May 22, 2012
In an interview posted on Friday, Flash co-writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato talked to comic book resources about the arc of their speedster saga. Going into this week’s first New 52 Grodd story, and upcoming reintroductions of Weather Wizard, Heat Wave and (Golden) Glider, the Flash team delved into the existing relationship between the Rogues and the road to September’s Flash Annual.
Manapul kicks things off by explaining the crescendo of the series thus far:
Francis Manapul: I think there’s a theme that the book is really about overwhelming the Flash. In the first arc, we created this villain who could really be in multiple places at once, so in that sense, the Flash is overwhelmed physically and also overwhelmed emotionally because of the fact that he’s [fighting] an old friend, a guy that he grew up with. It’s kind of an overwhelming time for Barry Allen, having discovered that the weight of the world is on his shoulders. On top of that, the Rogues are slowly starting to get back together; we’re slowly showing what kind of a threat they would be to Barry Allen.
For highlights, including choices made during the redesign of the Rogues and the team’s answer to the Wally West question, follow the jump!
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May 21, 2012
After six solid months in the top 10, The Flash dropped down to the #11 spot in March and #14 in April in the rankings based on units sold. Not coincidentally, March featured the launch of Marvel’s Avengers vs. X-Men event, and a number of related Marvel books pushed aside the better sellers of DC’s New 52. (The Flash was still DC’s #8 book.)
Estimates at ICv2 have the series selling 64,975 issues in March and 63,702 issues in April.
On the downside, the book is selling half what it sold last September. On the plus side, it’s still ahead of the 53K mark it had reached at this point in the previous volume. Better yet, those month-to-month drops are getting smaller, suggesting that it may find its level soon. I’ve suggested before that if it levels out above 55K (where volume 3 settled), the Flash relaunch is probably a success. Though it may be cutting things a bit close.
Update: Christopher Schmitt brings up digital numbers, which I forgot to look for. CBR has been running monthly interviews with Bob Wayne & John Cunningham in which they discuss the month’s sales, including DC’s own digital rankings (but not actual numbers, which most companies are still keeping quiet about). I’ve mentioned before that The Flash doesn’t rank as well digitally, where it hasn’t even made it into DC’s top 10 yet (here’s March). DC released their April Top 20,** and Flash came in at #18 digitally, compared to #8 in print if you look only at DC’s output.
Numbers
| 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% |
| Flash v.4 #5 |
8 |
January 2012 |
71,611 |
-7.4% |
| Flash v.4 #6 |
8 |
February2012 |
68,061 |
-5.0% |
| Flash v.4 #7 |
11 |
March 2012 |
64,975 |
-4.5% |
| Flash v.4 #8 |
11 |
April 2012 |
63,702 |
-2.0% |
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.
**It’s not clear how comparable the rankings are, since Diamond’s rankings are for sales over the whole month, and DC’s digital chart here is described as “Best Selling Single issue in a week.” Though since The Flash comes out the fourth week of the month, there probably isn’t much difference.
May 18, 2012
Hey Speed Readers,
I’d been away from the net for a few days so I hadn’t heard that the first picture of The Flash in Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes had been released by Game Informer Magazine. This is the first visual confirmation of the Scarlet Speedster we’ve had since USA Today revealed his presence in the game a couple of months ago. The only picture so far is in the magazine that I don’t own but luckily the internet is full of all kinds of cool cats posting scans and vids:
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May 16, 2012
IO9 has a preview of Flash #9 online.
THE FLASH #9
Continuing the debut of Gorilla Grodd in DC Comics –- The New 52! The Flash travels to Gorilla City for the first time! Who are the “Runners” –- and what do they mean for The Flash and the Speed Force?
Written by: Brian Buccellato, Francis Manapul
Pencilled by: Francis Manapul
Inked by: Francis Manapul
Cover Color by: Brian Buccellato
Lettered by: DC Lettering
Colored by: Brian Buccellato, Francis Manapul
Flash #9 arrives in stores next week.
May 14, 2012
The softcover collection of the end of the 2010-2011 Flash series has been given a September 26 release date in DC’s latest solicitations. The hardcover came out last fall, and the trade paperback was announced in January with only the month listed.
THE FLASH VOL. 2: THE ROAD TO FLASHPOINT
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and SCOTT KOLINS
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL and SCOTT KOLINS
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale SEPTEMBER 26 • 120 pg, FC, $14.99 US
- Make way for Hot Pursuit – the latest speedster to come out of the Speed Force!
- Collects THE FLASH #8-12!
THE FLASH #12
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale AUGUST 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Setting up THE ROGUES as a team as the next major storyline for the series begins!
• GLIDER takes center stage!
