Monthly Archives: August 2008

Linkage: EVS: A Revolution for Flash Comics

2 Replies

CBR has interviewed Ethan van Sciver on Flash: Rebirth.

“I mean what I say,” continued Van Sciver, as he sketched The Flash for a fan. “This is going to be a revolution for Flash comics ” an absolute revolution. We will make this comic brand new.”

He also implies that Geoff Johns may be sticking with the book after Rebirth, something that fans have speculated about, but that DC has not confirmed:

“And now, more than ever, it’s time to bring back Barry Allen because he is a CSI scientist that is incredibly relevant. Geoff is going to have a blast telling stories with him. PG-13 scary crime stories with a Flash. It’s a lot of fun.

Bits and Pieces: Velocity, Calendars, Fanboys and Elites

Top Cow’s Velocity comic book by has been pushed back from November to a January launch. Publisher Filip Sablik on the CBR forums:

We hit a “speed bump” (ouch!) and rather than stick with the original solicitation schedule and end up with a late book, we opted to push Velocity back to a January launch. The delay in solicitation will ensure that the series will come out in a timely fashion and Joe Casey and ChrisCross have the time to make this series truly butt-kicking.

Speed Force lost the fight for the #3 spot at Comic Blog Elite when long-established blogs The Absorbascon and 4thLetter! signed up. Now it’s trading off spots 5 and 6 with downthetubes.net.

Asgard Press is publishing a Vintage DC Super-Heroes Calendar for 2009, featuring covers from the 1930s through 1960s. It’s a 16-month calendar, and October 2008 features the cover to Showcase #4, first appearance of the Silver-Age Flash. (The Golden-Age Flash Comics #37 gets a spot too, but it’s a Hawkman cover.)

Speaking of Comic Blog Elite, MTV sent them a request/press release about casting for True Life: I’m a Fanboy: “If you appear to be between the ages of 16 and 28, and want to share the story of your fantasy obsession, email us at fanboy@mtvn.com with all of the details. Be sure to include your name, location, phone number and a photo, if possible.”

This Week (Aug 27): Rogues Revenge #2

DC ships the middle issue of the three-part Rogues’ Revenge by the fan-favorite Flash team of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. Also related: Teen Titans Year One, Justice Society of America, and two hardcovers collecting JLA and The Brave and the Bold.

Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #2 (of 3)

Written by Geoff Johns; Art and covers by Scott Kolins

Life was easier when the Rogues had Barry Allen for a foe – or at least it was a bit more fun. Now, hunted by Libra and the Secret Society for refusing to worship the impending evil that is prophesized to claim Earth, Captain Cold and his crew find themselves attacked on several fronts . . . and that doesn’t sit well with the Rogues. Plus, a bizarre twist for Inertia!

Newsarama has a 5-page preview.

Team books and collections after the cut: Continue reading →

Quote of the Day

Leave a reply

Grant Morrison on Final Crisis (from an interview at IGN):

I think of it like dance music, and how they just took pop music to a place where there was nothing left but the bass and the drum and the build-up and release, and I kind of wanted a comic that would throw out all the boring conversations and fights and keep only the stuff I like to read. You know, to create the crack cocaine of superhero comics. [laughs]

Also worth noting, for anyone who’s confused about how the monthlies line up with Final Crisis:

Pretty much every storyline that’s currently running in a DC book is happening before Final Crisis, because the events of Final Crisis are so big, that we didn’t want to see its influence destabilizing major stories already running in the other comics. The whole story of Final Crisis is in that one book and its few tie-ins, and then when Final Crisis ends, the entire range of DC books will be dealing with the aftermath. So if you look at it that way, everything that you’re reading that comes out during Final Crisis tends to be happening the week before the story takes place.

There’s a lot of other interesting stuff in there — it’s worth a read if you have the time.

Rogues’ Revenge #2 Preview

1 Reply

Newsarama has posted a 5-page preview of Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #2, out in stores tomorrow.

Written by Geoff Johns; Art and covers by Scott Kolins.

Life was easier when the Rogues had Barry Allen for a foe — or at least it was a bit more fun. Now, hunted by Libra and the Secret Society for refusing to worship the impending evil that is prophesized to claim Earth, Cold and his crew find themselves attacked on several fronts…and that doesn’t sit well with the Rogues. Plus, a bizarre twist for Inertia!

Flash in Pop Culture: Big Bang, Skating and Sports

4 Replies

A quick round-up of recent pop culture references to the Flash:

First, reader Will mentioned an episode of the comedy, The Big Bang Theory, in four characters showed up to a costume party, each dressed as the Flash. The episode, “The Middle Earth Paradigm,” aired last fall, but it’s still topical: The first season will be released on DVD next week (region 1).

Second, Esteban Pedreros of Comic Verso writes about the Chilean TV show, Estrellas en el hielo (Stars on Ice) — essentially Dancing with the Stars, with ice skating. One of the contestants is sprinter Sebastián_Keitel, nicknamed “The fastest white man on Earth.” He and his partner appeared on the show wearing Flash costumes (look for Capítulo 3). I had trouble getting the video to play (must be the intercontinental bandwidth), but I was able to check out the photo galleries.

Finally, Sports Illustrated compares Usain Bolt with the Flash, describing the real-world Olympic gold medalist sprinter from Jamaica and the fictional super-hero as “two guys with claims at being the world’s fastest.”

Sorry, no costumes on this one!

Update: One more: Collected Comics Library linked to the Detroit Free Press’ profiles of promising football players as super-heroes, including Oak Park’s running back Edwin Baker as the Flash. According to the profile, “When you have been timed at 10.5 in the 100 meters, what other superhero is there? Maybe Quicksilver?” Other players have been profiled as Hulk and Thor.