based origin for our hero, and made him all the poorer for it. Miraculously, Schultz manages to acknowledge all of the Flash's history, while downplaying the parts that make no sense; this allows him to put the Flash back on a science-fiction footing, where he belongs, and to deliver many original insights about what it would be like to Move. That. Fast.But the book is much more than a pseudo-physics lesson in super-speed (though that was my favorite aspect). The characters, particularly the other JLA members, are well portrayed, with just enough mystery and drama at the right spots to create a sense of wonder at their presence. Schultz even manages to make detectives Chyre and Murillo (two bland flatfoots from the comics) interesting foils, and the villain -- a being that is faster than the Flash, with a neat twist -- is a great idea worthy of the best Flash storylines from the comics.The beautiful cover by Alex Ross is a nice bonus, too. It's my favorite of the series so far.For any potentially new readers: even if you've never read a Flash story in your life, you won't be left behind by this one. It's a breezy and entertaining read, suitable for kids of all ages. It's a super-hero novel, done right.

This book was f***ing amazing! That is... up until Chapter 10. At that point it devolved so rapidly it made my head spin.The sudden fundamental change in Flash lore was extremely jarring, changing Wally from a Speedster harnessing Speed Force energy to rocket forth at blinding speeds, to a cosmic entity with weird quantum powers that allowed him to really do just about anything. It pains me to say this, as I thoroughly enjoyed the first 80ish% of the book. But the very abrupt shift brought it down 2 whole stars.I've never been so disappointed by the ending of a book before.

I'll be honest, I'm not super-familiar with the Flash or the JLA. A cousin recently got me back into the animated JLA series, though, and I've become a big Flash fan. I was a bit surprised that the Flash came across as very insecure in the book (not generally a problem in the animated series), but from what I understand that is supposed to be one of his biggest weaknesses in the comics. I very much enjoyed how his character grew and he gained confidence during the book, and I also liked the technical explanation behind his powers and the glimpse at where they could go. This Flash is alot more powerful than the animated Flash, which was also interesting to read. All together, I found this to be a very good book, and I recommend it.

This is one of the best comic character-based novels to date, and the best of the DC novels I have read. There is great characterization, especially as the point of view focuses on Wally West nearly exclusively. His insecurities and lack of confidence as a JLA member are dealt with very nicely.Basically, as with other JLA novels, a new villain is created and dealt with, leaving nothing to interfere with the comic universe itself, but adding nicely to the feel of the universe. There is a new speedster in Keystone City, one who is faster than the Flash. This new speedster's actions cause some calamitous world disasters, as well as a number of gruesome murders. The JLA are largely insufficient to the task, with only Wally able to oppose this particular villain.There is great exposition, good atmosphere, and a great comic-book feel. A number of other JLA members make appearances, though for the most part they are incidental window-dressing. What I like is that Wally actually is shown to be a round character, with his disposition altered over the course of the story. I found the ending a bit unsatisfying, somewhat abrupt and without the resolution to the climactic encounter. Still, this is a great book, and it works even for non-comic readers, as I am a fan of old but not terribly up to date as of the last decade and then some.

This is the fourth book in the 6 book Justice League of America series and the stories get worse as the series progressed. Seems like the author either was not aware of the Wally West Flash from the comics or he choose to re-invent (retcon) the Wally West Flash. Either way, the entire story fell flat and just plain wasn't very entertaining and very confusing. For starters, at the beginning of Wally West's reign as the Flash, he was insecure of himself and his powers but not to the point of confrontational with his super peers. Further, West's relationship with Linda Park was the rock and center of his being but this book put up a wall between them where Wally doesn't fully confide in Linda which is not true in the comics. The most egregious misinterpretation of the Wally West Flash mythos was his powers. In the comics, the Flash derived his powers from the Speed Force but the author, Mark Schultz, redefined the Flash's power as some sort of quantum warrior with the ability to control atoms at the quantum level. The climatic battle was confusing and just plain didn't make any sense. Even for die hard Flash fans, I still recommend skipping this book.

I got such a kick out of this book, it was great to read comic characters standing alone without the need of comics themselves (i love vomics too but variety is great). The characters were true to color in my estimation, well written and with a thrilling storyline.

It's about time they had a book that stars the Flash. He is the most under-rated Justice League character their is!

Good read

This is a novel about the Flash ... it's not a comic book.The Flash is a super-hero crime fighter and member of the Justice League, who's the fastest man alive. This story concerns a series of strange killings. The culprit is, in fact, from beyond our universe ... a superluminal entity who finds itself attracted to super-speedsters. It has to slow down, from its normal faster-than-light existence in order to enter our universe. It's looking for someone to mate with. And it's murdering people who possess the super-speedster meta-gene. So the Flash is drawn into things, and soon the villain intends to kill him too. And in the wake of this villains travels, the universe itself is being harmed. The story proceeds, with the Flash having to go faster than ever before ...I found it a thrilling story; lots of fun, well written and exciting. It offered plenty of detail and depth regarding the Flash and his life as a member of the Justice League.This book was one of a series of novels published c.2005 involving Justice League characters and stories. This is one of the best in the series. All the novels in this series are worth reading, if you're a fan. However, they're not set in the DC Comics continuity (so purists may not enjoy them). However, I really liked these novels.

I will admit Wally West is my least favourite Flash, to me he is what he fears he is a second rate Barry Allen. This book did nothing to change my opinion of him. That being said I still found this book very dissapointing. What really let this book down for me was the pace of the book. For a story staring the fastest man alive it is extremely slow.Wally does not have a secret identity everyone knows he is the Flash. Despite all the good he does patrolling his cities, he is still a junior member of the Justice League. This is proven in their last assignment protecting the planet from a meteor shower. Already feeling down, he returnes to Keystone city, to help the keystone cops solve a serial murderer. What he discovers is a being supposedly even faster that he is.The premise is ok, but the explainations of their powers and the battle scenes are very confusing, and usually has Wally bearly surviving by luck that ant sort of skill. This is a badly written, slow story with rushed writing. Even the ending seemed drawn out the just finished as it is done the end. Very dissapointing for a Flash fan like me.

Ok, so it's a comic book novel. The Flash is pretty well-known, having been around in one for or another since the 40s and having had his own series in the 90s. Still, he's no Spider-man or Batman.The unexpected delight of this book was that, despite the complete lack of visuals, the impossible speeds are so well described that anyone with any imagination can easily see it in their mind's eye. The story is classic stuff, involving mystery, an initially unstoppable enemy and plenty of cameos from various Justice League characters. Wally West's character is straight out of his later comics, both worldly and immature.All in all a very enjoyable read, with a very satisfying ending.

A lot of fun