December 16, 2010
Today’s guest post comes from Dave Sun
I’m not much of a comic guy, i know the basics and that’s about it. For this halloween I wanted to make a costume that shows off a little bit of my muscles (much like how girls use halloween to be half naked). So I skipped the overplayed Superman, and the somewhat complicated Batman and landed on the Flash (Barry Allen).
With that said I like to share with you the pictures of my costume. it was made from scratch: shirt: adidas techfit; pants: eastbay athletic tights; gloves: eastbay athletic tights’ pant legs (left out the fingers for convenience); mask: combination of eastbay athletic tights’ thigh area and a masquerade mask and mighty putty; trim: foam sheets from michael’s; muscles: gym.
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December 15, 2010
One of the things I’ve liked about the Ron Marz/Kenneth Rocafort Velocity miniseries is the tone: despite dealing with serious issues like viruses, murder, and human experimentation, there’s a sense of playfulness to it all. This holds through issue #3, in which Velocity goes up against hordes of robots as she tries to rescue her deathly ill Cyberforce teammates in the minutes left before the techno-virus kills them.
While the first issue was mostly setup, and the second issue dealt with a lot of problem-solving, this one is basically two long battle sequences with the speedster battling robots first in the wilderness, then in the crowded streets of Venice. It finishes up with a particularly nasty cliffhanger for the final issue…but as a long-term comic book reader (and sci-fi watcher) I came up with several ways to resolve it in the first few minutes after I finished reading.
I’m developing mixed feelings about the art, though. On one hand, I love the style, the detail, the expressions, and the creative panel designs. The pages often have a fragmented look that makes the story feel more hurried. On the other, some panels are sexualized enough that they distract from the story. Yeah, it’s Top Cow…but sexiness should serve the story, not detract from it, right?
(On a side note, I found it interesting that the issue shipping this week should have a text feature called “5 Things You Never Knew About Velocity.”)
Overall, the book maintains the energy of the first two installments. If you’re out for super-speed action, this is the place to be.
Velocity #3
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Kenneth Rocafort
Preview
Velocity #1 (full issue)
Review: Velocity #1
Review: Velocity #2
Review: Velocity #4
A digital review copy was provided by the publisher.
December 14, 2010
Please drop by Nerdage today and check out a guest post I wrote:
» Six Things You Might Not Know About the Flash.
This week sees the release of two Flash guest spots and a new installment of Velocity. Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5, guest-stars the Reverse Flash and leads into Flashpoint, while Green Lantern #60 guest-stars Barry Allen in a follow-up to last month’s cliffhanger.
Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5 (of 6)
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art and cover by DAN JURGENS & NORM RAPMUND
None of the Time Masters’ problems in the time continuum compares with what’s in store for them when they cross paths with the Reverse Flash! In fact, nothing will be the same for the entire universe after this fateful meeting!
Don’t miss this companion series to the best-selling “Return of Bruce Wayne” storyline!
Green Lantern #60
Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art and cover by DOUG MAHNKE & CHRISTIAN ALAMY; 1:10 “DC 75th Anniversary” Variant cover by FRANK QUITELY
BRIGHTEST DAY continues as the truth about the Indigo Tribe members is revealed along with their Entity: the enigmatic Proselyte.
Plus, don’t miss a special Green Lantern movie image!
Velocity #3 (of 4)
Story: Ron Marz
Art & Cover: Kenneth Rocafort
The Pilot Season Winner is Back!
The clock is literally ticking on the life of Carin Taylor, the hero known as Velocity. The fastest girl in the world must race around the globe in an attempt to save her Cyberforce teammates. If Carin can’t beat the clock, she and her friends will succumb to a techno-virus and give Cyberforce’s greatest foe his greatest victory. The issue continues the creative collaboration of writer Ron Marz (Witchblade, Angelus) and artist Kenneth Rocafort (Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer).
4-page preview at Newsarama.
December 13, 2010
I haven’t read the first issue of the new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series, but when I read that issue #2 was going to feature the origin of their speedster, Lightning, I decided to take a look. The concept: An international team of covert operatives use suits that give them super-powers…knowing that the powers will kill them.
Despite being the middle of a bigger story, the issue reads quite well. It’s structured with a framing sequence in which the team is on its first mission. It’s not entirely clear what they’re doing, except they need Lightning to get inside the perimeter. To do so, he’ll need to run faster than he has ever run in training…and he’ll learn the true cost of super-speed.