What a gorgeous cover. DC’s August Justice League solicitations are up at The Source. The cover for the Flash Annual was revealed last week.
For the full Annual solicit, plus Kid Flash solo and Jay Garrick’s Earth 2 adventures, follow the jump…
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May 13, 2012
Hey Speed Readers,
Just a friendly reminder for those anxiously awaiting the release of Mattel’s DC Signature Collection Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, the figure goes on sale on Mattycollector.com this Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Of course those that signed up for the subscription (not I) will be getting theirs shipped out automatically. Although earlier this month Mattel posted on Matty’s news page that due to “logistics issues” the shipments of the figure won’t be arriving at the docks until pretty much the day of the sale. Due to that they’ve told customers to allow 5 to 7 additional days for orders containing the figure to arrive. Naturally the customers who subscribed to Club Infinite Earths 2012 will receive their orders first. The figure will set the rest of us back $18.99 usd plus shipping.
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May 12, 2012
There’s been a lot of speculation among Young Justice fans about the fact that Kid Flash/Wally West has been missing from the five-years-later second season, and that the Flash has barely appeared (and hasn’t spoken). Did Wally West die during the gap? Did Barry Allen die, with Wally West stepping up to become the new Flash like he did in the comics?
One thing is known: An upcoming episode by Peter David will feature three Flashes: Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West. Geoff Pierson will provide the voice of Jay Garrick.
I haven’t found a definitive source for the airdate, but it appears to be the June 2 episode, “Bloodlines.”
Update: I meant to add this, but it seems to have gotten lost in editing. What we don’t know: When the episode takes place, or whether Jay, Barry and Wally all appear together or separately (or even in different time periods).
Set your DVRs, folks. This is going to be bigger than Wally’s spotlight in “Coldhearted.”
Image: Character design by Jerome K. Moore.
Thanks to @CraigRMacDonald for the reminder and the link to Charles Skaggs’ post which directed me to Peter David’s post, and to Kyer for remarking on the “Bloodlines” title.
May 11, 2012
More Flash news from The Source: Kid Flash stars in DCU Presents #12, a solo adventure written by Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Jorge Jimenez, with a cover by Ryan Sook.
In a special one-shot issue of the fan-favorite anthology series, DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS, Kid Flash will race against time as he deals with the prehistoric trouble the Teen Titans brought back from Mystery Island.
“The Teen Titans survived the Culling and are in for some Prehistoric adventures in both SUPERBOY and TEEN TITANS number tens on the aptly named Mystery Island. And when all is said and done, they will be taking home some souvenirs,” editor Eddie Berganza revealed to THE SOURCE. “Helping Kid Flash have a yabba-doo time with the visiting Dino teens (in back-ups in both TEEN TITANS #11 and #12 with a prologue and epilogue that connects to DC PRESENTS #12) are writer Fabian Niceza and artist Jorge Jimenez. As this story unfolds, we will see which species is really set for extinction!”
I’ll have to check to be sure, but I think this is Bart Allen’s first full-length solo story since the end of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive five years ago, and his first as Kid Flash (not counting the issue of Impulse during “World Without Young Justice” in which he dressed up in one of Wally’s old costumes). Bart did have at least one short story in one of DC’s Halloween specials as Kid Flash. (IIRC, he was caught in a fight between Mirror Master and Bloody Mary.) Edit: Of course he starred in Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost just last year.
DC announced on The Source today that Batwing artists Marcus To and Ray McCarthy will be drawing The Flash #10 and #11, focusing on Weather Wizard and Heat Wave.
“FLASH #10 spotlights the reimagined Weather Wizard and his twisted family tree, and we’re thrilled to welcome artist Marcus To and inker Ray McCarthy on board to tell the tale,” Editor Matt Idelson told THE SOURCE. “Marcus shares studio space with regular FLASH artist Francis Manapul (we’ve enjoyed hearing his snarky comments in the background of our calls with Francis), so we’re keeping things in the family, as it were… and as you can see from the double-page spread below, Marcus is gonna blow through this book like a hurricane! Issue #10 is going to be a blast, but just wait until July’s scorching issue #11, where — fittingly for the height of summer — you’ll be re-introduced to the very nasty, very crispy Heat Wave!
Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato return as the regular artists with issue #12. On Twitter, they confirmed that they are still writing (or, more precisely, have already written) the scripts for those issues, and Marcus To is working from Francis Manapul’s layouts. The story is still building toward the Flash Annual.
@ and I will still be doing the writing, and I’ll still be doing the layouts for Flash 10 and 11. I just needed bit of a breather
He’s definitely earned that breather after putting out nine issues in a row (well, eight so far, but there’s been no word of delays on #9) right on time while serving as both writer and artist!
Update! Newsarama has more info, including an interview with Marcus To.
