February 27, 2010
The top search terms lately have been variations on the following:
- Flash Rebirth 6
- Blue Lantern Flash
- Wally West new costume
- Speed Force
But then there are the search terms at the bottom of the list…the weird ones that make you wonder either, “What was this person thinking?” or “How the heck did that term bring someone here?”
is final crisis canon or not? – Why wouldn’t it be?
is there a way to smoke speed – Umm… I don’t know. In fact, I don’t want to know.
can you name that dc character – You know, the who suffered a severe childhood trauma involving the loss of a parent, and everything in their past seems to be related to the costume gimmick or powers? Yeah, that one!
full episodes of Bones – I think you reached the wrong site.
kill the beatniks – I can blame Tom Peyer for this one.
batman/wally west romance fanfic – I’m sure it’s out there (and probably more than there used to be, now that Dick Grayson is Batman), but I have no idea how they landed here.
irredeemable comic reading order – Seriously, there’s, what, 10 issues out, and they’re numbered sequentially. Why is there a question here?
colour of ww1 brodie helmets in green – Umm…I’m going to go with green.
wally west’s hair – Umm… it’s red.
what’s the last bus to leave golden lantern and hidden hills – I don’t know, but you’d better not miss it.
where to buy batman ice cream – Is there such a thing? I’ve heard of Superman ice cream, but Batman?
flash gordon super speed – *sigh* – He doesn’t have it. I hope you learned something today.
February 26, 2010
Here are some more questions (and implied questions) pulled from search terms that have shown up in the site stats, all about conventions.
Why are some tickets for the comic con more expensive than others?
That depends on the convention. Some of the price variations I’ve seen include:
- More popular days cost more. (Simple supply and demand to help balance the crowds.)
- Days with longer hours cost more. (Friday starts later, or Sunday ends earlier, or both.)
- More expensive tickets include access to special events or exclusive merchandise.
How can i get tickets to Comic Con?
In most cases, you can go to the convention’s website and order a ticket online, or find a phone number to call. Regional cons will often sell tickets through nearby comic stores.
I’m guessing that this person meant Comic-Con International (San Diego), which has sold out of full-weekend, Saturday, and Friday passes for this year. You can still buy a Thursday or Sunday ticket. If you want to get a 4-day pass, or a pass for a day that’s sold out, don’t give up hope just yet.
But first: you can’t just buy a ticket second-hand because they’re linked to names, and you have to show ID when you pick up your badge. Maybe if your identical twin bought the ticket and is willing to lend you his or her driver’s license.
You can keep your eye open for promotions. Last year, as the con approached, there were companies that held contests or raffles where the prize was a ticket to the convention.
You can also wait until June. Last year, after the cancellation deadline, the con organizers counted up the number of tickets returned and started selling them online. To keep them from selling out all at once, they put them up in small lots in fixed-price sales on eBay. They’ve said that they plan to do something similar this year.
Wizard World Anaheim Review
I’ve seen a lot of variations on this one, which is interesting because there hasn’t been a Wizard World Anaheim yet to review! The convention coming up in April is the first one.
It will probably be similar to the last few Wizard World Los Angeles cons, though the change in venue will almost certainly have an effect. WWLA itself changed drastically (I’m told) when it moved from the Long Beach Convention Center to the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the new con is going to be literally across the street from Disneyland. More importantly, Wizard World itself seems to be broadening its focus to general pop culture and celebrities even as it’s adding “Comic Con” to its name.
If you’re interested, here are my write-ups of some recent LA-area cons:
On a related note, I also saw this:
Comic-Con Anaheim Geoff Johns 2010
Sorry to break it to you, but he’s not going to be there. The same weekend, he’ll be at C2E2 in Chicago.
Update: I forgot to mention another weird one related to Anaheim: “WonderCon Anaheim.” I don’t know whether someone got the names mixed up (it does start with a W) or was looking for information on both conventions.
February 25, 2010
IESB is reporting that Greg Berlanti, co-writer of the Green Lantern film with Marc Guggenheim and creator/executive producer of such TV series as Eli Stone, Brothers & Sisters, and Everwood, is the “leading contender” to direct The Flash. (via SpeedsterSite)
The Flash is being written by Dan Mazeau from a story by Geoff Johns, who is also attached as a producer.
