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!

On the change of pace from the “Mob Rule” story:

Manapul: The first arc we really felt it was really rich in subtext, whereas with the current Rogues [story], we’re taking more of a direct approach. I’ll admit it — we read how people react to the issues, and we noticed there was a lot of stuff in the first arc that kind of flew over a lot of people’s heads. So with the Rogues, we’re taking a direct approach on how we’re handling them emotionally and how they reflect Barry Allen. And also, having done a five-issue arc, we thought it was necessary for us to create tighter, shorter stories, to help move things along! [Laughs]

On the much-discussed Rogue redesigns:

Manapul: Captain Cold was really the one that took the most back and forth in terms of where we wanted him to be. The rest of the Rogues were really quite easy. A lot of it stemmed from trying to keep things from the past but also making the way that they look part of the story. They look like they do for certain reasons. Of course, with characters like Heat Wave, he looks drastically different. A lot of those changes to their physical attributes stem from the story, so as we get further along, that they look is going to make a lot more sense.

… I don’t feel like we’re reinventing them, except for Turbine and Gorilla Grodd. A lot of readers say they want change, but really, they don’t. They want the characters to stay the same, so the way the Rogues have been written in the past is always writing them exactly the same. Emotionally, they didn’t progress, but they changed everything around them so they would have this illusion of change. The opportunity Brian and I have with the New 52 is, “Where did the last story of the Rogues leave off? Lets take that story and move forward emotionally in a way we wouldn’t have been able to pre-52.”

On the relationship between Captain Cold and Heat Wave, as it stands now:

Manapul: I think issue #11 has one of my favorite scenes of interactions between the Flash and Captain Cold — spoilers! — and Heat Wave. It’s a lot of fun! The issue is going to feel a little like a modern Western. The joke is Barry Allen walks into a bar — and Captain Cold and Heat Wave also walk into a bar. There’s going to be some great interaction between Barry Allen and Leonard Snart, and it’ll be really interesting to see Heat Wave interact with Captain Cold. With regard to the singular event that Lisa Snart mentioned, no one has been more negatively affected by it than Heat Wave. That’s where his emotion lies and why he very much would like to get rid of Captain Cold.

On the theme of the Law of Congestion, a driving force from the first issue of the series:

Buccellato: It’s something that’s really reflective — if you go back to issue #1, we talk about it, and it wasn’t just some passing conversation. There’s a reason why we chose to have Dr. Elias talk about that specific thing. So if people would go back and look upon that issue and then reflect on the issues that have come out afterwards, they can, hopefully, see that there’s more at play than what’s on the page.

Manapul: I think the stories we’ve been putting out have been a continuous study of that theory. In a way, what we did in issue #2 by visually overwhelming — we weren’t just overwhelming Barry Allen, we were overwhelming the readers. If you’re following the concept of the Law of Congestion, right now, a lot of highways are being built. The Law of Congestion says, in order to fix it, destroy all of them.

On Wally West:

Manapul: The thing is, it’s coming from a pure fan perspective. I grew up with Wally West, but it’s one those things that, within the context of the story and the world we’re building, he doesn’t really fit. Really, just focusing on Barry Allen has allowed us to do a more streamlined story and give a very good character study on Barry. Especially since, when you think about it, a lot of people of this generation don’t know Barry Allen that well. I sort of feel it really ties everything together. Here are Brian and I on this journey, writing our first ongoing comic book, and we’re reintroducing Barry Allen and his journey in terms of self-discovery — and it’s the same things the readers are going through. They’re on a journey of discovering who Barry Allen is. Introducing Wally West might murky up the water. It’s not our decision, but I think it’s better that we just focus on Barry Allen. At the end of the day, our mission statement is to make Barry Allen as cool as possible. So we’re putting all our effort into doing that.

For much more, head over to CBR for the full interview!

Media Blitz! Flash Team Talks Rogue Makeovers, Wally West and the Law of Congestion (via CBR) is a post from Speed Force.

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

A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):

• Flash Sales 1996-2002
• Flash Sales 2001-2008
• Flash: Rebirth & Blackest Night Sales
• Flash vol.3 Sales

*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.

Flash Sales in March & April is a post from Speed Force.

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:

Picture courtesy of Youtube user, SuperheroesLego

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! I just replayed Justice League Heroes earlier this week and man, have I been hankering for some fresh super speed action.  We can only speculate about what alternate costumes they have in mind for our flashy friend but if there are indeed alternative attires I’m hoping for something interesting. Remember Dark Flash and Jay Garrick from Justice League Heroes? We definitely need something akin to those skins.

