Tag Archives: Black Bat

This Week: Earth 2 and Cobalt Blue (Plus Black Bat)

New Flash comics this week:

Earth 2 #12: “The drums of war begin to sound as the heroes of Earth 2 rally behind Dr. Fate—and a threat from Apokolips becomes all too real!” James Robinson, Nicola Scott, Trevor Scott. Preview at ComicVine

Also worth a look: Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato is writing the revival of pulp hero The Black Bat for Dynamite comics. You can check out a preview of The Black Bat #1 at CBR.

Tony Quinn is a brash Defense Attorney to the mob who compromises his ethics for financial gain. When he refuses to cross the line and commit murder, he is tortured and blinded by his gangster employers. But when a fortuitous meeting with a covert agency gives him a chance to make amends, Tony transforms into the Black Bat and embarks on a redemptive quest to right the wrongs of his past.

Digital Flashbacks at ComiXology this week include…

Flash #144: No! It Can't be...YOU!

Flash v.2 #143-144: An attack on the Flash Museum leads to an encounter with a mysterious villain from the Flash’s past…with a surprising connection to Barry Allen. These two issues feature the origin of Cobalt Blue and lead into the time-spanning “Chain Lightning.”

Yes, that’s a bit of a jump, since last week they released #129. However, Flash #130-141 had been published digitally for a Grant Morrison sale, and Flash #142 – the interrupted wedding of Wally West and Linda Park – was already available as well (though I forget when).

Impulse #69: Bart Allen, Kyle Rayner and Adam Strange battle a menace on the alien planet of Rann in the second half of this Green Lantern: Circle of Fire epilogue.

Speed Reading: Notpocalypse Edition

Sorry I haven’t had time to keep this round-up column going lately. I’ve picked a few highlights since the last round-up, focusing on the more recent ones:

Sterling Gates talks about that Kid Flash series that was announced in 2009 but never actually launched, saying “I don’t think it ever made it past the initial pitch and a couple written scenes.”

The FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST mini I wrote in 2011 was sort of the tone we were planning on for that series: serious stories with humor in the mix. Woulda been a belter, too, with Bart, Max Mercury, and Xs returning to Blue Valley, Nebraska to fight villainy…and other super speedsters.

Comic Book Legends Revealed brings us a Christmas story with the Three Dimwits — who were basically the Three Stooges, inserted wholesale into the Golden Age Flash comics by Gardner Fox.

Mark Waid & Impulse DrawingNewsarama tells the story of how Mike Wieringo’s first Impulse drawing made its way back to Mark Waid.

Speaking of Mark Waid, his run on the Flash was voted #36 in the Top 100 comic runs as selected by Comics Should Be Good readers back in October, the only Flash run to make the list.

Brian Buccellato is writing a revival of The Black Bat, a pulp-era superhero who’s been largely forgotten in favor of that other guy who dresses up as a bat and fights crime. Here are two interviews at Newsarama and at CBR.

Jim Zub breaks down where your $2.99 goes on a typical indie comic. There isn’t much left over for the writer and artist. Follow-up: looking at digital sales.

Jill Pantozzi has resurrected “Hey, That’s My Cape!” at IGN, starting with a piece of advice that sounds simple on its face, but seems to be hard for comics fans to follow through on: Stop reading comics you don’t like. For me, the last straw was Countdown to Final Crisis. From that point on, I resolved to only read comics that looked interesting, not those that I felt obligated to read. I slip up sometimes, but overall I enjoy my comics more than I used to.

Update: CBR has the results of their poll for who fans want to debut in the New 52. A certain missing speedster handily takes the number one spot.

Brian Buccellato: Black Bat & Foster

Two quick updates on Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato’s other projects:

Foster #5 is available for purchase on his website. Issue #6 will wrap up his creator-owned crime/horror thriller story…”for now.”

As announced at New York Comic-Con, he’ll be writing the revival of The Black Bat, a golden-age super-hero from the pulp novels who was somewhat overshadowed by another character who dressed up as a bat to fight crime, for Dynamite.