THE FLASH #9
Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Art by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
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?
IO9 has a preview of the issue.
Among this week’s ComiXology releases are The Flash vol.2 #13-14, in which Wally West, still early in his solo career, battles Vandal Savage and a host of Savage’s pawns given super-speed by the drug Velocity 9.
This completes the Mike Baron run on the character, except for the 1987 Flash Annual #1 (a stand-alone story mixing the Flash with movie-style martial arts as Wally accidentally develops the “death touch”). Since ComiXology already had the first four issues of the William Messner-Loebs run (including the recommended “Adventures of Speed McGee” three-parter), this also completes the first 18 issues of the series, and the Vandal Savage/Velocity 9 story that spans the transition between writers.
» The Flash (1987-2009) at ComiXology
DC and ComiXology have added six more issues of the 1987 Flash vol.2 starring Wally West, all at the 99-cent price point.
These issues introduce Red Trinity and Blue Trinity, two teams of ex-Soviet speedsters, as well as Chunk, who would go on to become a regular supporting cast member. Issue #12 begins the Vandal Savage/Velocity 9 story that straddles the transition from Mike Baron to William Messner-Loebs.
70 issues out of 249 (including #0 and #1,000,000) are now available digitally, including the complete first year. Mike Baron’s run is almost complete, with just two more issues to go. It’s not clear whether DC has a regular schedule for these digital back-issues, but the last time they added to this series was January’s addition of #1-6. This suggests that they’ll be adding six issues every few months, starting at the beginning and working forward, filling in around the issues released as part of the Flash 101 promotion last year.
» The Flash (1987-2009) on ComiXology
They’ve also added six issues of Adventure Comics from its 1970s run as an anthology book. Issues #459-466 featured eight Flash solo stories starring Barry Allen. During the heavily serialized Bronze Age, these were throwbacks to the more goofy done-in-one Silver Age stories. I didn’t even know about them until I read one of Mark Waid’s interviews in The Flash Companion, then I started tracking them down on eBay. I’ve read the lot of them, and wrote about the stories here a couple of years back. ComiXology has Adventure Comics #461-466 online at $1.99 each.
Only a handful of the Silver/Bronze Age Flash series are available, most posted during the Flash 101 sale mentioned above.
» The Flash (1959-1985) on ComiXology
» Adventure Comics on ComiXology
Earth 2 #1
STORY BY James Robinson
ART BY Nicola Scott, Trevor Scott
COVER BY Ivan Reis, Joe Prado
COVER PRICE: $3.99
First issue of an ongoing series from writer JAMES ROBINSON and artist NICOLA SCOTT!
Article and preview at USA Today.
Also out this week: the hardcover collection of the new Justice League: Origin.
Who’s planning on checking this out? Who’s planning to skip it?
Comic Book Resources has a preview of Flash #8 by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, due in stores this week.
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!
Lia points out on Twitter, “So Turbine spins and his name is Roscoe? Uh huh.” Indeed, that sounds strangely familiar…
THE FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by SCOTT KOLINS, DOUG HAZLEWOOD, RICK BURCHETT, PHIL WINSLADE, DAN PANOSIAN and others
Cover by SCOTT KOLINS
648 pg, FC, $75.00 US (Or $46 on Amazon)
It’s the second hardcover volume collecting all the issues of THE FLASH written by comics superstar Geoff Johns! In this massive collection featuring issues #177-200 and DC FIRST: FLASH/SUPERMAN #1, an old friend of Wally West becomes the portal to another universe and Gorilla Grodd goes wild in Keystone City! Plus, don’t miss the Fastest Man Alive’s clashes with members of his infamous rogues gallery, including Captain Cold, The Trickster, the Pied Piper and more!
Notes: I’ve said before that these are my favorite stories from Geoff Johns’ run. He’d hit his stride by this point, bringing everything together first for Crossfire, then for Blitz, with some great done-in-one stories in the middle and a real effort to balance characterization, world building, and both the classic Rogues and new villains.
Captain Cold is back – and he’s more dangerous than ever! Seeking revenge on The Flash, he must convince the rest of the Rogues to reunite one last time. But what tore them apart before? And what did The Flash do to earn their deadly scorn? Find out here!
$2.99. Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.
DC has released a preview of the issue through BuzzFeed. The article title and URL sound like they could use a spoiler warning, which is why I suspect they’re figurative.
Edit: I forgot to link to it yesterday, but here’s the variant cover by Dale Keown.
Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring the Flash
Written by SEAN RYAN, STERLING GATES, ADAM GLASS and SCOTT KOLINS
Art by IG GUARA, OLIVER NOME, RODNEY BUCHEMI, JOEL GOMEZ, SCOTT KOLINS and JOSE MARZAN JR.
Cover by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES
On sale MARCH 21 • 256 pg, FC, $17.99 US
Don’t miss this Flash volume collecting GRODD OF WAR #1, KID FLASH LOST #1-3, LEGION OF DOOM #1-3, REVERSE FLASH #1 and CITIZEN COLD #1-3.
I’ll say one thing for DC’s Flashpoint collection strategy: they actually managed to put all the Flash-related tie-ins in one book, without adding too much unrelated material (like tossing Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown in with the Flashpoint/Green Lantern collection).
Grodd of War obviously focuses on Gorilla Grodd, who in the Flashpoint universe has taken over Gorilla City and subsequently conquered the entire continent of Africa.
Kid Flash Lost follows the main DC Universe’s Bart Allen, trying to fix the changes to history before they catch up to his home era and make him disappear as well.
Legion of Doom is a brutal prison break story focusing on Heat Wave, who has gone beyond pyromania to full-on psychosis psychopathy.
Reverse Flash stars Professor Zoom, though it’s only tangentially related to Flashpoint in that it looks at the main DCU’s Zoom trying to change history.
Citizen Cold features a Captain Cold who uses the mask of Central City’s resident hero to hide his criminal past, and the parallel efforts of reporter Iris West and the city’s resident super-criminals to take him down.
Order it from Amazon for next week or buy it at your local comic shop tomorrow!
The big DC Comics event of 2011, Flashpoint, is out in trade paperback this week ($14.99). Barry Allen wakes up powerless in a world he doesn’t recognize, a world on the brink of war between human and superhuman nations alike. To save the world, he’ll team up with Batman to learn who changed history and how to put it right — but this Batman isn’t who he expects to meet beneath the cowl.
Of course, the conclusion of Flashpoint led directly into the reboot of the DC Universe into the form of the New 52.
The Geoff Johns/Andy Kubert miniseries was previously collected in hardcover last fall.
The various tie-in miniseries and specials will be collected in five trade paperback volumes starting next week. World of Flashpoint Featuring the Flash ($17.99) arrives in stores March 21, and collects Grodd of War, Kid Flash Lost, Legion of Doom, Reverse Flash and Citizen Cold.
Order at Amazon for delivery next week, or buy it in your local comic shop today!
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
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.
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.
Welcome to SpeedForce.org, a blog focusing on DC Comics' super-hero, The Flash. It's a companion site to Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning, a fan reference site for the Fastest Man Alive.
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