Speed Force

Collider reports from Showest that Warner Bros. plans to use DC superheroes as the new “tent pole” big-event movies, taking the place the Harry Potter films have had for the past decade. Word is that the Flash is up next after Green Lantern, aiming for a 2012 release.

Greg Berlanti, recently rumored to be in the running for director, ducked the question when asked about the film.

Also of interest: Warner Bros. plans to release all of their tentpoles in 3D. I’m not sure how effective 3-D would be for the Flash or his usual Rogues Gallery, but it has some interesting possibilities if they toss in a brief fight with the Folded Man.

The project has been in development hell for years (Warner Bros. announced it in 2004), but with the new DC Entertainment organization, we’re finally starting to see movement.

(via It’s a Dan’s World, SpeedsterSite, and ComicsBlips)

DC has posted their Brightest Day solicitations, including Flash #3.

The Flash #3

It may be BRIGHTEST DAY, but when a mysterious group of so-called heroes turns up, another Rogue ends up dead. Plus, the mystery deepens as The Flash witness another murder — his own!

On sale JUNE 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by GEOFF JOHNS • Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL • 1:10 variant cover by GREG HORN

Notes: It looks like they’re going to keep going with the variant covers for a while. The “solve your own murder” reminds me of “Emergency Stop,” the first story in Grant Morrison and Mark Millar’s brief run on the book. in the late 1990s.

Also, Jesse Quick gets a cover spot in a JLA/JSA crossover, and Lobo fights Atrocitus in Green Lantern.

On another note…

Don’t forget the Design Your Own Flash Ring Contest is still running through April 26!

Strathaar at Comic Bloc reports from Emerald City Comicon:

Sunday conversation or Superman panel today, I’m tired so everything is mixing together, Sattler was asked about Wally West and wtf is up with the backup being dropped. The fan asked where he could get his fix on.

Sattler replied he can’t say details just yet, but in the next little bit they will have an announcement, and they have big plans for Wally that we will enjoy.

In the same thread, Bookwriter sheds some light on the Kid Flash news.

I attended the DC Nation Panel yesterday at Emerald City Comic Con, and an audience member asked if there was still plans for a new Kid Flash monthly. Ian Sattler did not come out and answer the questions, but smiled, winked and nodded his head up and down. We all clapped and cheered.

Finally, Broken Frontier reports from MegaCon:

Flash is the character to watch next with it’s creative team striving to make Barry Allen the premier Flash. It was revealed that early iterations of the new ongoing was almost like a team book with the whole Flash family, but they decided to make it more Barry focused. Didio joked about it being akin to the Hannah Barbara’s Wacky Races. Visions of Dick Dastardly dressed as Zoom danced in my head.

Buried in Pop Culture Zoo’s write-up of DC Nation at Emerald City Comicon this weekend is this line:

A Kid Flash series is still being planned.

Whether it will ever see the light of day, who knows? I suppose anything’s possible. DC is finally launching that Zatanna series they talked about two years ago, Top Cow is doing that Velocity series that was supposed to spin out of 2007’s Pilot Season, and even Teen Titans: Games has finally got a release date after twenty years.

Also of possible interest to Flash fans: the JSA will return to Smallville at the end of this season, and there’s talk of Hal Jordan and possibly Barry Allen having adventures in the distant future.

More coverage at Comics Alliance, and Comic Book Resources, and a good round-up at Robot6.

It looks like Barry Allen will get another chance to say, “Sorry I’m late.” Flash: Secret Files and Origins 2010 was originally scheduled for March 24. According to DC’s website, it’s now on the schedule for March 31.

The ongoing series is still on track for its April 14 launch.

ICv2 has released February 2010 sales estimates, and both Flash: Rebirth #6 and Blackest Night: Flash finish close to the previous issues of the respective series. Rebirth is ranked #9 for the month, while the Blackest Night tie-in comes in at #12 — again, the highest-rated of the three spin-off miniseries.

*Compared to the previous issue of Flash: Rebirth

In the end, about two-thirds of those who started Flash: Rebirth finished it, though most readers who were still on board by #5 stuck it through to the end. I have no idea what typical drop-off is for a six-issue miniseries, so this could be good, bad, or standard.

The rankings are quite positive, though: Of the nine issues between the two miniseries, seven were in the top 10 for the month. The two that dropped below the top 10 were still in the top 15.

I’d guess we’ll see a drop for this month’s Flash Secret Files and then another jump up for The Flash #1. It’s a major relaunch of one of DC’s top 6 characters, it’s a #1, it’s tied into Brightest Day, and it’s a new series by Geoff Johns. Plus even many readers who were disappointed by Flash: Rebirth have expressed optimism about the new series. It will be interesting to see how well it succeeds.

You ever have moments where you are on the internet randomly searching for Kid Flash costume variations and you stumble upon something really cool yet completely unexpected? This happened to me a few weeks ago when I came across some great stuff I’m not sure many fans of the Scarlet Speedster have seen yet.

Remember that Flash video game that was cancelled a few months ago? The Flash video game that was was covered by Kelson back in September and October of last year? Well I mentioned I was randomly interested in Kid Flash costume variations and I stumbled upon a nifty one in google images that rocked my socks off:

Taking a closer look around the site I found a few more:

And a nice Pied Piper:

Turns out these were modeled by Helen Rusinoff for the cancelled Flash video game. The costumes were designed by Roger Robinson who was featured in the previous Flash video game article Kelson posted. There were a few pictures that I didn’t have room to show but you can find those at her website.

