Wally West has seen many strange things in his life as The Flash. Yet there are some things even the Fastest Man Alive cannot outrun. Things like the feeling that things are spiraling out of control, and the weirdness emerging from beyond the Speed Force.
The Flash #4 by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr. finds Wally West overwhelmed. Drawn into a dream-like realm before the eyes of his daughter, Thunderheart, West soon finds himself literally struggling to collect his thoughts. This sets up a strangely horrific tale, titled “The Gallery,” seemingly in reference to the statue garden where Wally West is stranded.
Check out the The Flash #4 preview below:
Si Spurrier presents a Lovecraftian view of the Flash
The Flash #4 continues a horrific take on the Fastest Man Alive. The announcement that Si Spurrier would be taking over the series surprised many, due to his history as a writer of fantasy and psychodrama. Yet Spurrier has remained true to the ethos of DC, while putting a dark spin on Wally West’s adventures.
Previous issues of the Dawn of DC Flash series found West battling “abominations from between realities” and existential angst. The aesthetic was closer to the Cthulhu Mythos than standard superhero fare. Indeed, the titular Gallery featured in the preview recalls the Dreamlands of H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmos.
Despite this, it would seem that Wally West’s nightmares are just beginning. However, all hope is not lost, and his daughter Thunderheart appears to be on the case. Given her new Speed Force tracking powers, there is no one better equipped to locate the missing Flash, though he may be anywhere or any-when, lost in time and space and meaning.
The Flash #4 arrives in comic shops everywhere on December 26, 2023.