Jay Garrick from Justice League Heroes

Dark Flash (Walter West) from Justice League Heroes

But that isn’t all; while scouring the net for info on The Flash appearance in Lego Batman 2 I found an ad from EB Games Australia:

So apparently as a preorder incentive, Australian EB Games (or Gamestop to us) customers will be receiving 5 bonus villains which will include two Flash villains: Captain Cold and Gorilla Grodd! YES, YES, YES! I’m counting on US customers also receiving these characters in one form or another. We do know for a fact that it won’t be via preorder as the only bonuses I’ve been able to track down for preordering are a limited edition Lego Lex Luthor from Gamestop and a bonus hero pack featuring Nightwing, Shazam (Captain Marvel), Katana, Damian Wayne (the latest Robin), and Zatanna from Amazon. If anyone has any additional information about the villain pack please let us know.

With the ability to play as over 50 DC Comics characters in a open world environment, customizable characters for creating unique variations and characters that may not have been included, as well as two player offline and online co-op play I have a feeling this just may be the ultimate DC Comics video game.

Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes will be in stores June 19th for all current generation consoles and handhelds: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, 3DS, PS Vita and PCs.

Anyone plan on preordering this game? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson

The Flash in Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (Plus Two Flash villains) is a post from Speed Force.

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.

Flash #9 Preview Available is a post from Speed Force.

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!

Release Date for Road to Flashpoint TP is a post from Speed Force.

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…

THE FLASH ANNUAL #1
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL, MARCUS TO and others
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T

• The Rogues – victorious? If THE FLASH had trouble with them individually, together they’ll kill him!

• Something worse than The Rogues is just waiting for the right moment to attack….

Marcus To was recently announced as the artist for issues #10 and 11, and it appears he’ll be working on the Annual as well.

EARTH 2 #4
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by IVAN REIS
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• THE GREEN LANTERN, THE FLASH and HAWKGIRL in action!

• The debut of the all-new ATOM SMASHER!

• A monstrous evil claws its way out of the poisoned soil of EARTH 2!

Jay is not included on the cover, which features the new Hawkgirl.

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #12
Written by FABIAN NICIEZA
Art by JORGE JIMENEZ
Cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale AUGUST 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• KID FLASH stars in his first solo adventure, racing against time as he deals with the prehistoric trouble the TEEN TITANS brought back from MYSTERY ISLAND!

Flash #12 and Flash Annual Solicitations is a post from Speed Force.

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.

Now for those of you who want to make an intelligent, informed decision about whether you will be purchasing Mattel’s version of Jason Peter Garrick this Tuesday you are in luck:

Action Figure Insider has long been a source that I use to keep track of various toy collectible news. One of their founders and main contributors, Daniel “JuliusMarx” Pickett, has through sheer force of awesome worked out a deal where he receives sample figures from Mattel on the regular and before most people ever get a chance to lay their mitts on them. He snaps some great pictures of them, tells you a few details about them and gives us an overall impression of the figures. You can see AFI’s First Look HERE.

Another toy blogger, Dan “Pixel Dan” Eardley also receives samples from Mattel but likes to give us his impressions in video form. His website, Pixel-Dan.com, is immensely popular and his Youtube channel has over 11,000 subscribers with over 8 million views. Now I personally prefer to read reviews and check out pictures but Dan has some extremely professional looking work. He also works the crap out of the samples, testing out joints, and twisting limbs back and forth so we don’t have to. You can check out Dan’s extremely detailed and informative review of Jay Garrick HERE.

Remember DC Signature Collection Jay Garrick will be available this Tuesday. May 15, 2012. You can find the product page HERE.

So who plans on picking up Jay Garrick this Tuesday? For that matter who already has the figure pre-purchased through the Club Infinite Earths Subscription? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Devin “Flash” Johnson

Reminder: DC Signature Collection Golden Age Flash on Sale 5/15/12 is a post from Speed Force.

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.

Young Justice: Three Generations of Flashes is a post from Speed Force.

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.

Kid Flash Goes Solo in DCU Presents #12 is a post from Speed Force.

“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.

@BrianBooch 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

May 11, 2012 10:37 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@FrancisManapul

Francis Manapul

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.

Marcus To & Ray McCarthy Guest Artists on Flash #10-11 (Updated) is a post from Speed Force.