#travisgmoore

SPOILERS BELOW FOR HEROES IN CRISIS

Roy Harper from “Heroes in Crisis.” Written by Tom King. I believe this gorgeous panel is penciled by the incredible Travis G Moore! Clay Mann and Travis Moore...can’t get any better on the artwork. 

On rereading:

I’ve basically decided this book is best appreciated for the art alone. There are some stunning panels. Hats off to Clay Mann, Travis Moore, and the entire art staff.

As far as King’s writing...I was looking forward to this book because I really enjoyed King’s Mister Miracle. But I’d heard tales, especially of his Batman run. I honestly have not read a lot of rebirth Batman, so I came at this book pretty open minded.

The mental illness as written by Tom King is interesting, refreshing, and at times it works really well. It’s nice to read an acknowledgment that our heroes need help sometimes. For me, his portrayal of Booster and Beetle’s friendship alone is worth the read. 

But what he did with Wally West (SPOILER: fucking with a crime scene in order to get away with manslaughter...) WTF. It’s unacceptable. Wally is not morally gray. I love morally gray characters, but you can’t make everyone a Jason Todd or a Slade Wilson. Some heroes do have hard lines. Do I believe Wally could have let his control of the speed force slip for just a second, causing him to unintentionally kill innocent heroes? Sure, absolutely. Do I think he’d immediately try to manipulate a crime scene (”I learned that shit from Barry”...) in order to weasel out of getting caught?..... 

And I can’t even talk about Roy. Killing off a well loved character...it’s like Alfred all over again. No point except to try to add to the heft of what Wally’s done. But there’s already enough trauma. To picture Wally like, lovingly arranging Roy’s body next to in a certain way (”It seemed right.”)....that’s beyond having a mental break. That is losing your entire moral compass and becoming a psychopath. 

IDK. Anyone feel way differently? There are things I really love about the book, but that element of the story when Wally gives the “how I did it” speech just doesn’t seem possible. I think King would probably respond like “anything is possible b/c trauma” but it’s the cover-up part of the story I will never buy from Wally West.