Thursday, November 22, 2007

Flash: Time Flies page 48

Again showing pages that are up on the walls at Secret Headquarters.

This is the last page of the Flash story. In general the pages of that book are very busy, filled with baroque architectural vaulting drawn from every conceivable angle, and multiple images of Flash.

This page, in contrast, is calm. Flash's meditation on the modern lust for speed could be illustrated in any number of ways. Seth chose to have him chase down a speeding car whose passengers are firing a gun, to catch the bullets in the air, confront the shooters, and take away the keys to their car. None of the action is mentioned at all in the words that are shown. But the action brings another level of meaning to the whole idea of the desire for instant gratification that is the subject of his thoughts.

The cityscape in the top panel sets the scene, but this is a meditation, not a story, so the rest of the images are close ups--very close in two panels (though no two of them are from the same point of view), and no background. In the last panel, Flash finishes his somewhat rueful story by looking the reader right in the eye, dangling that set of keys with an unspoken challenge to slow down and enjoy what we have.
Thoughtful images. Unspoken messages. Multiple meanings. Aren't superhero comic books supposed to be shallow?

No comments: