Stargirl and The Boom go to the mall, while Papa Flash learns to cope with a teenager in his centennial years. Your Major Spoilers review of Jay Garrick: The Flash #2 from DC Comics awaits!

JAY GARRICK: THE FLASH #2

Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artist: Diego Olortegui
Colorist: Luis Guerrero
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Andrew Marino
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 21, 2023

Previously in Jay Garrick: The Flash: Judy’s physicals are all coming back good and clear, which means only one thing: mall day with Stargirl! But when a foe from the 1940s crashes the party, Jay rushes in to save the day, much to his daughter’s chagrin!

A 95-YEAR GENERATION GAP

We open in the year 1941, as the Justice Society of America faces down a strange creature called the Ro-Bear, whose power is almost enough to distract The Flash for a few seconds. What’s more concerning is the facility he/it was hiding in, an underground lair with a conspicuous “ISA” logo. Jumping forward 85 years or so, we find an elderly Flash and his daughter, The Boom, at S.T.A.R. Labs Detroit facility, where Dr. Sarah Charles gives Miss Garrick a clean bill of health. By all accounts, she’s a perfectly normal 15-year-old girl, just one who can break the sound barrier at will. With a little cajoling from his wife, Joan, the elder Garrick agrees to let young Judy Garrick go to the mall with Stargirl, her only friend in the world. It’s a tense afternoon in the Garrick house, with Jay worrying about his teenager the whole time until Joan agrees to let him make a little super-speed recon…

…just in time for Ro-Bear to reappear!

A LITTLE LIGHT ON SUBSTANCE

None of the New Golden Age sub-line of books has convinced me that the creators have a real grasp of how vast an EIGHTY-YEAR gap would be, or any real grasp of what life was like in the 1940s or even 1963 when Judy purportedly disappeared. The Lost Children miniseries implied that at least part of that time was spent conscious or semi-conscious, a fact which makes it feel like Judy should be psychologically considerably older than 15. This issue puts the lie to all that, and while the visit to the mall and the food court is cute enough, it’s another anachronism. Olortegui’s art is a little less controlled than last issue, resulting in some wild-eyed bystanders and truly strange proportions among the Justice Society. The coloring helps a little bit, as do some nice layouts, but overall, the visuals are right about average for a modern DC book.

BOTTOM LINE: NOT REALLY JAY’S COMIC AT ALL

“About average” is actually the best descriptor for Jay Garrick: The Flash #2. a book where 2023 feels like 1991, 1941 feels like 1970-something, and the title character is actually a member of the supporting cast for his admittedly charismatic daughter, earning 2.5 out of 5 stars overall. More than a decade out from the revamps of the New 52, many of the brand-new hot characters are entirely forgotten, and I worry that Judy Garrick will be in their shoes 12 years from now if all of her appearances are like this one.

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