COMICS!! Review: Flashpoint Citizen Cold #1

Rogue Status

I love the Flash and his rogues gallery of... well, Rogues. There's few characters I so enjoy reading about their villains in the same way that I enjoy reading about the hero themselves, but the Flash is one of those. In Flashpoint, the baddest of these blue collar baddies, Captain Cold, gets his own mini series.

To say the least, I was excited. Were my lofty expectations met?

Kicking Some Ice

Like was seen in Flashpoint #1, Captain Cold in this reality is actually a member of the Justice League under the moniker "Citizen Cold". However, don't take that to mean that Cold's gone soft. He's just as ruthless as ever (and he proves it early on in a one on one with Mr. Freeze) and seems like he's just doing this hero thing until he can pilfer enough good will and good WEALTH to get out of the game forever. Cold's got problems however, as Iris West, a prison full of baddies, and an imperiled sister all threaten to interrupt Cold's path to retirement.

This book is both penned AND drawn by Scott Kolins, who popped up as a frequent fill-in artist for Francis Manapul on Geoff Johns' latest Flash series. From a story standpoint, what I loved most about Citizen Cold was the portrayal of the titular character. Where many other Flashpoint characters have been transplanted into positions that greatly change their personality, Cold is still (pun intended) cold. He's an asshole. He's a rogue. He's just managed to get enough of Central City's schmucks to buy him as a hero that he's found more profit in it. Particularly, all the Citizen Cold fans chanting, "COLD SNAP", and Cold getting irritated spoke volumes to his character.

Kolins' artwork fits in well with these villain themed stories, and I really love the way he experiments with panel layouts. The scene in which Cold is standing in his underpants (stay with me), Cold Gun clutched in his hand, while a news report details events concerning his sister is pretty powerfully told with just great illustration and unorthodox layouts.

Cold Shoulder

The only problems I found with Citizen Cold surrounded its set up. There seems like there's going to be problems with the other Rogues Cold has locked up in Iron Heights, but we really don't know if that should be our main concern. Cold also has dealings with Iris that seem to suggest he wants a romantic relationship with her, but that doesn't go anywhere. Indeed, outside of the sub-plot involving his father and sister (and a cliff-hanger ending which will put him at odds with Iris), I'm just a little confused what's gonna happen next. I suppose that's why a mini series has more than one issue in it. Also, I said Kolins' artwork works best with villains because, not to be negative, but his characters are pretty ugly. Ugly in the best way, sure, as Cold himself looks amazing (as do all the other villains), but characters like Iris and Wally West just look a tad odd when drawn in Kolins' style.

*INSERT COLD/ICE PUN HERE*

The Rogues have a pretty built-in audience. If you're a Flash fan, nothing should stop you from picking up this title. If you have at least a little bit of interest in seeing how a villain who becomes a hero... but remains a villain would act in a position of prominence, Citizen Cold is a great read. It's not without a few flaws, but Citizen Cold deserves the attention of all but the most die hard of Rogue haters.

Citizen Cold #1 freezes a solid 4 stars out of 5.