The Flash co-writer/artist Brian Buccellato was kind enough to send his signing schedule for the next few weeks. He’ll be appearing at a number of Los Angeles-area events and comic shops, as well as New York Comic-Con. It all kicks off at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, California on the day that The Flash #1 is released. Read the rest of this entry »
Comics Should Be Good continues counting down the results of their Top 50 DC Characters survey, and Barry Allen comes in at #9. The reborn Flash received 1604 total points, and 27 voters named him their favorite DC character.
A Top 10 spot is a big climb from the #29 rank he took in 2007. DC Comics has clearly been successful at building up Barry Allen’s popularity in the years since he’s returned.
We’ve seen three of the four main Flashes so far, with Bart Allen and Jay Garrick at #36 and #45. Still no sign of Wally West, but given his popularity among online fans, it’s unlikely that he dropped below Bart and Jay.
With Robin (Tim Drake) ranked #8, there are seven slots left. Sure bets include:
That leaves two up for grabs. Based on other people’s comments and my own gut feeling, I’d say the remaining two slots are likely to be Flash (Wally West) and the Joker.
The question is: What order?
Keep an eye on Comics Should Be Good as they continue the Top 50 countdown!
Excerpted from an essay originally posted at K-Squared Ramblings in 2005.
Most comic book character indexes aren’t really interested in the supporting cast, or even one-off villains. If I want to find a major villain like the Fiddler, chances are I can find a complete list somewhere online. But if I want to know which issues featured Jay’s old college buddies, I’m on my own.
Speaking of Jay’s old college buddies, he runs into five of them during the issues featured in The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1….and four of them are named Jim. There’s Jimmie Dolan, Jim Evans, Jim Carter, and Jim Dane. (Interestingly, the fifth friend is named Wally.) Jim Carter and Jim Dane are both in silver mining. Jimmie Dolan and Jim Evans both know that Jay is the Flash, but Jim Carter and Jim Dane don’t. I suspect that Carter and Dane are the same guy, but the writer didn’t remember the name he used before and didn’t feel like looking it up. (Comics were episodic back then, and you didn’t have continuity police among the readers ready to pounce on every coloring error.)
Also interesting: In the 17 issues collected in that book, no super-villains appear. The villains are all gangsters, kidnappers, corrupt politicians, crime bosses, etc. Even the story with the giant lizards has gangsters creating them. Skimming one list, the first recognizable villain to show up is the Shade—in issue #33! For the first three years (or at least the first year and a half), most of the Flash’s enemies wore ordinary business suits!
Note: Since I originally wrote this, I have tracked down a number of Golden Age stories. You can read a follow-up in Completing the Set: Tracing the Origins of the Shade.
Today, Netflix announced that they are separating the DVD and streaming businesses, and will be renaming the DVD-by-mail service as Qwikster, “because it refers to quick delivery.”
Qwikster…why does that sound familiar?
Ah, right…The Quickster, speedster alter-ego of Spongebob Squarepants and parody of the DC Comics’ Flash and Marvel Comics’ Quicksilver.
He looks a bit more like a VHS tape than a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, don’t you think?
THE FLASH #4
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by ERIC BASALDUA
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale DECEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
As Central City remains dark from the recent EMP blast, The Fastest Man Alive remains in hot pursuit of the one who set it off: Mob Rule! What does Mob Rule really want? Learn the rest of his origin right here!
DC’s December Justice League solicitations are up at The Source. Full solicitations including upcoming collections will likely be up this afternoon.
CBR reports that BOOM! studios will release Seven Warriors, written by Michaël Le Galli art by Francis Manapul.
Step into the world of 7 WARRIORS and follow seven beautiful women in 6th century Libya. The capitol of an ancient nation is surrounded by the Persian and Byzantine armies, and only these seven soldiers are chosen to save the heir to the kingdom. Seven Warriors. Seven…sexy, gorgeous women! An exquisitely rendered tale in the vein of 300, written by Michaël Le Galli and drawn by Francis Manapul.
For those concerned about the artist’s commitment to the Flash, there’s nothing to worry about. The article doesn’t make it clear, but the book is actually a re-release. It was originally published in French as the graphic novel Sept Guerrières in 2008, and is now being translated for the English-reading audience.
The first issue is due for a November release.
Comics Should Be Good is down to #12 in their Top 50 DC Characters Countdown, and there’s no sign yet of Barry Allen or Wally West. I can definitely see Barry climbing the charts in the last few years (he was still dead during the last poll, after all), and while I can see Wally falling a bit, I can’t imagine him falling so far that he’d miss the top 50 entirely — especially with Jay Garrick and Bart Allen in the running at #45 and #36.
So, what do you think? Is there room for two Flashes in the Top 11 most popular DC characters? Which Flash will come out ahead, and by how much?
Linkblogging for the weekend.
Flash Links
The New 52
And More!
Comic Vine has DC’s December “Edge” solicitations. including the cover and description for Suicide Squad #4:
SUICIDE SQUAD #4
Written by ADAM GLASS
Art by FEDERICO DALLACCHIO
Cover by DAN PANOSIAN
On sale DECEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+The body count rises! Another Squad member falls – but not the way you might expect! Betrayal follows betrayal as Captain Boomerang joins the Squad in a smash-and-grab against the terrorist organization Kobra, and Harley Quinn shows why you should never, ever recruit Squad members from Arkham Asylum. Brace yourself for a last-page shocker the likes of which the Squad has never faced before!
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, most of the Rogues faded from view as DC wanted to establish new villains for Wally West. Captain Boomerang remained visible as a mainstay of the classic Suicide Squad. In fact, it was an issue of this series, not The Flash, that first really fleshed out Boomerang’s origin: Suicide Squad #44 expanded on the connection between “Digger” Harkness and toy manufacturer W.W. Wiggins, revealing him to be not simply a businessman hiring a mascot to promote his product, but a father reaching out to secretly help his long-lost son. I wouldn’t be surprised if that story partially inspired Brad Meltzer’s decision to use Boomerang in Identity Crisis.
Halfway through DC’s New 52 debut month, here’s what I think of the comics I’ve tried so far.
Looked at on its own, this wasn’t a Justice League story so much as it was a Batman/Green Lantern team-up. That’s OK for a team-up book, or the first chapter of a graphic novel, but not exactly ideal for a high-profile launch that’s billed as an introduction to the League (not to mention an introduction to the new setting for the DCU).
I’m going to call it now: just like Final Crisis, this first Justice League arc should have been presented from the beginning as a graphic novel, not as a serialized story. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
