Speed Force

In January 2011, DC Comics’ covers will focus on the characters and their logos. The Source shows off 8 covers following the theme, including several one-shots spotlighting “key characters” who don’t have their own series right now.

Photos from New York Comic-Con have been showing up online over the past few days, which reminds me: I never got around to making my mega-post rounding up photos from Dragon*Con! Fortunately, the Irredeemable Shag of Once Upon a Geek was kind enough to offer me permission to repost his photos ahead of time, and he took a lot of Flash photos: Flash, Golden Age Flash, Kid Flash, the Rogues, and even Blue Lantern Flash! Thanks, Shag!

First, we have the Flash vs. the Rogues meet-up:

Read the rest of this entry »

Way back in April, DC ran a Flash trivia contest on Twitter for a signed copy of The Flash #1. A new question each day for a week, with winners chosen from the first few correct responses. I won one of the days with the answer to a question about “Flash of Two Worlds,” and immediately sent in my mailing address.

And waited.

And waited.

After about a month, one of the other winners contacted me through Comic Bloc trying to get us all together to write to DC and ask what was going on. DC wrote back, assuring us that the signed books would be out within a few weeks.

Eventually, September rolled around, along with a second or third round of, “Hey, what happened?” This time, they assured us all that the books would be sent out by the end of the month.

Guess what?

Last Friday (October 8), I came home and found an envelope from DC Comics! In it was not only a copy of The Flash #1, but a copy of the Blackest Night hardcover to make up for the long wait time!

When I checked in on Comic Bloc, it turned out that they’d sent Blackest Night to some of us, and Flash Rebirth to others.

I remember last year telling someone that I wasn’t planning to read Blackest Night because I had no interest in it, but I’d read it if someone else bought it for me. It’s weird that not only did someone end up buying it for me, but it was DC themselves! I guess they really want me to read this book!

Another funny thing: Back in July, I got Francis Manapul to sign my copy of The Flash #1 at Comic-Con International. So now I have two signed copies: one signed by the writer, and one signed by the artist!

Deadline Hollywood’s Nikki Finke reports that the first drafts of the scripts for The Flash and Green Lantern 2 will be turned in “between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim are writing the script for The Flash based on the story they wrote with Greg Berlanti. I’ve lost track of where Geoff Johns is in all this. At one point he’d written a story treatment that Dan Mazeau was turning into a screenplay, but that version of the movie seems to have been scrapped in favor of the GL trio.

Greg Berlanti has been rumored as a likely director, but Finke’s source thinks it’s unlikely, saying that Berlanti “wants to do something in between [Life As We Know It and The Flash] size-wise first before attempting something that large”

Update: Moviehole reports a rumor that Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) is a leading candidate for the role.

(Hat tip to @SpeedsterSite for spotting the news!)

I’m on the other side of the country from New York, but the comics press are doing a thorough job of covering New York Comic Con. The Flash isn’t getting a huge spotlight, but there are bits of news here and there. SpeedsterSite has been posting Flash-related bits on Twitter.

From CBR’s Geoff Johns Spotlight write-up:

• After re-introducing Barry Allen in the first story, “all of the flashes” will appear in future arcs.
• Flashpoint (the upcoming Flash-centered event) and Speed Force (the second ongoing Flash series) will debut in the first half of 2011.
• Hot Pursuit (appearing on the cover of Flash #9) doesn’t run, but his motorcycle uses the speed force. “He’s a police officer. His identity I think will surprise a lot of people.”
• No plans for Walter West, the Dark Flash.
• Regarding James Jesse, “The original Trickster’s still dead…But you never know, there’s a lot of Black and White rings out there.”
• The upcoming Flashpoint event is completely unrelated to the Flashpont Elseworlds story from ten years ago.
• A Green Lantern/Flash crossover is in the works.

See also Comics Alliance’s summary and Newsarama’s liveblog.

From CBR’s DC Nation writeup:

• Kid Flash and Superboy race in Superboy #3.

From Comics Alliance’s DC Nation post:

• Who’s Who will be out after Flashpoint.

See also Newsarama’s DC Nation liveblog.

