Category Archives: General

Thursday at SDCC: DC Now

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I wasn’t originally planning on attending Thursday’s DC Now panel at Comic-Con International, but my feet were tired and I figured I might learn something. It was mainly an informational panel with writers talking about the book they’re working on.

Here’s my terribly incomplete live-tweet coverage.

DC Now moderator says they came up with name for panel & were quite surprised when “someone else” used it.

Jimmy Palmiotti: “I was in the Twilight panel, that’s why I was delayed.”

Batman: Earth One. @geoffjohns describes as “rollback Batman” who doesn’t know what he’s doing & does it for wrong reasons.

Justice League year 1 was about what the team IS. Year 2 about what it SHOULD be. @geoffjohns

Why is new GL carrying a gun? “These rings run out of energy, don’t they?”

Third Army premise (eliminate free will) sounds like Darkseid and the anti-life equation.

Scott Snyder: in the past, the Joker hasn’t really gone after Barbara, Jason or Dick PERSONALLY. Now he will.

(At this point I left to go to another panel that I really wanted to catch. SpeedsterSite was following another liveblog, though.)

@SpeedsterSite: Buccellato says Flash #0 will explore who Barry is, “and why he’s the guy who always needs to do the right thing.”

@SpeedsterSite: Buccellato: “And there is no Wally in this run at all, I’m sorry.” Crowd boos.

For more info, check out Comics Alliance, Comic Book Resources, or Newsarama’s articles.

UPDATE: My full Comic-Con write-up is complete!

Question on Flash Omnibus Binding

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Who here has bought the Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns collections? Reader Nick wrote in to ask about the size and quality of the binding on the first two volumes.

If you have photos, that would be even better. You can post a link to an image host in the comments, or send them to me by email (speedforce at pobox dot com) and I’ll add them to the main post.

Update: Josh has sent in these photos, adding, “Flash omnibus volume 2 is a much larger than volume 1. Two hundred pages larger, in fact.”

Thanks, Josh!

Reader Questions: Explain the Speed Force

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Steven Ogden asks:

I’m a huge Flash fan. He’s without a doubt my favorite superhero. Unfortunately, there’s only one thing I don’t understand: the Speed Force. I don’t understand how Barry Allen created the Speed Force. Is it some kind of magical force? Hope not, not a big magic fan. If anyone can take the time to help a Flash fan out I’d appreciate it.

Well, Steve, there are a couple of ways to look at the speed force, from simple to complicated. Let’s start with simple.

The name is a little misleading. The speed force is basically a field of energy which exists just outside reality. Speedsters like the Flash can tap into this energy, which makes it possible for them to perform feats of amazing speed. With practice, they can learn to manipulate this energy as well, stealing and lending speed from other objects (or people). It also produces an aura that protects them from friction, so they don’t burn up running through the air at a zillion miles an hour.

If the Flash draws too much energy (basically, by running past the speed of light, the cosmic speed limit), he risks losing himself in the field. In the pre-Flashpoint universe, this has happened to Max Mercury, Johnny Quick, Barry Allen, Wally West and Savitar, among others. Wally was the first to return from this fate, but not the last.

Then things get complicated. Continue reading →

50%-Off: Flash Companion, Carmine Infantino & More in TwoMorrows Sale

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TwoMorrows is going beyond Cyber Monday to hold a full “Cyber Week” sale, putting their entire back-stock of books on sale for 50% off. That includes the Companion books focusing on characters, teams and series, the Modern masters books focusing on artists, and more.

If you’ve been eyeing that Flash Companion cover in the sidebar for a while and haven’t picked it up, now’s your chance. I’m planning to pick up the hardcover edition of Carmine Infantino: Penciler Publisher Provocateur. Fans of the Flash in the 1990s may also be interested in the Modern Masters: Mike Wieringo book.

The sale on Twomorrows’ website runs through December 5.

New 52: Kid Flash Clarification

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For those who are still wondering, Teen Titans artist Brett Booth stepped in last week to clarify:

https://twitter.com/#!/Demonpuppy/status/129259180027686912

While DC hasn’t been very clear in the Teen Titans solicitations, Kid Flash has been identified as Bart Allen in articles and interviews as far back as June. Last week’s Teen Titans #2 explicitly referred to him as Bart Allen, so this should end speculation (most recently seen here) that the series features Wally West in line with the Young Justice cartoon.

Of course, there are still plenty of questions about Bart’s origins. Is he still related to Barry Allen? If so, how? Is he still from the future? How did he get his powers? (Come to think of it, Smallville never did reveal an origin for Bart beyond being in some sort of accident with a flash of light.)

If Bart is still from the future, and if he is still Barry and Iris’ grandson, the fact that they aren’t married in the present is no more a contradiction than the fact that Booster Gold’s grandparents haven’t even been born yet in the present day. In that case, he comes from a future in which they do. Even so, it doesn’t have to lock down the Barry/Iris question. As Yoda once said, “always in motion is future.”