February 24, 2010
Somewhat related to Kelson’s Article about Batman: Brave and The Bold, it has been pretty much confirmed that Barry Allen will be getting an action figure of his own in the Brave and The Bold toy line.
Oddly enough instead of showing up at Toy Fair 2010, fans caught their first glimpse of the new Flash figure on Target.com. According to the Batman: Brave and The Bold Facebook Page, Mattel didn’t reveal it at Toy Fair on purpose. A sensible decision to try and save some of the new merchandise for the upcoming New York Comic Con. I hope they have a Jay Garrick ready to go as well, because to date he is the only Flash that we have seen guest star on the show. Not really fair for Barry to get a figure before Jay especially when Jay appeared on the show (and in the comics) first. Then again I don’t think Jay would mind that much once he saw this thing:
I don’t know about anyone else (or if anyone else can remember back as far as this) but does this toy remind anyone else of the Centurions from back in the day?
You know these guys:
As you can probably surmise I’m not too thrilled with the overall look of it. But looking at it from a kid’s point of view I could definitely see myself having fun with it. Not myself as a kid, because I was that kid who always questioned why Batman was wearing orange or neon green when he was supposed to be a creature of the night. I’m talking about your average kid who isn’t quite as nit-picky as I was.
I guess it can’t be much worst than this:
It took me a couple of years to finally break down and purchase that thing and it was only because I was in a collectors drought and hadn’t gotten anything new in months. Still every time I look at it I have to pretend that Flash somehow lost his powers and this is his way of making up for it or some nonsense like that. Yeah. Don’t ask.
I will still end up picking it up but if I can help it I will probably drag my feet a bit before doing so. Although with the Flash’s recent resurgence in popularity due to The Flash: Rebirth and the upcoming Brightest Day storyline coupled with the high demand of the Brave and The Bold toy line I might not have a chance to.
-Devin “The Flash” Johnson
Well, it’s finished. And oddly enough, that’s the strongest thing I can say about the conclusion of the Geoff Johns/Ethan Van Sciver miniseries. The main story wraps up rather abruptly, taking up about half of the issue (13 pages out of 22), with the rest devoted to character bits and foreshadowing. There’s certainly nothing wrong with character bits — they’re actually some of my favorite parts of this issue — but instead of a tour de force, Flash: Rebirth #6 wraps up with a resounding…well…it wraps up.
I don’t know if I’d feel differently about this if I’d read it before Blackest Night: The Flash, or before DC canceled their plans for the Kid Flash comic book and the backup stories featuring Wally West. I’m sure it didn’t help.
The best thing about the issue is that I can actually recognize Barry Allen as Barry Allen, not as some guy who has the same name and haircut. That’s one of the problems I had with the series up to this point: why go to the effort to bring back Barry Allen if you’re going to give him a personality transplant?
SPOILERS AHEAD!
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There’s been talk for a while of a “Flash Legacy” episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold. The main Flash on the show is Jay Garrick, who has appeared in at least two episodes: “Trials of the Demon” and “The Golden Age of Justice.” Kid Flash was notably absent from the recent “Sidekicks” episode, but producer James Tucker told the Aquaman Shrine that they have plans for Kid Flash “in the near future.”
In a comment thread on the show’s Facebook page a few days ago, producers confirmed that “Jay, Barry, and Wally will be featured in a upcoming episode that focuses on the Flash legacy.”
New episodes of the cartoon return in March.
It turns out that today is Greg LaRocque’s birthday! LaRocque drew The Flash vol.2 through all of William Messner-Loebs’ run and the beginning of Mark Waid’s, finishing up with the well-regarded story, The Return of Barry Allen. He pencilled the book for five years, from Flash vol.2 #15 in 1988 through Flash vol.2 #79 in 1993, with only a handful of fill-in issues by other artists, making him the longest-running artist on Wally West’s series.
Along the way he designed Wally West’s shiny costume, which debuted in the above Flash vol.2 #50. In my opinion, he’s still the artist who made it look the best. As Scott Mateo points out on Comic Bloc, when LaRocque drew Wally and Barry together, you could easily tell them apart even at a glance. The artist talks about the redesign in his interview in The Flash Companion.
It’s interesting that LaRocque and Messner-Loebs worked together on the book for roughly four years, and their birthdays are only a few days apart!
February 23, 2010
Wally West isn’t the only red-headed speedster out there. Velocity, winner of Top Cow’s first Pilot Season, will finally be getting her own series this May.
