January 30, 2012
DC has released more on their fall collections, including this September item:
THE FLASH: THE ROAD TO FLASHPOINT TP
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Francis Manapul and Scott Kolins
Collects: THE FLASH #8-12
$14.99 US, 120 pg
The hardcover came out last November. There was a bit of confusion when the Dastardly Death of the Rogues TP was released, and DC identified it was only collecting The Flash #1-6, but that turned out to be a misprint.
This brings the last of Geoff Johns’ Barry Allen Flash run into trade paperback form.
The Source has posted the variant cover to Flash #6. Featuring artwork by Mike Choi, the cover shows the Flash frozen mid-movement. It has been revealed that Captain Cold will make his first full appearance in Flash in issue #6.
Choi is also quoted in the post, where he talks about some of his artistic influences:
From the get-go, [Flash editor Brian Cunningham] told me to try and infuse more dynamism to my figure work by looking at artists like John Buscema and Wally Wood, and hopefully that’s coming through bit by bit as my career progresses.
Interestingly, the solicit up at DCComics.com has not been updated to reflect the new content in issue six and still reads as below. It has been stated by writer Brian Buccellato that the CSI story is “off the table.”
THE FLASH #6
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by MIKE CHOI
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Struggling with the climactic aftermath of his battle with Mob Rule last issue, The Flash must solve a murder mystery that dates back 150 years! Is this case too cold even for Barry Allen? Also: Learn the origins of Central and Keystone City!
January 27, 2012
I had a great chat with Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato at his signing at The Comic Bug this Wednesday. He dropped a few hints and spoilers, most of which I can’t pass along (alas!), but I can shed some light on the somewhat confusing upcoming schedule:
The Captain Cold story originally solicited to start in issue #7 is now a two-parter running through #6 and #7.
After the Turbine story in #8, the next few issues will be done-in-ones re-introducing the Rogues one at a time, leading up to a bigger Rogues story down the line.
The Barry Allen CSI story is off the table for now.
Oh, and that image up there? A teaser for Flash #6 posted by Francis Manapul.
January 26, 2012
When DC first announced the collection, they planned on including issues #1-7 in the hardcover. Today, they released an updated look at the New 52 collections, including a title, “Move Forward.” It also will contain issues #1-8, which brings the series up to April’s introduction of Turbine.
THE FLASH VOLUME 1: MOVE FORWARD HC
Writers: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Artist: Francis Manapul
Collects: THE FLASH #1-8
$22.99 US, 192 pg
November 2012
January 25, 2012
The Flash #5
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by GARY FRANK; 1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Central City in chaos! Iris West captive in Iron Heights prison! And as Flash tries to deal with all of it, he must also try to save the life of his old friend Manuel Lago from Mob Rule, DC Comics’ hottest new Super Villain!
DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US
Preview at IGN.
DC is beginning to roll out digital copies of the Mike Baron run on Wally West’s Flash series through ComiXology. Issue #1 was released during the Flash 101 sale, and issues #2-6 will be available today. Issues #1-6 feature three stories, each a two parter, with Wally West facing off against Vandal Savage, the Kilg%re, and Speed Demon, and introducing Dr. Tina McGee to the supporting cast.
»Flash comics at ComiXology.
More thoughts on this in the next post…
Also this week: Teen Titans #5, featuring Kid Flash vs. Superboy on the cover.
Edit: And Justice League #5, with the Flash featured heavily in the preview.
January 20, 2012
IGN has a preview of next week’s Flash #5.
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by GARY FRANK; 1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Central City in chaos! Iris West captive in Iron Heights prison! And as Flash tries to deal with all of it, he must also try to save the life of his old friend Manuel Lago from Mob Rule, DC Comics’ hottest new Super Villain!
DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US
On Sale January 25, 2012
January 17, 2012
THE FLASH #8
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale APRIL 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The Flash gets pulled into the Speed Force that gives him his super-speed powers…and he learns he’s not alone in there! Introducing Turbine, a prisoner of the Speed Force who just wants out – even if it means trading places with The Flash!