This is wrapped around the story of Kenyan athlete Henry Cosgei, two-time Olympic winner and three-time world champion, a man who loves life, but most of all loves running…and the brutal way in which T.H.U.N.D.E.R. manipulates him into joining the team. By the end of the issue, he sees all too well what he’s given up in order to regain what he’d previously lost.
There’s good character work, not only with Lightning himself, but with the two handlers. There’s some depth here beyond the mindless slugfests, continuity strip-mining, and roster shuffling (though there is a bit of the latter here, since it’s an origin story) that seems to make up so much of the super-hero landscape these days.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2: “Live Fast, Die Young”
Writer: Nick Spencer
Penciller (main sequence): Cafu
Inker (main sequence): Bit
Artist (Lightning sequence): ChrisCross
December 12, 2010
December 11, 2010
Those unfamiliar with the Rogue Profiles from Geoff Johns’ previous Flash run might dismiss a whole issue focusing on Captain Boomerang as filler. And while it’s true that this issue and the next were added to the schedule to get the main story back on time, it feels like an integral part of the mythos (if a bit more related to Brightest Day than to the story building to Flashpoint), and leads directly into next week’s issue’s profile of Professor Zoom.
Like the earlier profiles, this issue follows the featured villain as he goes about his business and thinks back about what made him the criminal he is today. It serves both as an origin story for new readers and a way for the writer to explore just what makes him tick. In this case, it doesn’t add anything really new to his background, but rather collects and crystallizes the key elements that have been established over time: a troubled family life (what Rogue didn’t have that?), coming to the States as a toy mascot, and then embarking on his life of crime.
I’ve raved before about how well Scott Kolins’ art is suited to the ruggedness of the Flash’s Rogues Gallery, and that remains true here. Yet his art is transformed by Brian Buccellato’s painted-looking colors, making it blend perfectly with Francis Manapul’s work and revealing just how much of the look of this series is due to his contribution.
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December 10, 2010
Last night on Conan, he visited Warner Bros Animation Studios to procure a superhero design of himself. Along the way he met up with the Creative Director of Animation at the studio, Peter Girardi. Coco discussed multiple topics with him but the funniest part of the segment and most relevant was where he riffs on a number of heroes and villains from the DC Encyclopedia.
Conan and his crew had gone through the book prior to the the show and blew up a number of pictures of what he felt were lame characters from it. Amongst them our very own Captain Boomerang:
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Today’s guest post is by Ken O of That F’ing Monkey.
I’m going to make a confession and I realize it sounds irrational, but I don’t like Joan Garrick. I know that sounds bad. You hear something like that and think, “How can you hate that nice grandmotherly lady?” Before we even get into the whys I want to clarify, I dislike her, I don’t hate her. I wasn’t cheering when she came down with fake-cancer. Besides the fact that cancer isn’t really cheer worthy, I didn’t want to see her die.
So what started all this craziness? Her first appearance. I’m not even talking about her issue as a whole; I’m talking about the first page of Flash Comics #1. Our hero, young scientist in training Jay Garrick meets Joan at school and asks her out to the Victory dance. Her response is, “I…I don’t thinks so, Jay…You’re…a scrub on the football team…and captain Bull Tryon’s already asked me!!”
Wow. How nasty is that? She could have easily said, “Sorry, but someone already asked me,” or anything like that. Instead she decides to bust on his football skills. And bless his heart; Jay somehow still wants to impress her. He gains super speed and immediately uses it for football. Maybe it’s because I’m not a football fan? I’ve also though of Joan as cold hearted after that.
I realize Iris didn’t come off any better. In her first panel she’s chastising Barry for being late. I’ve read a number of other people’s complaints about how nasty Iris was during all those early adventures, but for some reason I never disliked her. Maybe it is because I’ve been stood up before and I know what a soul crushing blow to the ego that can be.
How did the other women in the Flashes’ lives fare with their first appearances? Read the rest of this entry »
December 9, 2010
When DC Comics released its solicitations for February, it announced The Flash #11 would be arriving on February 23, 2011…even though they had already scheduled The Flash #10 for that date. Now, DC’s website shows the more realistic date of March 30, 2011.
No changes have been made to any other upcoming Flash issues. Flash #8 is still scheduled for December 29, #9 for January 26, and #10 for February 23.