I emailed Helen about showcasing the pictures on Speedforce.org and she emailed me back promptly. Not only did she give me permission to repost her work, but she also pointed me in the direction of Roger Robinson yet again. I visited his website and didn’t really find anything new to report. Wandering around that site however I came across another blog, where I found these pictures:

You can find a few more at Roger Robinson’s other website.

Seeing that we could have had Kid Flash, and Jesse Quick in this game makes me downright depressed. I wonder if there were any cool multi-player modes that they might have had planned using the various members of The Flash Family? The Flash meets Sonic Adventure 2 Battle? That wouldn’t have been a bad thing. I also wonder if they had any plans to have alternate costumes. That was a very nice touch in Justice League Heroes, which included Jay Garrick and Walter West as alternate uniforms for Wally. Too bad the game was so dang mediocre.

Until they find a way to either bring this back from the dead or create another one I guess I’m stuck playing this:

Actually Justice League Heroes: The Flash isn’t bad. I preordered it when it was first announced and purchased a Gameboy Advance SP just to play it. I now have it on my PSP as well and have beaten it many, many times. A lot of fun to play on the go(although I take Bart’s advice and don’t use my “playtendo” while running).

I hope you all enjoyed a deeper glimpse into the game that could have been. The potential was definitely there for a good, solid, fun game to play. Here is hoping they decide to create another one sometime down the road.

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

A few years ago I was browsing eBay (like I frequently do) in hopes of finding cool Flash collectibles when I stumbled upon an awesome piece of Flash fashion:

A sterling silver Justice League/The Flash-themed class ring! Thinking this ring popping up was a random one of a kind occurrence, I quickly snatched it up. When the ring arrived a week or so later it came with a catalog for Arrobasilver.com. I looked up the website and didn’t really see anything else Flash-related at the time, although they did have class rings for every member of the Big Seven. Nevertheless I still subscribed to their newsletter because A) The ring was gorgeous, had a great heft to it and was extremely detailed. And B) I wanted to know if and when they added new Flash stuff to their catalog.

Fast forward a year or so and I get a newsletter with an announcement for these designs:

Traditional Red and Yellow

“Dark Flash” Silver on Red

Red on Silver

And last but not least “Professor Zoom” Red on Black.

Pretty nice huh? One doesn’t have to be ultra-brazen to wear these out in public, but they still have a distinct look and unique flair to them. They run for $54.99 USD plus shipping, and with the amount of creativity, and craftmanship that goes into these pieces I’d say they are worth at least double that. Not only that but they are officially licensed by DC Comics and Warner Bros and that authenticity shows.

By the way when I asked Arrobasilver for permission to feature them they were kind enough to give Speedforce.org an exclusive promo code to knock 10% off of these bad boys. Just enter GA001 when checking out. Also stay tuned for some exciting news concerning Arroba Silver and Speedforce.org in the next few days.

Oh and one more thing:

***Slightly Off-Topic***

For those random non-Flash fans that show up here from time to time, Arrobasilver does much more than just Flash Rings. They have over 20 Green Lantern Ring designs alone that you can check out HERE, as well as other Justice League-related rings including a swanky Captain Marvel (Shazam) Ring they just released a few weeks ago. Remember: GA001 gets you 10% off exclusively so take advantage of this unique opportunity while you have the chance.

Remember, some exciting news is coming up in the very near future concerning Speedforce.org and Arrobasilver so keep an eye out.

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

DC has posted the second half of their interview with Geoff Johns about the Flash. This time he talks more about the new series (though most of it is “wait and see”), working with Francis Manapul, why The Flash (and Barry Allen specifically) represents hope, and one of the themes he wants to explore in the book:

There’s an exploration of speed and what it does to us today, how we can succumb to it or be seduced by it. What do we have time for in our “busy” lives? Are we really too busy we have to send text messages instead of calling someone? Or is it easier to keep in touch with our loved ones that way? Do we need more hours in the day or do we need to stop overfilling up the hours we have? What is speed? What is time? What does it all mean to us in our lives day-to-day and year-to-year?

The new issue of Comic-Con Magazine (originally the newsletter for Comic-Con International) is up, with a focus on comic book writers and an extensive interview with Geoff Johns. At one point, the interviewer asks about a Flash: Secret Origin story.

I will be doing the Flash Secret Origin. He’s never had a secret origin book….with Green Lantern Secret Origin, it’s a book now and that book actually outsells the other GL trades because you look at it if you’re in a bookstore or whatever and that’s the first one you’ll pick up because it looks like that’s the first volume….the Flash Secret Origin will be one of those books that you can hand to anybody.

Johns has previously said that he’d like to do a Secret Origin of the Flash, but it sounds a lot more definite now. Though of course, we’ve seen DC’s plans for the Flash change many times over the last few years.

He doesn’t say when the story will be told, or whether it will be in the main book like Green Lantern: Secret Origin or in a separate miniseries like Superman: Secret Origin.

I wouldn’t agree that the Flash has never had a secret origin book, though. Certainly Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn’s The Life Story of the Flash would fit the bill. Yes, it’s 13 years old now, and Geoff Johns has wiped out the entire first third of the book with Eobard Thawne’s time travel shenanigans in Flash: Rebirth, but it does exist. Unless Superboy-Prime somehow punched it out of existence. I should go check my longboxes and make sure it’s still there…

Tip of the hat to @SpeedsterSite for catching this!