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I'm really enjoying the little snippets of Absolute Flash so far. Now with its third issue, this is shaping up to be a really unique comic, even for the Absolute universe in which these big characters are receiving fresh takes on their stories, both darker and with various alterations. Absolute Flash saw Barry growing up on a military base where his father works, bored out of his mind and without much of a childhood to pursue. Seeing kindness in the workers at the base that gave sympathy. With this comes his participation in a military experiment without realising. An accident forming that sees the death of a worker and the gaining of unique powers for Barry. Allowing him to run incredibly fast. Granting superhuman speed. Something that comes quite useful with how Barry relies on running from his problems, both mentally and literally. Though this is something that is haunting him, as he becomes a hunted subject by the military, with his father at the wheel of it all. Though Barry is wanted back alive, not dead.

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Issue three was probably one of the fastest issue reads I've ever had. And I mean that in a good way. Each panel flowed into the next to the point where I barely noticed I was reading page after page. And this was with an issue that didn't have a ton of dialogue to it, more focused on its exploration of character while introducing a new one, finally an ally for Barry. Grodd, a monkey that was another type of military experiment being sent in to deal with Barry and bring him back. The concept of connection being a major theme here as it finds ways to connect Barry and the monkey Grodd together through mutual hardships. Their loss of a mother, being pulled away from them in their youth, The struggles of dealing with being on a military base, growing up there and thus becoming experiments. Grodd touches finger with Barry to which the two witness their lives, realising they're the same. And this snaps Grodd out of his routine, and thus Grodd goes rogue. Following Barry instead. 

That was essentially the gist of this issue. All about Barry finding a friend. And how the two will run from the military together. Defying their pasts and trying to come to terms with their present and future. I really liked the art again, it's really vibrant and manages to support that flow of one panel following another. Such strong art that sticks with the fast-paced concept of the Flash character, alongside the chaos that comes with having such powers and not being able to really control them. Leading to not just a rapid body, but also a rapid mind that can't come to accept what has happened. This is a physical and mental battle so far, and it shows. 

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With how Barry's father leads the hunt on him, while claiming he wants him alive after all, given he's his son, this issue also displays some of the struggles in the military in trying to bring him back unharmed. And things are slowly shaping up into something more serious as these attempts fail and the soldiers grow tired. I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going from here, the pace so far is really quick, though it's inevitable that it will find a way to slow down and expand upon its themes and world a little bit more. I suspect that's coming soon with three issues now focusing on Barry just running.