Originally published on Patreon
Certain characters get teamed-up a lot in comics. Batman and Superman. Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. These duos are so much a part of the characters that we don't even blink at them happening now. But two characters that I'm not sure I've ever seen leading a book are Flash and Aquaman.
To be honest, there's not really any characters that really come to mind as working with Aquaman a lot other than Mera or Jackson, and the Flash certainly wouldn't be on the list of ones that I'd think of. Arthur and Barry are quite different people, and their powers set them apart further. So teaming them up feels like a bit of a gamble for sure.
Writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly have a plan to make this gamble work, however, in Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong, which sees the two of them as the only people left when strange alien ships appear in orbit around the world.
The first issue begins by giving us some solo time with each of the heroes, giving us insight into their personal lives and their heroic deeds. They both have confrontations with their wives, and get to fight some of their more iconic villains. It's a nice parallel that shows that despite being vastly different, each man shares a lot with the other.
After arguing with his wife, and looking like a bit of a dick in the process, Flash goes out for a run to blow off steam, and heads into the speed force. Deep below the surface of the ocean, Aquaman has been drawn into a fight with Black Manta, who manages to hurt the hero, which makes him sink deep into the Mariana Trench.
When Flash comes out of the speed force he's shocked to find everyone standing around, frozen, singing this strange alien song. Deep in the ocean, Aquaman regains consciousness, and finds Black Manta frozen. Coming to the surface, he finds the Flash (who's been running around the world looking for anyone unaffected). The two of them learn that everyone on Earth has fallen under this strange alien spell, that objects have become frozen, and that huge alien ships hover sinisterly over the surface of the planet. With everyone else under this strange control, it's down to the two of them to find a way to save the day.
Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong has a pretty inventive way of making sure that only the Flash and Aquaman are left conscious when the aliens arrive, especially with the Flash being in the speed force at the time. I'm not sure on Aquaman though, as he was apparently deep enough to not get affected by the signal, but the folks on the JLA Watchtower were. I'm guessing he must have gotten very lucky, as it feels like he should have been caught in it too.
Once the two characters meet up there's a bit of tension between them, and this is my only real criticism in the book. Arthur blames Barry initially, and even when he sees that it's nothing to do with the Flash he still butts heads with him a lot. There's a level of aggression around the character that feels a bit forced at times. These two are friends and teammates, and I'd have expected them to work together a bit more smoothly than this if I'm honest.
There's not a huge amount more that happens this issue, as this is very much setting the stage. We don't learn anything about the strange alien invaders, their technology, or why everyone's singing; but this is only the first entry in the series, so that's definitely something that will come in time.
The artwork by Vasco Georgiev looks really nice, and there are some fantastic moments, particularly when the Flash is fighting his rogues, or running around the world. My one criticism of the art is that Barry's eye holes on his mask are big enough to see his eyebrows. I guess it probably makes it easier to draw his expressions as eyebrows are used for that a lot, but it looks kind of weird seeing these blonde brows poking out all the time.
Overall, I enjoyed Aquaman & The Flash: Voidsong and am looking forward to getting some answers to this mystery over the coming issues.
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