November 30, 2009
IGN has posted a 5-page preview of Blackest Night: The Flash #1, due in stores this Wednesday. Here’s the final cover by Scott Kolins, complete with logo, next to Ethan Van Sciver’s cover for Flash: Rebirth #1:
Interestingly, Francis Manapul’s alternate cover turns out to be the one DC used in the solicitations for issue #3 — which means we have no idea what the real covers for #3 are going to look like!
A couple of things that come to mind reading this:
- It’s great to see Scott Kolins’ art on the Flash again.
- Nice touch to list the time-traveling Reverse-Flash on both the living and dead columns.
- Am I misremembering, or is the new “about box” for Barry’s origin (at the bottom of the splash page) more complicated than the one they used for Wally?
Head over to IGN to read the preview!
Well, of the 261 votes, the overwhelming consensus was that Flash: Rebirth #5 was good… Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s check in on the internet and see what people have been saying about the latest issue of Flash: Rebirth.
IGN – “Rebirth’s biggest flaw is that it all too often feels more like housekeeping than storytelling….Flash: Rebirth isn’t a bad comic; it’s just far from Johns and Van Sciver’s best.”
DoubleDCoverage – “With just one more issue to go I’m beginning to feel a little concerned about the entertainment value of this series versus it’s existence purely to “fix” things.”
Major Spoilers – “3.5 out of 5 stars overall, by getting past the dark-and-gritty and remembering that some of the best Flash comics are about fun, about dynamism, about family and about a guy who runs fast and does neat stuff…”
Comic Book Resources – “I couldn’t help but be reminded of Unbreakable. And I don’t mean that as an insult. But I do mean that this issue has some of the same assets, and some of the same deficiencies, as that Shyamalan movie”
Mania – “This is a book for fans of superheroes and has all of the classic ingredients thrown in this time around. The stakes are high, the villain is truly villainous and the fists are flying just as much as anyone could want.”
Creative Loafing – “I’m excited about what the future holds for the characters … even though I’m not too thrilled about the present.”
Newsarama: Best Shots – “With some of the method behind Geoff Johns’ madness getting revealed, this issue certainly means big things to the Flash family — as well as fans of the Scarlet Speedster.”
Newsarama: Best Shots Rapid Fire – “[E]ven with Barry sharing the spotlight, this issue was still chock full of great character moments…I can’t wait to find out what the future holds for the new and improved Flash franchise.”
iFanboy: JumpingJupiter – “in spite of it’s ridiculousness and tropes Johns and Sciver do turn this clunky fast-running engine around.”
Paradox Comics Group – “often so entrenched in Flash lore that it becomes difficult for anyone bar the hardcore elite fanboy to fully engage in the action.”
Comicgasm – “This issue finally comes along and explans why Barry’s angsting all this time…But the thing that I really loved about Rebirth #5 is that the Flash family’s finally the spotlight.”
Reilly2040 – “…the best issue of Rebirth so far. The pace finally felt right to me, and it built on the Zoom stuff from issue 4 well.”
Multiversity Comics – “The long and short of it is? It’s awesome.”
Exile in Geeksville – “Geoff Johns has single handedly started the Second Silver Age of Comics.”
Mart Gray is Too Dangerous For a Girl – “The eeeeevil Professor Zoom faces off against more good super-speedsters than you can shake a winged helmet at at an issue with the wow factor on pretty much every Flash-packed page.”
SciFiPulse – “Geoff Johns continues to intrigue and amaze as he re-defines the Scarlet Speedster for DC Comics. Ethan Van Sciver’s art pulls me in and makes me feel I’m experiencing what Barry Allen is going through”
And a few podcasts I haven’t had a chance to listen to yet…
Flash-Back Podcast
NewsOK Comics Podcast
Rokk’s Comic Book Revolution Podcast
And finally, there’s my review of the issue.
I didn’t find nearly as many reviews as I usually do. I guess the slow schedule is killing enthusiasm for the book.
November 29, 2009
Some weekend linkblogging…
Comics and…Other Imaginary Tales looks back at DC Two Thousand, a two-part story from the turn of the millennium in which the modern Justice League of America goes back in time to 1941 and meets the Justice Society. The Golden Age heroes aren’t entirely sure the JLA’s future is worth saving, though.
