Flash Crossover Crisis: Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot
By Barry Lyga
320 pages, Amulet Books, $13.99
I’ll stipulate upfront that Barry Lyga is an old pal from
his days at Diamond Distributing. I’ve delighted to see him become a successful
YA novelist and here, he brings his two worlds together in the latest of Amulet
Books’ series of novels based on the CW shows. Lyga has been writing books based
on The Flash, mining the show and the comics it is based on for a
satisfying blend.
This novel is actually the first chapter that, as the title
suggests, will involve not only Team Flash but Green Arrow, the Legends, and
Supergirl. What could possibly require so much firepower? Well, let’s start
with the arrival of speedster refugees from Earth-27 and their oppressors, the
Crime Syndicate of America. Harassing the residents of that world is
Anti-Matter Man (a one-off foe from the JLA-JSA team-up in Justice League of
America #47-48), a seemingly mindless creation from the anti-matter
universe of Qward.
See? You definitely need to know your DC lore to fully appreciate
the Easter eggs scattered throughout the novel. Thankfully, Lyga pauses to
explain al the television continuity references, especially as they relate to
characters and previous episodes.
Now, if the CSA isn’t enough of a problem, Joe West and
Dinah Drake, Black Canary, are on the hunt for crimes seemingly perpetrated by
the Bug-Eyed Bandit, but they also encounter Irwin Schwab. Yes, Barry has
managed to integrate Ambush Bug into the narrative and it makes the reader chuckle.
Readers need to pay close attention, because the story here and in his previous trilogy, are set in a splinter reality, one where Flashpoint didn’t happen so, for example, Dig’s child is still a girl. It’s a neat way to offer up the same flavor of adventure without messing with the still-evolving television continuity. The temporal mechanics of this splinter reality and it’s own multiverse may give you headache so best not to think too much about that but focus instead on the story.
There’s plenty of rising action, plenty of fighting with Ultraman,
Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring, but what’s real interesting is the hidden,
growing menace posed by Owlman. We get this through Earth-27’s James Jesse, who
is not the Trickster, but deathly afraid of the costumed criminal.
If Lyga could have done anything differently, it would have
been to to focus more on the characters, their personalities, and their
interactions. He does this with Joe and Dinah but it just made me want to see
more.
This YA novel is a good, easy read and if you enjoy the
series its based on, then you’ll have a good time here. You can expect the second
installment in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, these successful shows have inspired their
own spin-off series in various forms, the latest being the Crossover Crisis
trilogy by Barry Lyga. I was given a chance to have a look at the first book,
The Flash Crossover Crisis: Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot, thanks to Abrams Books
and its imprint responsible for the book series, Amulet.
So, as with everything else I’ve ever reviewed, let’s start
with the design! I really like the way this book looks–it isn’t a graphic
novel, it is a YA novel, but it has the pizzazz of a graphic novel. I learned
that César Moreno, the cover illustrator, has an extensive background with
producing covers and posters for comic book series, so it makes sense. He also
has done the covers for several other The Flash series novels that Lyga has
written, so he definitely knows his stuff.
The inside of this book seems as though it was put together
just as carefully. Although the Flash has the big name on the cover, the inside
of the cover is Green Arrow’s forest green. Every page of the actual story has
a lightning bolt design, with the beginnings of chapters dominated by lightning
bolts radiating from the chapter number. This is used to great effect during
the climax of the book when the design is switched up a little (the normally
white page is colored black, while the design and words still stand out in gray
and against a white text box, respectively). The care in design is also evident
in the “To be continued…” teaser page, where the lightning bolts rush across
the page, as if the Flash has just run by, already onto his next adventure.
The book is set up in something of a comic book format:
although it’s primarily in text, we still get things like “the story thus far”
in the beginning, a teaser for the next volume, and so on. These are also nice
touches and makes the book easier to pick up for readers new to or not very
familiar with the Flash.
