Speed Force

According to Diamond’s shipping changes and DC’s page for the issue, The Flash #3 has been rescheduled from June 9 to June 23.

No changes so far on the schedule for Flash #4 or the just-solicited Flash #5.

Update: Flash isn’t the only speedster seeing delays. Over at Top Cow, the first issue of the Velocity miniseries was supposed to ship on May 26, but will be out the first or second week of June instead. Wouldn’t it be interesting if it ended up arriving the day that Flash #3 was originally going to reach stores?

eBay seller “bflash” is selling a veritable Flash Museum on eBay. In what he has dubbed the World’s Largest Flash Collection, he has for sale over 300 rare Flash items, some of which I wasn’t aware even existed. bflash breaks it down for us:

When you think about the large Superman, Batman or even Wonder Woman collections and items that are out there, then you consider how few Flash items there are, it’s pretty amazing to think that there are over 250 separate and “Flash-only” pieces here and available all at once. This collection has been amassed over 40 years. Each decade and era of the character are represented: 1940′s, 50′s, 60′s, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s and now.

Let’s take a look at this massive lot:

*Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image*

Quite the amazing haul. The Buy It Now price is $12,500.00 and the starting bid is $1,000 with a Reserve in place. When a eBay seller puts a Reserve on an auction it means that the sale item has to reach a certain amount before it can actually be called yours. bflash notes that the Buy It Now price is much less than the reserve, and well worth it:

Along with the expected toys, action figures and posters, there are several “very high value” items included: a 1942 Pinback (excellent), a 1961 Vissari Halloween costume (MIB), a 1946 Wheaties Giveaway Comic (Fine – Very Fine), a 1965 Ben Cooper Halloween Costume (MIB), a 1967 Hasbro Justice League – Flash board game (MINT) and Kenner Super Powers Prototypes and “test shot”, just to name a few. Also, in the collection are items from the 1989-91 TV show – scripts, cast and crew items and advertising pieces. These sought-after items more than justify the Buy It Now price.

Personally I have my eye on that Tiger Flash LCD Video Game from the early nineties, but unfortunately he does not sell items individually. The entire collection has to be purchased all at once and the Buy It Now price of 12k does not include shipping, although he does offer Local Pick Up. Glen Antonio had an idea about Flash collectors teaming up to purchase it and divvying up the loot accordingly. Who’s down?

There is a complete list of the items on the auction page and a rough youtube video of the collection HERE.

The auction ends in 4 days and 19 hours so that gives us a little time to have a yard sale and take out a second mortgage on the house. I would seriously have to sell every item in my Flash Collection just to afford this and that might not even be enough. If one of you guys ends up buying this, please let me know. I’m desperate for that Tiger Game.

Good Luck bidders and Keep it Flashy,

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

It’s a safe bet that your web browser uses at least one plugin, and probably several. Maybe it’s just Flash (the other one!) for viewing animations and video (think YouTube and Hulu). Maybe it’s Silverlight for watching Netflix, or Shockwave for playing games. You’ve probably got Java installed.

Just like your web browser, these plugins must be kept up to date or you’ll run into problems: missing features, instability, or (worst case) security vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, most plugins don’t update themselves.

Several months ago, Mozilla introduced a service called Plugin Check that will identify the plugins you have installed and tell you whether they need to be updated — and how to do it. At first it only worked on Firefox, but now it’s been expanded to all major browsers: Chrome, Safari, Opera, and even Internet Explorer.

It’s worth taking a few moments to check. Think of it as a pit stop for your computer’s web browser.

(Reposted from K-Squared Ramblings)

Comics Should Be Good is running a poll all month for the greatest ____ stories ever told. Currently up for voting: Wally West. Send in your top 10 choices between now and May 20.

In the same series, the Greatest Geoff Johns Stories results went up a few days ago.

For those still interested in picking up the JLU 3-Pack featuring Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang (as well as yet another Flash) the prices of the set on the secondary market are leveling off nicely. The lowest starting bid is 15.99, which isn’t rock bottom or anything, but a far cry from the 60 and 70 dollars the set was going for only a few weeks ago. Not to mention that Target raised the prices of JLU 3-Packs in September of last year to $15.99, so it’s the same price as purchasing it in the store. Of course the difference rests on the final bidding price and shipping and handling versus gas.

JLU 3 Pack feat. Cold and Boomerang

Also of equal importance to note there appears to be a lot more of these 3 packs available, which is undoubtedly contributing to the lowered prices. Punching in “captain cold boomerang” in the eBay search engine under “Action Figures” logged me 13 results. Not bad compared to the whopping “1″ I got late last month putting in the same search terms. As mentioned previously the lowest price was $15.99, which is practically the same when compared to Target prices, but there are still a couple sets going for scalper prices as high as 50 and 60 dollars. Hopefully they sit on eBay for a long time.

JLU Weather Wizard

Btw good news for those still on the look out for Weather Wizard. The Livewire, Weather Wizard, and Superman 3 packs have been very plentiful on eBay lately. Unfortunately the prices are still ridiculously high, with most of the “Buy It Now” prices of the 15 results ranging between 30 and 50 dollars.

This is a good lesson in waiting. I’m just too impatient when it comes to picking these up. At the same time though with Mattel’s poor distribution it’s sad that I automatically just resort to eBay and getting it asap because I don’t know when or if it will hit this area.

In any case good luck to those still hunting.

Keep it Flashy,

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

ICv2′s April 2010 sales estimates are up. Last week’s rankings from Diamond showed that Flash #1 was ranked #2 for the month, but what does that mean in absolute numbers? How were sales in general that month? (It turns out they were down 15% compared to last year.)

