October 31, 2011
Between Long Beach Comic Con & some home improvement projects, I didn’t have time to do the weekend linkblogging. So, here it is!
Art
More stuff
For those who are still wondering, Teen Titans artist Brett Booth stepped in last week to clarify:
Kid Flash in Teen Titans s BART ALLEN. It’s not his middle name or an alias.
While DC hasn’t been very clear in the Teen Titans solicitations, Kid Flash has been identified as Bart Allen in articles and interviews as far back as June. Last week’s Teen Titans #2 explicitly referred to him as Bart Allen, so this should end speculation (most recently seen here) that the series features Wally West in line with the Young Justice cartoon.
Of course, there are still plenty of questions about Bart’s origins. Is he still related to Barry Allen? If so, how? Is he still from the future? How did he get his powers? (Come to think of it, Smallville never did reveal an origin for Bart beyond being in some sort of accident with a flash of light.)
If Bart is still from the future, and if he is still Barry and Iris’ grandson, the fact that they aren’t married in the present is no more a contradiction than the fact that Booster Gold’s grandparents haven’t even been born yet in the present day. In that case, he comes from a future in which they do. Even so, it doesn’t have to lock down the Barry/Iris question. As Yoda once said, “always in motion is future.”
October 30, 2011
With the launch of the new Flash series, one fan forum is setting up their own relaunch: The Fastest Forum Alive sort of fell by the wayside during Flashpoint, but they’re back up and running again with an improved site, and they’re ready to bring in new members.
So if you’re looking for a place to talk about the Flash, and the forums you’ve been to just don’t seem to fit, zoom over to the Fastest Forum Alive and give it a spin!
My Long Beach Comic Con photos are up! And it’s insanely late, so I’m going to bed.
Write-up tomorrow Wednesday, then. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
October 29, 2011
I had a lot of fun today at Long Beach Comic Con. Barring disaster, photos will be up on Flickr tonight [edit: they are], and my write-up should be ready by the end of the weekend [edit: it is now, a bit later than planned].
First, though, check out this sketch by Brian Buccellato. I talked with him this afternoon, about everything from the latest issue to the Flash’s powers to editor’s notes and recap pages to who would make a good Flash movie (his preferred lead actor: Ryan Gosling), and got this sketch.*
He also gave me a sneak peek at Flash #3, and I’ve got to say: it looks awesome! He says they figure this is the issue that will really win people over and convince them that the success of the first two issues is more than a fluke, and from what I’ve seen, I have to agree.
He mentioned that they have 25 issues planned out already, that the shift from Rogues with weapons to Rogues with powers will be explained in-story, and that we will see continuing consequences of the event at the end of this week’s issue. And yes, we’ll be seeing some of the Rogues very soon.
*Why Impulse? I got a Flash sketch when he did the signing at The Comic Bug last month, and I wanted another character, but one still Flash-related. And I miss Bart as Impulse. Funny story: While I was talking with him, someone else came up and asked for a sketch of the X-Men character of his choice. He went with Nightcrawler…and it turned out that Francis Manapul had also drawn him Nightcrawler in San Diego!
Welcome to the latest installment in our annotations of the collected edition of The Trial of the Flash! We’ve broken-down related stories leading up to the recent release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. In addition, we interviewed author Cary Bates about the buildup and the Trial itself, plus showed you what wasn’t included in the collection. For annotations to previous issues, click here.
Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. For legal analysis of the story, something I will not attempt, go here. For this issue’s corresponding Tom vs. The Flash podcast, go here!
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October 27, 2011
It used to be that if you lived in the Los Angeles area and wanted to attend a comic book convention, you had to either trek down to San Diego for Comic-Con International or hit one of the smaller cons like the one at the Shrine. These days, you can actually take your pick of several mid-sized cons. Wizard World has been well-established since 2004, starting in Long Beach, then Downtown Los Angeles, then Anaheim (skipping 2009).
More immediately: Long Beach Comic Con will hold its third full convention this weekend, and the latest entrant, Comikaze Expo, bursts onto the downtown LA scene the following week.
Flash fans in the area will be able to catch co-writer/artist Brian Buccellato at both cons.
I’ll be attending both conventions, though just one day each. As with this year’s San Diego trip I’ll be focused more on having fun at the con than reporting news (not that there was any shortage of Flash news coverage here), but I doubt there will be any real Flash news announced at either event. I’ve really enjoyed Long Beach the last two years (though I’m a bit concerned about the split focus this year between comics and horror), and I’m curious to see what kind of a convention Comikaze will actually be.
As always, I’ll be taking photos and posting them on Flickr. Con write-ups will go up at K-Squared Ramblings, and I’ll be sure to post anything Flash-specific here. If you can’t wait until Monday, keep an eye on @SpeedForceOrg on Twitter the next two weekends.
October 26, 2011
On the same day as the posting of part two of Newsarama’s interview with the Flash creative team, Comic Book Resources has posted their own conversation with the dynamic duo of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.
While it covers some of the same ground as the Newsarama articles, the CBR interview does delve further into a few items including the art process, something that has gathered a lot of interest amongst fans drawn to Manapul and Buccellato’s unique style. Manapul even mentions the color chart, something he first talked about in our interview with him earlier this year.
The article also includes an exclusive look at a page from Flash #3. Follow the jump for more…
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With Halloween approaching fast, now* seems like a good time to highlight a pair of old posts on how to make a Jay Garrick costume!
My wife and I (OK, it was mostly her) made this for Comic-Con International 2009, and it worked out really well. Unfortunately the gold paint on the helmet wings has tarnished since then, and the boot covers have detached themselves from the shoes, so it needs some touch-up if I plan to wear it again. Maybe next year.
*Yeah, I know last week or even earlier in October would have been a better time, but I only came up with this “Wayback Wednesday” idea acouple of days ago.
October 25, 2011
Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers has turned in a new two-part interview with New 52 Flash team Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. With issue # 2 due tomorrow, the pair talk about their “vision for Barry Allen” and speak more specifically than before about their process in terms of plotting, art and dialog.
In the first part, posted yesterday, the two touched on the advantage of handling both art and writing responsibilities:
Francis Manapul: Yeah, it’s a much more integrated process. And I do think we’re in a fortunate position to be co-writing, drawing and coloring the book. We’re able to really utilize every aspect of the art to tell the story.
Brian Buccellato: We aren’t interpreting someone else’s script, so there’s no gap between the story and the art. It’s integrated from the idea, all the way through colors. So I think that gives us an advantage, especially with the visuals.
UPDATE: Part two of the interview went up today, including an exclusive sneak preview of art from issue #3. The team goes into greater detail about the direction of the book, teases upcoming storylines, including the return of the Cosmic Treadmill and reveal more on the nature of Mob Rule. Check it out here, and then go grab issue #2!
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