DC’s April Justice League solicitations are up at The Source. Full solicitations including upcoming collections will be forthcoming.
January 13, 2012
Last week we reported that Flash #4 ranked #8 for the month of December. ICV2 has released its December sales estimates, figuring that the comic sold 77,336 copies. Despite the slight climb in rank, that’s a 14.5% drop from previous issue. Not as big as the the drop from #2 to #3, but still big. And it’s a whopping 40% drop from #1. On the plus side, it’s still above any issue of vol.3 after the first, and above the 55K threshold I pulled out of thin air last year.
What does it mean?
To be honest, I have no idea. The New 52 was an unprecedented event, with all of DC’s books seeing a sales spike. The drop is big, sure, but the numbers are still high, and the ranking is phenomenal for the Flash. Is this just a reflection of the overall market re-adjusting after DC’s line-wide sales spike a few months ago? Is DC worried about The Flash dropping faster than other top-tier titles, or are they glad it’s not dropping as quickly as the lower tier? Obviously they’re not too concerned, because they haven’t changed the creative team — something DC hasn’t shied away from in the short time since the launch.
The more I report on sales figures, the less I understand the implications. And that’s assuming the numbers are consistent enough to analyze to begin with.
| Issue |
Rank |
Month |
Units Sold |
% Change |
| Flash vol.4 |
| Flash v.4 #1 |
4 |
September 2011 |
129,260 |
| Flash v.4 #2 |
5 |
October 2011 |
114,137 |
-11.7% |
| Flash v.4 #3 |
9 |
November 2011 |
90,417 |
-20.8% |
| Flash v.4 #4 |
8 |
December 2011 |
77,336 |
-14.5% |
A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):
*What these numbers measure: US-only sales, wholesale from Diamond to comics retailers. They don’t count sales through bookstores, they don’t count international sales, and they don’t count how many copies were actually bought and read…but they do measure the same thing every month, which means they can be used to spot trends.
January 6, 2012
Diamond’s December sales rankings are out, and The Flash #4 is ranked the month’s #8 comic by units sold. Four issues in a row in the top 10 is, as far as I know, a first for The Flash (at least in recent memory). Volume three spent most of its time in the 10-20 range, and even Flash: Rebirth dropped to #14 in the fourth issue. Only Flashpoint held in the top 10 longer…for all five issues of the miniseries, in fact, including both August issues.
Detailed estimates will likely be available sometime next week.
January 2, 2012
Old news, but I missed it with all the Christmas/New Year/catching up with family from out of town/etc.:
Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato posted in a couple of forums last week that the Captain Cold arc originally scheduled for issue #7 has been moved up to #6, replacing the stand-alone CSI mystery originally solicited.
From the CBR thread:
Speaking of Captain Cold…
I wanted to give you all a heads up that we’ve moved the Captain Cold storyline up to ISSUE #6. Rumor has it that the folks REALLY wanna see the Snart. Done and done. 
Jingle Bells!
In response to questions, he adds:
Hey guys… as it stand now, the Captain Cold arc is gonna be 3 issues. As far as the original #6 with the mystery… not sure when we are gonna get to that one. We still want to do it, though.
Personally, I’m kind of disappointed, since I was really looking forward to reading about the history of Central and Keystone Cities, and a straight CSI story would really take advantage of the fact that DC chose Barry Allen for this universe’s Flash. (To be honest, I was more intrigued by the 150-year-old cold case than by the Captain Cold story.)
Still, I can understand the decision. If there’s anything DC learned from “The Wild Wests” and “Lightning in a Bottle,” it’s that the Flash audience wants to see Rogues. And then there’s the “Eh, it’s just filler” attitude that many readers have toward done-in-ones. I can imagine DC might be afraid of losing momentum on the book.
Here’s hoping that they’ll be able to fit in the cold case story sometime soon!
(via The Rogues Kick Ass)