A strength the book has is easing readers into the Flash’s
universe. I’m more familiar with the Flash in his animated ventures, so I appreciated
the economic explanations for things that appeared to be tied in with both his
and Green Arrow’s respective live-action shows. Towards the climax, there were
a couple of new elements introduced quickly that I had trouble keeping up with,
but not being too familiar with either live-action show, I’m not quite the
target audience for this story. I imagine that a fan of the related shows
wouldn’t have this problem at all.
Nonetheless, I found the story a fun venture–it really does
feel like a comic put to text, keeping the usual vigor and excitement, with an
unfolding mystery that I could imagine as a regular comic story very easily. It
involves mirror universes overlapping, with different villains (who are seen as
heroes in their brutish worlds and are identical to certain heroes in our Flash
and Green Arrow’s world) appearing in Central City with the help of a
dimensional rift, along with thousands of multiverse refugees. They are
harbingers for even bigger troubles in both this and presumably later books in
the trilogy.
The Flash and Green Arrow in Legends of Today
This isn’t the first time the heroes have lent each other a
hand, either! (‘The Flash,’ “Legends of Today”)
Although that is more or less the main plot, there’s also a
lot going on in B and C stories that also have to do with the alternate worlds
interacting to some extent. The story never flags and it never feels
overwhelming, either: it seems that, for the most part, action-heavy or
high-tension moments are balanced with just as important, but more
leisurely-paced chapters. Leisurely compared to the Flash’s normal pace, of
course. To be honest, it’s what I would consider the “B” story–featuring Brie
Larvan’s bees and her brother–that has me the most intrigued for the next two
The Flash Crossover Crisis books. There’s something about those robo-bees! The
multiverse villains also tease a bigger story that will come to a head for the
patient that makes you want to stick with things, not to mention the book’s
actual teaser which names Supergirl as a player in book two.
One thing I noticed and appreciated was that Lyga does not
appear to talk down to his audience. The book is officially classified as YA by
Abrams and Amulet Books. Sometimes this means that existing stories are
repackaged and reduced to the simplest terms. Lyga does not seem to be afraid
of challenging his target audience and regularly throws high school vocabulary
in as well as high school math (to his credit, he takes the reader through the
math as succinctly and clearly as one probably can, though it still filled me
with dread because, you know, math). He is also great at presenting examples to
explain these ideas, again, without talking down to the reader. He just nudges
them along. It’s a hard thing to balance, but Lyga manages it.
Another upside–or possibly downside, depending on how you
look at it–of this book is that I found it a relatively fast read. As I said
earlier, I found it as vibrant as reading actual comics, and sat down with it
in the same way, reading it in just two or three longish sessions. A recurring
thought was that if the book was a comic, I would already be waiting for the
next issue to continue the story. I was glad I didn’t have to wait for that!
(Although, of course, I have to wait for the next book in the series.) The
upside is that there are several other Flash books by Lyga to tide a reader
over while waiting for the next The Flash Crossover Crisis, as well as a
related Supergirl series by Jo Whittemore.
All in all, this was an enjoyable book that reminded me why
I had liked the Flash so much when I was actively watching Justice League or
other DC property-cartoons that featured him. Although the Green Arrow was also
in these shows, I don’t recall paying much attention to him, and I now feel
like I ought to go back and give him a fair shot; he seems like an interesting
character as well.
I also think this would be a great book for reluctant
readers, as well as regular readers in its target audience. As I said, I like
that it doesn’t talk down to its target readers, and it’s exciting enough that
I think readers won’t mind having to look up a few words or suss out a concept
on their own. (I only hope that I’m not the one a kid asks about the math!)
The Flash Crossover Crisis: Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot by Barry
Lyga will be hitting bookstore shelves on August 13. It is currently available
for preorder.
Join Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, and the rest of Team Flash
and Team Arrow in an all-new adventure from author Barry Lyga. Crossover
Crisis: Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot is the first in a trilogy that finds our
heroes facing a crisis that could end not just their universe, but all of them.
