Monthly Archives: April 2010

New Feature! Flash Collector Showcase: Glen Antonio

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Speedforce.org is proud to present our newest feature, Flash Collector Showcase. We will be showcasing Flash memorabilia collectors and their collections from all over the world; whether it be comics, toys, t-shirts, collectibles or art. If it’s a collection and it’s main focus or a large part of it relates to The Flash or his Rogues, then it will be eligible to be featured.

To that end all collectors interested in having their collection possibly featured in a future Flash Collector Showcase please send your name, geographic location, a short biography, some background on your collection, and about 3 to 6 pictures to
Devintheflashjohnson@yahoo.com. Be sure to mention if your collection has received special mentions or any other accolades as well although this is not a requirement.

Now on to our very first Flash Collector, Glen Antonio.

Glen hails from the Republic of the Philippines, where he is widely known as the country’s biggest Flash Memorabilia collector. His collection is so well known that he has been featured in various newspaper articles and even on a popular Filipino primetime talk show, Mel and Joey. The show’s topic was Glen and his family of fellow collectors; his wife, Rosette who collects Lord of the Rings action figures (with a focus on Legolas) and his daughter and son, Dylan and Dwayne who collect Barbie dolls and red diecast cars respectively.

You can see Glen and the rest of the family on Mel and Joey showing off their collections HERE. The language is Tag-Lish, a combination of Tagalog and English, but you get the idea.

Glen has been collecting Flash action figures and memorabilia since he was in grade school, but he didn’t really hit his stride (hehe) until around 2001. His collection now includes more than 100 versions of the Flash and several rare collectibles that can only be procured through fast food establishments in the Philippines. These collectibles alone may make his collection one of the largest and certainly more unique Flash collections in the world.

His favorite Flash just so happens to be Barry Allen. Glen believes Barry to be the noblest and the greatest of The Flashes, which admittedly is a hard case to disprove considering he sacrificed himself for the universe and all. Glen’s love for the character comes through even in the way his display is set up. With Barry’s figures taking center stage and the rest of the Speedsters carefully arranged behind him, Barry Allen is clearly the star:

Glen’s display is arranged thematically. The first section has all the Bart Allen figures on the far left of the display, then all of the Jay figures closer to the middle, with Barry figures taking center stage (Glen’s favorite speedster after all). Wally’s section is to the right of Barry, and all other Flash incarnations (Johnny Quick, Alfred E. Neuman, etc) are farther right.

The second section is reserved for the bigger items (8” and above). Plushes, various dolls, Justice League Animated 10” Figures and the 12” Giants of Justice DC Universe Flash SDCC exclusive among others, goes here.

Finally the third section (below) consists of fast food Flash collectibles, Kenner Flash action figures and the smaller scale Justice League Animated Flash Figures. The fast food collectibles are definitely some of the rarer pieces in Glen’s collection. They are considered harder to find since only certain parts of the world offered them and even then only for a limited time. He has pieces from the United States (Burger King, Jack in the Box, Subway, McDonald’s, Sunkist – Hawaii), France (McDonald’s), and the Philippines (Jollibee, a fast food chain that rivals McDonald’s popularity in the Philippines):

DC Universe Classics Barry, Crisis On Infinite Earths Barry, Silver Age Barry, Superfriends Barry, and New Frontier Barry all team up to stop the Anti-Monitors of Five Different Universes, or something cool like that:

Some of Glen’s rarer collectibles:

One more view of the largest Flash collection in the Philippines:

There are a few more items that aren’t pictured, and Glen is always adding new collectibles to what he has dubbed his “Flash Stash”, but you can see the newest pics of his “stash” on his Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

I have to say that this really feels like things are coming full circle; Glen was the guy who first inspired me to start collecting Flash memorabilia in earnest a few years ago. Up until then I had purchased a few Flash action figures here and there but nothing significant. Then one day I was checking out Toynewsi.com and I came across a post of Glen’s in the DC Comics forum where he had posted some pics of his collection and I was awestruck. From that point on my goal was to amass a collection as thorough as Mr. Antonio’s. Who else can say they have garnered national attention for their Flash collection?

This guy doesn’t skip a beat by the way. Glen will be exhibiting his full Flash collection for the upcoming 9th Annual Philippine Toycon, June 19th through June 20th, 2010. This year’s theme is the 75th Anniversary of DC Comics. With a collection that spans the Golden Age with Jay Garrick and up through the Modern Age with Bart Allen (and everything in between), there is no doubt that Glen’s collection is a great choice to be on exhibit for the 75th Anniversary celebration.

Thanks for reading. Keep a look out for more collections to be showcased here on Speedforce.org in the future. Also remember if you or anyone you know has a Flash collection please drop me a line at
Devintheflashjohnson@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you. Be sure to include your name, geographic location, a short biography, some background on your collection, and about 3 to 6 pictures as well.

Btw Speedforce.org and myself are on Twitter. Add @Speedforceorg and @FlashJohnson to receive the latest Flash news on the run.

–Devin “The Flash” Johnson

Infantino Goes to Metropolis

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Legendary Flash artist Carmine Infantino will appear at this year’s Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois, Superman Homepage reports. Infantino created the look of the Silver Age Flash and many of the Rogues, and the article summarizes his many other contributions to the DC and later Marvel universes. Superman Celebration runs June 10-13, 2010.

(Thanks to Steve for the tip!)

This Week (April 28): Flash Rebirth Hardcover

The collected edition of The Flash: Rebirth comes out this week, along with a JLA hardcover and a couple of new releases.