Newsarama’s Animated Young Justice coverage has a lot on this version of the characters, including:

Kid Flash is Wally West, 15, and good friends with Robin. Voiced by Jason Spisak. Not as fast as the Flash, and he can’t stop on a dime — he has to skid to a stop. He’s very much into using his momentum as a weapon, so his costume has shoulderpads and kneepads. Vietti: “His body is like a human cannonball… he has a little bit of a parkour approach.”

Of DC Universe Online, Newsarama says, “All 4 Earth Green Lanterns, all the Flashes are in the game”

The DC Universe panel didn’t seem to have much Flash info at either CBR or Newsarama. Same with the DC Town Hall: Comics Alliance summary, Newsarama liveblog.

And finally, a bit from SpeedsterSite:

Andy Kubert on FLASHPOINT: “I’ve got a HUGE chunk of it done. Geoff will choke me if I say any more.”

Some weekend linkblogging…

• An upcoming two-parter in Superman/Batman will revisit DC One Million. This was one of my favorite DC crossovers because so much of it was about exploring possibilities.
• 4thletter! considers: How will digital comics change the Wednesday crowd?
• CSBG features some comics genre-bending: NYPD Green, Thor Noir, and more.
• Steve Thomas presents 80s Cartoons as Concert Posters. Thundercats, Voltron, Silverhawks, Masters of the Universe, MASK and more. (I think I found this link via ComicsAlliance, but I was too rushed to write it down.)
• A Dispensible list of Comics Lists brings together 15+ Musical Super-Villains, including Flash villains the Fiddler and Pied Piper.
• So, DC is cutting story pages in order to keep comics’ price down. Is it worth it? I’m not so sure. For the opposing view, The Beat says: “Honestly, given today’s storytelling, the same stories can be told in 20 pages as 22.”

CBR has some additional screenshots. Update: Newsarama has a liveblog of the panel.

New York Comic Con starts today, and the guests include The Flash‘s writer & artist team of Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul, former Flash writer Mark Waid, and former Flash artists Freddie Williams II (“Wild Wests” and “Fast Money”) and Salvador Larroca (“Terminal Velocity”).

Francis Manapul has posted his signing schedule, and notes that the program lists his Artist’s Alley table as A-8, but he’ll actually be at A-6.

DC booth (#2243).
I’ll be signing at the DC booth throughout the weekend.

FRIDAY, OCT 8

3:30-4:30pm: SIGNING @ DC booth

SATURDAY, OCT 9

4-5pm: SIGNING @ DC booth

SUNDAY, OCT 10

2:30-3:30pm: SIGNING @ DC booth

Hero Initiative booth #333
I’ll be doing sketches at the booth for a donation to this great cause. Hope you guys swing by!

Friday, October 8
1030-1130

Geoff Johns will likely be doing signings at the DC booth, and Mark Waid usually does signings at the BOOM! Studios booth.

Former Flash artists Greg LaRocque and Jose Marzan, Jr. also have tables in Artist’s Alley, as does Flash in Wednesday Comics’ Karl Kerschl.

Panels that will probably be of interest to Flash fans include:

• Friday 2:15pm: Spotlight on Geoff Johns
• Friday 3:15pm: DC 75th Anniversary
• Friday 6pm: DC Nation
• Saturday 12:15pm: DC Universe
• Saturday 3:45pm: Young Justice

(Sorry I haven’t posted much this week. I’ve just been waaay too busy!)

This week sees the release of Matthew Reinhart’s DC Super-Heroes: The Ultimate Popup Book. The Source has some photos of the Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman pages, plus a video clip (though I couldn’t get it to play on my computer).

I’ve just moved Speed Force to a new host. It’s kind of weird to be dealing with a web server that I don’t fully control, but DreamHost is really flexible and (most importantly) specifically supports WordPress.

Things appear to be working so far, but if you run into a problem, please let me know…

• By leaving a comment here.
• By posting a comment in the contact form.
• By sending an email to speedforce at pobox dot com.
• By sending a Twitter direct message to @SpeedForceOrg.

Thanks!