I have apparently been living under a rock for years,
because I didn’t even know that there were books based on the DCTV CW shows;
that was silly of me. Of course there are books based on those shows. I mean,
even Teen Wolf had books. Anyway, the Crossover Crisis series will feature
characters from The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. Green
Arrow’s Perfect Shot focuses primarily on Team Flash and Team Arrow and has a
mystery in each city. In Star City, a serial bomber somehow connected to Brie
Larvan is terrorizing the city, while in Central City, a dimensional breach has
opened and thousands of refugees from Earth 27 are pouring through, fleeing
Anti-Matter Man, who has rendered their planet uninhabitable.
Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot reads just like an episode of The
Flash with one key difference – Flashpoint never happened. All of the
characters are perfectly recognizable; I can picture them clearly and hear
their voices in my head. There’s not a lot of introspection or exposition, but
in a book like this where we already know the characters, they’re really not
necessary, and I don’t think the book is lacking because of it.
The writing style is simple, and this is a quick, easy read,
but it isn’t dumbed down. I imagine it’s much like reading a script for one of
the shows. Also, as someone who is familiar with both shows but hasn’t watched
in quite some time, I wasn’t lost or struggling to figure out who was who or
what was going on. There is backstory peppered throughout, and for people who
are caught up, it might seem a little redundant, but for someone like me, it
was very helpful in allowing me to follow along. I really liked the story and
am completely intrigued by the concept of the alternate timeline – I kind of
hope that comes up at some point in the series.
Fans of The Flash and Arrow who are looking for more
adventures with these characters will like this book. It was rather an
enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series!
——-
Crossover Crisis: Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot by Barry Lyga
is published by Amulet Books and is currently available wherever books are
sold.
*I was provided with a copy by the publisher in exchange for
an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
By Barry Lyga
320 pages, Amulet Books, $13.99
I’ll stipulate upfront that Barry Lyga is an old pal from his days at Diamond Distributing. I’ve delighted to see him become a successful YA novelist and here, he brings his two worlds together in the latest of Amulet Books’ series of novels based on the CW shows. Lyga has been writing books based on The Flash, mining the show and the comics it is based on for a satisfying blend.
This novel is actually the first chapter that, as the title suggests, will involve not only Team Flash but Green Arrow, the Legends, and Supergirl. What could possibly require so much firepower? Well, let’s start with the arrival of speedster refugees from Earth-27 and their oppressors, the Crime Syndicate of America. Harassing the residents of that world is Anti-Matter Man (a one-off foe from the JLA-JSA team-up in Justice League of America #47-48), a seemingly mindless creation from the anti-matter universe of Qward.
See? You definitely need to know your DC lore to fully appreciate the Easter eggs scattered throughout the novel. Thankfully, Lyga pauses to explain al the television continuity references, especially as they relate to characters and previous episodes.
Now, if the CSA isn’t enough of a problem, Joe West and Dinah Drake, Black Canary, are on the hunt for crimes seemingly perpetrated by the Bug-Eyed Bandit, but they also encounter Irwin Schwab. Yes, Barry has managed to integrate Ambush Bug into the narrative and it makes the reader chuckle.
Readers need to pay close attention, because the story here and in his previous trilogy, are set in a splinter reality, one where Flashpoint didn’t happen so, for example, Dig’s child is still a girl. It’s a neat way to offer up the same flavor of adventure without messing with the still-evolving television continuity. The temporal mechanics of this splinter reality and its own multiverse may give you headache so best not to think too much about that but focus instead on the story.
There’s plenty of rising action, plenty of fighting with Ultraman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring, but what’s real interesting is the hidden, growing menace posed by Owlman. We get this through Earth-27’s James Jesse, who is not the Trickster, but deathly afraid of the costumed criminal.
If Lyga could have done anything differently, it would have been to to focus more on the characters, their personalities, and their interactions. He does this with Joe and Dinah but it just made me want to see more.
This YA novel is a good, easy read and if you enjoy the series its based on, then you’ll have a good time here. You can expect the second installment in 2020.
