October 25, 2011
DC has released a preview of this week’s The Flash #2 at, of all places, Maxim. (DC has been plugging its new comics all over the mainstream press these last two months, rather than simply sending the previews to the comics press. Issue #1 was previewed at USA Today, for instance. Co-writer Brian Buccellato jokes that it’s “all about the exposure.”) Teen Titans #2 also ships this week, featuring Kid Flash. Finally, the hardcover collection of Flashpoint arrives in comic stores this week, and bookstores next week.
The Flash #2
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by GREG CAPULLO; 1:200 B&W variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
The Fastest Man Alive learns he can make his brain function even faster than before – but as much as it helps him, it also comes with a steep price. Plus: The mystery behind Barry Allen’s friend Manuel Lago deepens as Barry investigates his kidnapping at the hands of Mob Rule!
DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US
Newsarama has posted the first part of a two-part interview with Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, and we have the Greg Capullo variant cover.
Flashpoint (HC)
Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE; Cover by ANDY KUBERT
The red-hot, sold-out five-issue miniseries from Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert is back in a new hardcover!
This is Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it?
It’s a place where America’s last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of The Outsider, The Secret 7, S!H!A!Z!A!M!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces! It’s a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can’t find the villain who altered the time line!
DC Universe 176pg. Color Hardcover $22.99 US
Update (Wednesday): DC’s blog says it’s out next week, but their main website still lists Oct. 26. Actually, it refers to the “wide release” – so maybe they mean to the bookstore release. It’s still morning here, so it’ll be hours before I make it to the comic store today to see for myself whether they have it or not.
» Pre-order at Amazon
Teen Titans #2
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL; Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
A strange creature haunts the streets of Los Angeles… and because of this creature’s age, both Red Robin and N.O.W.H.E.R.E. are racing to find her – but neither side is prepared for the horror known as Bugg!
Meanwhile, Superboy is on a collision course with the team, and Kid Flash plots his escape from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. with the most unexpected of allies!
DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US
October 24, 2011
Thought you’d all get a kick out of this story from the Food Allergy Walk this weekend: My son and I both wore Flash T-shirts. (He “walked” the event in a stroller, since he’s mostly crawling.) As we started off, I noticed that the family walking next to us was all wearing Superman T-shirts.
Technically it wasn’t a race, but for the record: We finished first!
More at my other blog.
October 23, 2011
The usual weekend linkblogging…
Flash Links
More stuff
October 22, 2011
The writing was on the wall from the moment Google Plus was announced, but it was only made official last week: Google Buzz is shutting down. Speed Force has been available on Buzz since June 2010, but even now, only 22 people are following it, including me, and when I asked who was reading it through Buzz, only two people answered. For comparison, about 700 people “like” the site on Facebook, and almost 900 follow through Twitter.
I’ve taken down the follow links since they won’t matter soon, but posts will keep going out until they shut it down. If you’re one of those 21 people following through Buzz today, you have a number of other options:
And then there are the other, more active social networks. I haven’t set up Google+ yet because they haven’t launched business/group accounts yet, and everything’s still structured around actual people. (You can find me there, but I don’t post about comics much under my own name.) So your best bet for now is to follow Speed Force using one of the subscriptions above, or on Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook.
UPDATE November: We’re on Google+!
Twitter:
Follow on Tumblr
October 21, 2011
This weekend, I’m walking to raise funds for research and education in the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy. I have life-threatening allergies myself, and while my son hasn’t shown any signs yet, the medical community is still trying to determine what causes people to develop allergies. It would be great if they find a way to guarantee that he won’t inherit them, or at least to make life safer for him than it has been for me.
A huge thank-you to Damon, Devin, Greg, Jesse and Lia for sponsoring me after my first post about the event. It’s coming up this Sunday in Santa Monica, California (near Los Angeles), and FAAN has other walks planned across the country.
You can help with any amount down to US $10. If you’d like to contribute, please donate at my fundraising page.
As I write this, I’m $250 away from the #10 spot on the top 10 list for the Los Angeles walk. Anyone want to help push me into the top 10?
Thank you!
October 20, 2011
The Flash creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato gave an interview at last weekend’s New York Comic Con to Newsarama, where they talked a bit about their inspirations for the arc that began with last month’s Flash #1.
Manapul notes a sci-fi tilt to the story that’s about to unfold, and mentions having incorporated aspects from old issues of DC’s Showcase, where the earliest Barry Allen stories appeared. The two also touch on Barry Allen’s role as a man (and comic book fan) facing a brave new world, the DCU Online game, and speed tricks past and present. Manapul also talks about a certain idea not fitting until “year two.” Bring it on!
The first issue of Manapul and Buccellato’s new Flash showed off some gorgeous art and real promise in terms of story and characterization. This interview reveals a little of what’s ahead, as well as some of the creators’ motivation. Are you looking forward to the second issue?
Check out the interview over at Newsarama by clicking on the image above.
October 19, 2011
Jesse Quick at NYCC. Photo by Anna Fischer (used per Creative Commons). I think this may be the first time I’ve seen someone in a Jesse Quick costume. Lots of female Flashes [edit] and the occasional Liberty Belle, but no actual Jesse Quicks until now.
Multiple Flashes — or are they after-images? 
— round up henchmen at Dragon*Con 2010. Photo by fnordy1.
October 18, 2011
The New York Comic Con has come to a close, and we’ve got all your Flash-related announcements! Here we go…
This young fan’s favorite Flash? The Flash! Follow the jump for more…
Read the rest of this entry »
October 17, 2011
DC’s full January solicitations include the official announcement of The Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns Vol. 2…and its contents. It clocks in at a massive 648 pages, covering two years’ worth of the Wally West Flash series, including Rogues, Crossfire, Run Riot and Blitz. Volume One was considerably shorter, covering Wonderland and Blood Will Run, including Iron Heights and The Flash Secret Files #3.
I believe this is the first time the DC 1st: Flash/Superman one-shot has been collected.
Personally, I think this is the best of Geoff Johns’ run on the book. Everything built toward first Crossfire and then Blitz as he built up a fantastic supporting cast, revitalized the Rogues, and introduced a bunch of new villains. (IMO it lost direction after Ignition, but sales went up from #200 to 225, so the overall audience seems to have liked the second half of Johns’ run better.)
My guess as to the future of this series: DC will release one more volume from the Wally West series covering #201-225 (Ignition through Rogue War). Then Volume 4 will consist of Johns’ Barry Allen run: Flash: Rebirth, Blackest Night: The Flash, Flash vol.3 and Flashpoint.
THE FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by SCOTT KOLINS, DOUG HAZLEWOOD, RICK BURCHETT, PHIL WINSLADE, DAN PANOSIAN and others
Cover by SCOTT KOLINS
On sale MARCH 28 • 648 pg, FC, $75.00 US
It’s the second hardcover volume collecting all the issues of THE FLASH written by comics superstar Geoff Johns! In this massive collection featuring issues #177-200 and DC FIRST: FLASH/SUPERMAN #1, an old friend of Wally West becomes the portal to another universe and Gorilla Grodd goes wild in Keystone City! Plus, don’t miss the Fastest Man Alive’s clashes with members of his infamous rogues gallery, including Captain Cold, The Trickster, the Pied Piper and more!
» Pre-order from Amazon