As it turns out, Flash volume 3 debuted at an estimated 100,903 copies, slightly behind Flash: Rebirth #1, but solidly ahead of the numbers by the end of the miniseries…and way ahead of the Flash Secret Files book, which only sold 37,339 copies. (Even that was ahead of the last few issues of the failed 2007 relaunch of Wally West’s series.)

Meanwhile, the Flash: Rebirth hardcover sold an estimated 4,405 copies in its first month, making it the #3-ranked graphic novel.

So how does Flash vol.3 stack up to other recent relaunches?

Promotion

It’s worth remembering that 2007 was a stealth relaunch. All-Flash #1 and Flash v.2 #231 were solicited as issues #14 and #15 of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, and DC didn’t announce the relaunch until Flash:TFMA #13 came out, killing Bart Allen, whose series had dropped sharply from that 120K high to a 46K low in only 10 issues.

By comparison, DC gave a major push for both Flash: The Fastest Man Alive and Flash: Rebirth. One spun out of Infinite Crisis, the other out of Final Crisis. (Heck, even this book spins out of Blackest Night and into Brightest Day. Wally’s relaunch was linked to Countdown. Seriously, Countdown. That’s got to have hurt!) DC shut down the then-ongoing Flash series for several months ahead of each launch.

Spike

I find it very interesting that this issue sold so much better than the last issue of Flash: Rebirth, which only pulled in 70K. Here are my thoughts on what factors might be involved:

• Readers who like the Flash but were disappointed in Flash: Rebirth (like myself) decided to give the new direction a second chance.
• Readers who were introduced to Barry Allen through Blackest Night decided to skip Flash: Rebirth and jump straight to the ongoing series.
• It’s got a Brightest Day logo on it.
• Orders were linked to a Flash Ring promotion.
• And, of course, it’s got a big #1 on the cover.

Here are a few recent comics-related items from my other blog, K-Squared Ramblings, that might be of interest to readers of Speed Force.

First up, I’ve written up a piece on today’s Comic-Con hotel deposit deadline and how it should be a second chance for hotel rooms. The short version: Today’s the last day to cancel without a penalty, so you can bet that rooms will be freeing up. We’ll see how Travel Planners handles the waiting list.

Last November, I wrote up a piece here on mini-series I was reading that had stalled with just one issue left. One of those miniseries, the adaptation of Robert Jordan’s New Spring (a prologue to The Wheel of Time), finished this week. Five years is a bit long for an eight-issue miniseries, but it’s done!

I spotted a movie marquee that had (as most of them seem to) censored the title Kick-Ass, but the placement created another movie title entirely:

This could actually make an interesting movie! Okay, it would be about as long as Bambi Meets Godzilla, but still…

DC has released their Brightest Day solicitations for August, including…

The Flash #5

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 White Lantern Variant cover by RYAN SOOK, FERNANDO PASARIN & JOEL GOMEZ

BRIGHTEST DAY continues with a shocking connection to the White Light as Captain Boomerang and the Reverse-Flash experience a bizarre event that ties them together. Meanwhile, it’s the Rogues vs. the Renegades with The Flash caught in the middle!

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

On sale AUGUST 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Other Flash-related items: the final two parts of the Justice Society/Justice League of America crossover, featuring both Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick. Currently they’re both in the JSA, but Jesse will be moving over to the JLA at the end of this story. (Also: how did I miss the fact that Cyborg is appearing in backup stories in JLA?)

Remember No Ordinary Family, the TV pilot featuring a super-powered family headed by brick Michael Chiklis and speedster Julie Benz? Deadline Hollywood reports that ABC has picked up the Greg Berlanti-produced show. Marc Guggenheim (Flash: The Fastest Man Alive – Full Throttle) executive-produced the pilot and will remain “in consulting capacity.”

So even if Heroes doesn’t come back, there will still be at least one live-action speedster on the air this fall.

Update: The Hollywood Reporter has more, including the official description of the show (via @SpeedsterSite):

The Powells are about to go from ordinary to extraordinary. After 16 years of marriage, Jim and Stephanie’s relationship lacked the spark it once had, and their family life now consists of balancing work and their two children; leaving little time for family bonding. During a family vacation set up by Jim in an attempt to reconnect, their plane crashes into the Amazon River. But this is where the fun starts for the Powells as they soon discover that something’s not quite right. Each of them now possesses unique and distinct super powers. But saving and savoring their family life will be equally important as they try to find purpose for their new power and embark on a journey to find out what defines and unifies them. The Powells are a totally relatable family that happens to be a little bit amazing.

Alright everyone, we just received an update on what you have all been waiting for. Mark your calendars folks, the winner of the Design and Win Your Own Flash Ring Contest will be announced on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. The winner wins a replica of their Flash Ring Design as well as a limited run as a Flash Ring sold on Arrobasilver.com. ArrobaSilver’s rings and jewelry are officially licensed by DC Comics and produces a high-quality product as a result.

ArrobaSilver has been kind enough to keep Speedforce.org’s exclusive discount code active past the contest end date. Entering GA001 at checkout still gets you 10% off your entire order excluding shipping and handling.

Our sincere thanks goes out to all of the fans who sent in their own designs; You guys have made our first contest a success and we really cannot thank you all enough. Keep an eye out for more fun contests in the very near future.

Needless to say we are counting down the minutes until the big announcement. As we mentioned earlier this is our first contest and to have it go so well with relatively few stumbles is a great feeling. Thank you once again for all the support.

Keep it Flashy!

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson