June 6, 2011
The first round of Flashpoint miniseries’ arrived last Wednesday. DC has seemingly selected creative teams based on potential and allowed them to play in the sandbox of this alternate reality however they would like. To be sure, both of the issues reviewed here do little more than exist in the universe that has just now been created for Flashpoint, at least in their respective openings. They also succeed on many levels, achievements made possible by the unexplored new world. If DC is using the minis as a way to ease fans into a reboot, they could have done a whole lot worse.
In Batman: Knight of Vengeance, the Gotham City of Flashpoint is put into harsh focus. In Abin Sur: The Green Lantern, events in Green Lantern lore both recent and distant are re-cast, and redesigned with an eye towards the upcoming film.
For further comments and some spoilers, see you after the jump…
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June 5, 2011
A friend of mine works at a retailer, and was able to salvage a complete Flashpoint button set from being sent back to the distribution center.
Here’s the full display board and pins, more pictures after the cut.
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And this wraps up the weekend’s linkblogging!
June 4, 2011
Just a quick *ahem* flashback to 2009, when readers were concerned about the fate of Wally West in the face of Flash: Rebirth.
I’m still waiting…
Almost caught up with the linkblogging! Here’s some professional and fan art featuring the Flash and related characters.
The linkblogging catch-up continues! DC insists that September’s line-wide relaunch is not a reboot, but the name seems to have caught on. Some commentary and news around the web…
Before the announcement (reacting to rumors)
After the announcement
And lots more, of course!
Some linkblogging for the weekend. Since I missed last week’s round-up, and since there’s been a lot of talk going on this week, I’m breaking down the two weeks’ worth of links into several posts.
Flash
Flashpoint
At the 2010 Comic-Con International, Geoff Johns announced that DC would be launching a second Flash book called “Speed Force” in 2011 “for all you Wally fans and Bart fans.”
With DC relaunching its entire super-hero line in the wake of Flashpoint this September, the question is: Will Speed Force be among them, or has it been scrapped like the Johns/Kolins Wally West backup stories in Flash vol.3 or the Sterling Gates-written Kid Flash ongoing book that was supposed to accompany it?
June 3, 2011
Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers interviews Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, the art team from Flash vol.3 who will be taking over both writing and art on September’s new series.
I’ve only had time to skim it, but the things that stand out to are:
- Even Geoff Johns encouraged them to figure out what the Flash, Barry, and his supporting case mean to them — not to try to give us a second-rate Geoff Johns book, but a first-rate Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato book. “I think what made Geoff’s run great was that it was personal to him. Brian and I needed to find a voice and find what was personal to us. And we did.”
- They had strong ideas about where they wanted to take the Flash, then had to figure out how that would fit within the new DCU.
- They plan to really push the envelope in terms of visually portraying super-speed.
- When asked about scheduling, they stressed that they weren’t the ones responsible for the delays on the previous volume. They wouldn’t talk about who or what was the cause, but added, “editorial would not put us in the position we’re in if they thought we weren’t capable of doing what we’re doing.”
Head over to Newsarama to read the full interview.
DC’s don’t-call-it-a-reboot is the perfect opportunity to give Wally West a costume that’s recognizably The Flash, but different enough from Barry Allen’s costume that even a casual reader can tell them apart at a glance, even if the artists miss a few details. Especially since several elements of Wally’s new costume from Flash: Rebirth (the raised yellow outline around the chest circle, and the V-shaped belt) have been incorporated into Barry’s new outfit.
Yes, I’m talking about the Dark Flash costume, worn by Walter West, a version of Wally from an alternate reality. It wouldn’t have worked in the post-Crisis continuity because of what the experience meant to “our” Wally (he didn’t want to be reminded of what he could have become), but in a revised history, it doesn’t need to have the same associations.
Brighten it up again, make it crimson and gold (like Wally’s current costume), and I think it’ll do the trick.
Assuming, of course, that DC has a place in the New DCU for an adult Wally West, and has neither erased him from history or reverted him back to Kid Flash. (I’m trying very hard to stay positive here.)