Collected Editions reviews Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.
Comic Book Movie fan-casts Flash: Rebirth.
Chris Samnee sketches Kid Flash.
What Were They Thinking? has another example of why they called the Golden-Age Flash a comic “strip.”
Over at Comic Bloc there’s a comedic discussion of What else Zoom did to Barry (spoilers for Flash: Rebirth #5).
Finally, if you’ll excuse the plug, there are only a few hours left in my Farscape DVD auctions on eBay. If you’d like to pick up a season set, now’s your chance!
November 28, 2009
Cheetor of Two Worlds, originally uploaded by Gizmo_Tracer.
I found this photo while searching for more “Flash of Two Worlds” homages. There’s a whole series of comic book cover homages using Transformers toys.
Gizmo_Tracer describes the composition like this:
Cheetor as The Flash just seems obvious, and the ‘Flash of Two Worlds’ cover has always struck me as a real classic, thus, here we are.
November 27, 2009
Ralbalboa sent in this scan of a cover from an early Sonic the Hedgehog comic book:
(Click to enlarge)
It’s Sonic the Hedgehog #9, cover-dated April, probably from 1994 (GCD says the series started in 1993). And as regular readers here will no doubt notice, it’s a reference to the classic Flash of Two Worlds cover from Flash vol.1 #123 (1961). Read the rest of this entry »
Spotted this last week on my lunch break. Sorry about the image quality: it was backlit, all I had was my phone, and to top it of, my windshield needed to be cleaned. (We’d had one of those rains a few days earlier that drops just enough water to rearrange the dirt, but no more. I got to it after work that day.)
November 25, 2009
Well, the streak had to end sometime, and DC has rescheduled two upcoming Flash issues.
Before you freak out, Blackest Night: The Flash is still starting next week!
However, DC has pushed Flash: Rebirth #6 from December 23 to January 27, 2010. That’s 10 weeks from the November 18 release of issue #5, comparable to the gaps between #3 and #4 (11 weeks) and between #4 and #5 (12 weeks). Flash: Rebirth #1–3 shipped on time, with 5 weeks between each issue.
January 27 came in fourth in the reader poll I ran a few weeks ago, with 14% of the vote. February came in first with 20%, and December 23 and “April or Later” tied for second. (I only listed specific dates for December and January.)
Meanwhile, Blackest Night: The Flash #2 has been given an extra week, and should ship January 20.
For now, Blackest Night: The Flash #3 is holding to its original date of February 17, so it should wrap in plenty of time for the Secret Files book in March and the new ongoing series in April.
Edit: Here’s my previous breakdown of the schedule, including the delays and the gaps. It’s current through the final release date of #5. At this point I’m going to wait until I have #6 in my hands before I update it.
New poll: Which will end first, Flash: Rebirth or Blackest Night: The Flash?
November 24, 2009
Geoff Johns posted on Comic Bloc this morning about plans for the Flash through 2010. He recommends that Flash fans read Blackest Night #5, says he’s seen Blackest Night: Flash #1 and goes on to reveal:
- March sees the release of Flash Secret Files 2010.
- April features “not one, but two new Flash titles. There have been a few minor top secret alterations that will be revealed soon, I think, about the books.”
Presumably that means The Flash and Kid Flash will both debut in April. The top secret alterations may include a backup feature in Kid Flash, or perhaps an artist change. (I suppose it could mean two Flash books in April and then Kid Flash in May, but that seems unlikely for now.)
He talks a little about the new series:
The first arc of THE FLASH is called THE DASTARDLY DEATH OF THE ROGUES and should be self-explanatory…kind of. 
Other arcs will include MURDER IN GORILLA CITY, THE RETURN OF ### ######## and a brand new Rogue with a power unlike anyone in comics, but perfect for the Flash.
Johns also addresses the delays with Flash: Rebirth, saying it’s “as frustrating for [him] as anyone” and adding that “after much debate, we didn’t want to hand the series over to another artist or spilt up the book.”
There’s a lot more, particularly about Blackest Night: The Flash. He notes that “the ending [of the first issue?] might be my favorite line Captain Cold has ever uttered.”