Well, sort of.
Velocity has been a member of Cyberforce since it launched in the early 1990s, and has had two solo books: a 1995 miniseries by Kurt Busiek and Anthony Chun, and a one-shot in 2007 by Joe Casey and Kevin Maguire. The one-shot was part of Top Cow’s “Pilot Season” event: they released several “first issues” of potential series and asked fans to vote on which one should be picked up. Velocity won, and Top Cow went on to prepare a series. Joe Casey returned, and ChrisCross took over as artist.
That series never actually launched, though. Casey wrote three issues, ChrisCross drew one full issue and several covers, but the book was delayed several times and finally scrapped due to creative differences. With their newly found free time, Joe Casey and ChrisCross went over to DC and did Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance.
Return
Top Cow has announced a new Velocity miniseries starting in May, written by Ron Marz and drawn by Kenneth Rocafort (who did variant covers for the unlaunched series).
Carin Taylor is the fastest woman in the world. At least, she’d better be if she wants to save her own life and the lives of her Cyberforce teammates. When a former Cyberdata scientist — and test subject — seeks revenge against the members of Cyberforce, only Velocity can save her friends before the clock literally runs out.
Ron Marz remarked to UGO:
I’ve been getting to use the supernatural side of the Top Cow Universe as my playground for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to write one of my favorites from the superhero/tech side.
In some ways it does fulfill the promise of Pilot Season, in terms of the character finally getting a book, but it’s an entirely new creative team. And it’s a four-issue limited series, not an ongoing. I guess after two and a half years Top Cow wanted to test the waters again. Kind of a shame, given how rare it is to find and ongoing speedster comic that’s not The Flash (or Sonic the Hedgehog), but it’s probably sensible not to rely too much on the buzz from 2007.
February 22, 2010
DC’s latest direct-to-home-video animated film, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, goes on sale Tuesday, February 23.
In it, the Justice League answers a plea for help from an alternate Lex Luthor, one who comes from a world where good and evil are reversed. The heroic Luthor fights against the tyranny of such master villains as Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, and Johnny Quick (a name that DC has reused several times).
It is, of course, inspired by a long tradition of evil-counterpart stories in DC Comics.
Speedster corner: The story is adapted from an unproduced Justice League Unlimited script, so the Flash is the familiar wise-cracking, thinks-with-his-feet type. There’s also supposed to be a good super-speed fight between him and the evil Johny Quick.
Here are this week’s Flash appearances, including the long-awaited Flash: Rebirth #6, the conclusion of Blackest Night: JSA and the second-to-last chapter of Blackest Night itself.
The Flash: Rebirth #6
6 of 6 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver
In a battle along the outskirts of time, the secrets of the Speed Force have been revealed! The new archnemesis of those who ride the lightning is coming for Iris Allen. And the Barry Allen you knew is gone forever…or is he? What change does Wally West face? What destiny will Kid Flash choose? Prepare to meet a Flash Family that’s both familiar and different…and get to the starting line for the next epic adventures of the Speed Force!
This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver).
Edit: There’s a four-page preview at The Source.
Blackest Night #7
7 of 8 · 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari
Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis
As Nekron continues to wage war on life throughout the universe, Hal Jordan discovers the grim, true mission behind the villain’s return. But the truth is so cosmically abysmal that it threatens to expose a secret that could tear the very universe asunder. You can’t miss this stunning, penultimate issue to the year’s biggest event!
This issue will ship with three covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Rodolfo Migliari). For every 100 copies of the Standard Edition, retailers may order one copy of the Sketch Variant Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis).
Blackest Night: JSA #3
3 of 3 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Eddy Barrows & Nei Ruffino · Variant cover by Gene Ha
The bloodthirsty combat in Manhattan reaches its stunning conclusion here! Earth-2 Superman returns to prove that the true legacy of the Justice Society of America is death. Can our heroes rise up to defeat their dead mentors, role models and villains? And can even the third- smartest man in the world, Mr. Terrific, devise a way to destroy them – or will Manhattan and the world perish under Nekron’s might?
This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Eddy Barrows & Nei Ruffino), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Gene Ha).
Justice Society of America #36
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Jesus Merino
Cover by Jesus Merino
The discovery of exactly who was behind the recent attacks on Obsidian and other members of the Justice Society puts the team on the trail of a true Axis of Evil! This means war!
