YES! Finally we get to see more of Flagg. In this, the last issue of the first story arc, we get to see a bit of his background and what he has done over the years. As it turns out he has done plenty of bad things but never been the one being noticed. His been in the background influencing others to do his dirty work. Now he is one his way to Nevada and his rebirth. A rebirth that undoubtfully will result in death for a lot of others.

Mike Perkins has captured Flagg perfectly and he really looks scary and evil in his illustrations. His time isn’t really yet though and even though we get to see what he has done in the past we don’t really get a taste of his evil here. Hopefully we’ll get to see that when we enter the second story arc.

In-between Flagg’s history we also get to see how the regular people starts to realize what is really happening to them and what the government is doing to prevent them to really get a grip on what is happening. It’s brutal, it’s fearful and it’s exactly what fans of the book can be expecting.

As a bonus this time we get to see how two pages are done, from script to finished page and it’s quite interesting to read the instruction Mike gets from Roberto on what to illustrate and then see how it turned out. We also get interviews with writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and cover artist Lee Bermejo.

I really like the comic version of The Stand and I think that the team behind it is doing a wonderful job in turning King’s 1,200 page book into a comic. The feeling is there, the looks of the characters is there, the story itself is there. It’s everything we fans could have expected and more. Now we just have to wait for March to come along so we can get the next issue, the first in the second story arc, called American Nightmare.

This issue is a tribute to Flagg and a very good tribute. We get to know about his background and some of his presence. It’s a perfect build up for what’s to come and if you haven’t already read the first five issue, make sure you do in time for March when the story continues.

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