Flash: Rebirth Hardcover

Written by Geoff Johns; Art and cover by Ethan Van Sciver

Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the writer/artist team behind the blockbuster GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH and THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR, create an explosive, jaw-dropping epic that reintroduces Barry Allen as The Flash in this hardcover collecting the fast-paced 6-issue miniseries. But how will this greatest of all Flashes find his place in the twenty-first century?

DC Universe · 168pg. · Color · Hardcover · $19.99 US

Buy it at your local comic shop this week, or order it from Amazon, who’ll have it next week.

As I recall, extras include character designs, such as some of the drafts Ethan Van Sciver went through when redesigning Wally West’s costume, and attempts to draw Iris Allen showing her age a bit more than the “hot Iris” she became.

(I have to ask one thing: Did the copywriter who called this miniseries “fast-paced” actually read the book? It was a slow burn that didn’t really get going until issue four.)

Also This Week

Flash: Rebirth isn’t the only hardcover coming out this week, or the only DC book to feature one of the Fastest Men (and Women) Alive.

James Robinson: Jesse Quick in the JLA

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Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers interviews James Robinson about his Justice League of America run and the upcoming crossover with the Justice Society. He talks about the team dynamic and some of the new characters joining the roster, including the team’s new speedster…Jesse Quick, who will be moving over from the JSA to the JLA by the end of the crossover.

Newsarama: Her encounter with her father during Blackest Night explains why she chose this costume and identity now, but why do you think it works for her to join the Justice League?

Robinson: Well, you’ll have to read the story to see how it happens. But what I like about her joining the Justice League is there’s a natural link between the Justice League and the Justice Society because of her marriage to Hourman, which we can play upon. There’s a natural organic link between the two teams now, which is good.

Speed Reading

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Two weeks’ worth of linkblogging, so you’ll probably have seen a lot of these by now…

Commentary

Multiversity Comics presents A Crisis of Chronology: The Flash, as well as thoughts on early solicitations in a digital age.

Silver Age Gold presents: I Hate the Flash’s Girlfriend, all about Iris West! Silver Age Comics responds: Ending with Iris.

Art

slaterman23 has a Flickr set featuring vintage-style DC Comics posters (via The Nerdy Bird).

Paxton Holley has found a comic in which Superman Becomes the Flash (Action Comics #314, 1964)

Chris Samnee sketches Flash vs. Captain Cold at C2E2.

Mr. Maczaps presents Death in the form of the Black Flash.

Bobby Timony draws Jay Garrick (also at C2E2).

By now you’ve probably all seen this visual pun on Flash and the iPad using Alex Ross’ art.

The Top Cow Panel at C2E2 has some incredible samples of Kenneth Rocafort’s art from the upcoming Velocity miniseries.

Karl Kerschl’s webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher, is coming to print.

The webcomic Comic Critics tackles Greg Rucka leaving DC.

Other

Comic Book Resources has put together a Comics Twitter Directory [dead link]

Cinema Spy considers how the new status quo seen in Flash #1 might influence the Flash movie. [dead link]

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Flash-related Exclusives

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In case anyone wasn’t aware, one of Mattel’s exclusives for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con or SDCC is going to be Starro The Conqueror. How does this relate to The Flash? Many of you should be aware that Starro, the alien conqueror with the ability to enslave his enemies using starfish-shaped spores, debuted with the Justice League of America in the Silver Age classic, Brave and the Bold #28. As a special bonus to commemorate DC Comics’ 75th Anniversary, Mattel will be releasing Starro with all five members of the original Justice League. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and of course, our favorite scarlet speedster, The Flash. Take a gander.

Starro Packaging

Starro and the Silver Age Justice League of America

Starro Spores that can only be acquired at the Con.

Unfortunately these guys aren’t going to be released in the DC Universe Classics(or DCUC) line. The exclusive for that line has been revealed to be Plastic Man.

These are instead done in the Infinite Heroes style which is Mattel’s 3.75-inch line of figures. Think DC Universe Classics shrunken down to the size of G.I. Joes. I don’t think the line has been as popular as Mattel had hoped. A lot of this having to do with the quality of the initial figures. Limited Articulation (Which I actually liked for the most part), poor sculpts and sloppy paint apps have plagued this line from the very beginning. The figures have been more plentiful and easier to find at retail than DCUC, but I can’t say how much of this is because of collectors not really wanting them.

These guys don’t look too bad though. Mattel went back to the drawing board a little while ago and the results weren’t terrible. Not perfect by any means but they are heading in the right direction. I have been waiting for a regular version of the Flash released in the Matty Exclusive Crisis on Infinite Earths Infinite Heroes 4-Pack for a while and while I’m not ecstatic that I have to pay 50 bucks for him I’m still happy to have him. Honestly I’m sure they are going to release him as a single card later on, I really just want it now. 🙂

The packaging is probably the coolest part of this set. Well besides the Starro Spores. But you can only get those if you go to the actual con or purchase them after the fact on eBay for what I’m sure will be ridiculous prices. You can’t see it in the pictures but the packaging is set up exactly like the cover of Brave and the Bold #28. Attack of the Show had an exclusive preview of all the Mattel items coming to SDCC, including this set. The awesome set up of the cover is shown in the first video which can be seen HERE. The segment on the Starro set is about 2 minutes and 18 seconds in. This looks so cool, that it may be the one item that I keep MOC (or Mint On Card, meaning unopened and in pristine condition for the uninitiated).

Can’t wait to order these guys. I may go the extra mile for the Starro Spores as they look too freaking cool to pass up. I already have a Starro-possessed Flash Heroclix so it would be kind of cool to have a large scale version of it too. Do any of you guys plan on picking the set up? At SDCC or from Matty later on?

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson