Speed Force

Some weekend linkblogging…

Art

I finally placed what that Funko Flash plush toy reminds me of: paintings by Degrazia.

Michael Cho is bringing some great paintings of the Flash and Mister Miracle to Fan Expo. (via @FrancisManapul)

In Brightest Day, In Blackest…Coffee? The Nerdy Bird has found an awesome T-shirt on Etsy.

Giant Size Geek (formerly Photon Torpedoes) found a “trippy” Martin Ansin painting of the Flash. Actually, there’s another Giant Size Geek find that’s going to get its own post…

Commentary and News

Quick Time is a new blog focusing on Jesse Quick and Hourman. Recent posts include costumes, low points (Jesse in Titans, anyone?), and thoughts on the Justice Society roster.

That F’ing Monkey looks at Flash postage stamps in the Fastest Mail Alive.

The Source has a new video ad for DC Universe Online, “I am the Next Legend.”

The Flash makes IGN’s top DC series list at #8.

CSBG has completed their series on the Top 75 Most Memorable Moments in DC Comics History.

I’m going through my Comic-Con photos looking for Flash-related pictures I may have missed, and found this pair from the DC display including Blue Lantern Flash and Black Lantern Reverse-Flash…

…along with Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, Indigo Lantern Atom, Black Lanterns Batman, Hawk, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan. And I think that might be Star Sapphire Wonder Woman behind Hal.

» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
» More Comic-Con photos

DC Direct’s Solicits for December are out and there are some great Flash related releases coming up.

BLACKEST NIGHT: SERIES 8: BLACK LANTERN BLACK FLASH Action Figure

The hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT action figure line continues!

Included in this eighth installment of the series are: Black Lantern Black Flash, Professor Zoom’s reanimated corpse, holds curious sway over The Flash’s other undead rogues; Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, the new Orange Power Ring seeks out Lex Luthor for his avarice and lust for power; Indigo Tribe The Atom, with compassion and sense of duty stronger than ever, Ray Palmer serves as the binding force uniting the spectrum of power; Sinestro Corps Member Scarecrow, delights in instilling fear in others and is rewarded with the Yellow Ring of Power.

The Black Lantern Black Flash figure stands at 6.75″ high, features multiple points of articulation and includes a display base. Character-appropriate accessories are also included.

4-color clamshell blister card packaging.

BLAMMOIDS!: SERIES 4: FLASH Mini Figure

Real compact – with real impact!

BLAM! A funky, chunky collection of boldly designed toys that pack a lot of punch in a squatty body!

POW! A striking, hyper-stylized twist on the world’s greatest heroes and their biggest foes. Too tough to call small – you’ll want to collect them all!

Packaged on a blister card, each measures approximately 2.5″ to 4″ tall with three points of articulation.

On Sale December 1, 2010

and his Zoom counterpart:

BLAMMOIDS!: SERIES 4: ZOOM Mini Figure

Real compact – with real impact!

BLAM! A funky, chunky collection of boldly designed toys that pack a lot of punch in a squatty body!

POW! A striking, hyper-stylized twist on the world’s greatest heroes and their biggest foes. Too tough to call small – you’ll want to collect them all!

Packaged on a blister card, each measures approximately 2.5″ to 4″ tall with three points of articulation.

On Sale December 1, 2010

The Black Lantern Reverse Flash is a must have for me. Especially since we have yet to get a proper Professor Zoom or Zoom in the DC Direct lines. Well except for that artist-specific, out of scale one coming up in the Classified Series. It’s a shame that I only own five Reverse Flashes. And none of them were made in the traditional sculpt. Two are from JLU(Justice Lords large and small figures), One is a Toyfare Exclusive from the 90s JLA Line, and the other two are from Infinite Heroes and DC Direct’s short lived Pocket Heroes line. I’m actually surprised we’ve yet to see a Zoom in the Minimates line either. I’m crossing my fingers that this Flash Relaunch leads to a DC Direct Flash Series similar to what they’ve been doing with Green Lantern. And then when the movie hits. Wow. I think we are in for a great next few years as far as collecting goes.

I really don’t know what these Blammoids are or what the point of them is but I will definitely be picking up both the Flash and Zoom. I have a feeling it’s going to be a slow month for Flash collectibles anyway. Unless DC Direct or Mattel kicks it up with a *crosses fingers* Flash line or Flash-heavy DCUC release.

I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of the last three heroclix I need from the recent release. Expect a full write up when they get here.

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

This frivolous complaints about Blackest Night thread is a fun read. My favorite is on page 4, with these two comments.

Greg Owens:

Nekron was not defeated by the use of delicious Hostess Fruit Pies. Complete and utter failure on DC’s part.

ADGood:

Not just fruit pies, but a fruit pie corps. Seven different-colored pies to represent the flavor spectrum.

I can just imagine DC trying to work the low-rent villains and nonsensical plots from those Hostess ads that were all over late 1970s/early 1980s comics into modern continuity…only to make them all darker and edgier.

Friday afternoon linkblogging: a trio of interviews to go along with the Flash #1 relaunch.

Geoff Johns

First, Geoff Johns Prime has the writer answering questions about Brightest Day and The Flash. Some items that stand out:

We don’t want anyone to have to buy a lot of DC books, we want you to. Our job is to tell great stories that can stand alone and also be part of a bigger whole. That’s what the DC Universe is. The Flash is probably one of the most accessible books I have written, but it fits into the bigger tapestry of the DCU.

Johns also explains that these are new stories, written for Barry Allen, not unused Wally West stories. He has a bunch of those that he never got to use since he left the book before he ran out of ideas, but they’ve “been put away for now.” He also confirms that there will definitely be a Flash/Green Lantern crossover at some point — something that should surprise no-one.

Francis Manapul

CBR interviews Francis Manapul about his work on The Flash.

At the beginning, I was digging what Ethan [Van Sciver] was doing with tons of lightning and stuff like that. So, I used some of that at the beginning, but I found more and more that, the deeper I get into the pages, the more I enjoy the multiple images the way Carmine did it. So, I’ve been doing a lot of that. It’s actually been advantageous being able to do the watercolor [effect on] my own work, because the way I would draw the trail of images where he was running from, I’m able to draw on a lighter scale.

He adds: “the goal is that with every issue, you’re going to see the Flash do something completely different, in terms of showing his speed, that you haven’t seen before.”

Scott Kolins

Speedster Site interviews Scott Kolins about Blackest Night, DC Universe: Legacies and The Flash. He talks about designing the Black Lantern Reverse Flash, drawing Wally’s new costume and Barry’s Blue Lantern uniform, and how Blackest Night: The Flash compared to Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge.

Kolins was also asked about the Wally West backup stories he and Geoff Johns were going to do:

DC of course recognizes how important Wally is and has been for the Flash fans and the co-feature idea was one of the ways they wanted to make use of him. -But then they had another idea – a possibly better idea. The reader is the ultimate judge, but it’s all done with the best of intentions. I’ve been working long enough to realize that plans change as the company endlessly searches for new and better ideas.

I’m curious about this “possibly better idea” now, and more hopeful about it than I would have been on Tuesday.

Some weekend linkblogging.

Art

Comics Alliance presents (in comic book form): Blackest Night in 60 Seconds….and on a more serious note, spotlights Comic Book Cartography — maps of various fictional worlds, buildings, and more. Edit: Here’s a direct link to the Comic Book Cartography blog.

Frank Ziegler draws a Cartoony Jay Garrick.

Commentary

Multiversity Comics looks at The DCU According to Geoff Johns, covering the entirety of the writer’s DC work to date.

Grumpy Old Fan considers The Gospel According to Geoff, looking at what made Blackest Night work as more than merely a “process story.”

It’s Just Movies’ Ben Fowler discusses, If I Was Making … ‘The Flash’.

Cool-Mo-De starts a Goofy villains series with the Rainbow Raider and Flash vol.2 Annual #10 (Pulp Heroes), with art by the late Dick Giordano.

Comics Daily asks, How do you solve a problem like Wally West?

Interview

A Comic Book Blog interviews Ethan Van Sciver.

The 2010 Eisner Award nominees have been announced. One Flash story has been nominated, as have two of the Flash’s long-term writers.

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

• Brave & the Bold #28: “Blackhawk and the Flash: Firing Line,” by J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz (DC) (reviewed here)

Best Writer

• Geoff Johns — Adventure Comics, Blackest Night, The Flash: Rebirth, Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
• Mark Waid — Irredeemable, The Incredibles (BOOM!)

Waid’s Irredeemable is also up for Best Continuing Series and Best New Series, and cover artist John Cassaday is up for Best Cover Artist.

I’ve been on the road, so I missed linking to this earlier. DC has posted some Brightest Day info — featuring MAJOR SPOILERS for Blackest Night #8. Read the rest of this entry »

DC Direct‘s solicitations for November give us some definite dates on two great Flash collectibles. Blue Lantern Flash as part of the sixth series of Blackest Night figures and a DC Chronicles Flash statue.

BLACKEST NIGHT: SERIES 6: BLUE LANTERN FLASH Action Figure

The hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT action figure line continues with four awesome new characters!

Included in this sixth installment of the series are Hal Jordan, the personification of the Green Lantern Corps; Wonder Woman, who finds the power of love and joins the ranks of the Star Sapphires; Hawkgirl, who was one of the first heroes to lose her life to the dark power of the Black Lanterns; and The Flash, who couples the power of the blue ring with his trademark speed to carry the message of hope to all.

All four figures feature multiple points of articulation and include a display base. Character-appropriate accessories are also included.

4-color clamshell blister card packaging.

On Sale November 3, 2010

And

DC CHRONICLES: THE FLASH Statue

SCULPTED BY TIM BRUCKNER

The Fastest Man Alive kicks up a dust cloud as he slides into the DC Chronicles statue series!

This statue features The Flash of the Silver Age, Barry Allen, in his classic costume.

The DC Chronicles statue line has a consistent base, and the retro-style logo on the base further gives the piece a sense of the period from which it originated.

This limited-edition, hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain statue measures approximately 6.75″ high x 5″ wide x 3.5″ deep and is packaged in a 4-color box with a 4-color Certificate
of Authenticity.

Manufactured to order.

$ 99.99 US | On Sale November 24, 2010

I’m really looking forward to Blue Lantern Flash as it will look great poking out of the field of red and yellow in my display. I’m also loving the sculpt. Reminds me of Wally West from the first series of JLA action figures they released a few years ago. Perfect build, great sculpt and a slick paint job.

I’m not really a statue guy. I do own a few but rarely if ever will you find me anticipating the release of one. This one is no exception unfortunately. I’m not really in the market for Barry Allen statues these days anyway. And I would need a Wally in new costume as an action figure first. Hint hint.

—Devin “The Flash” Johnson

A whole bunch o’ linkblogging:

Art!

The webcomic LOST in Comics does a strip that reverses a scene from the TV show, and has Superman and the Flash discussing Hurley and Charlie.

Blake Sims draws the Flash.

Comics Alliance: What if comic books had titles based on what you say about them?

Dreamers Muse has a bunch of Flash icons.

Reviews!

Pop Matters on The Real Return of Barry Allen:

But secretly, the most rewarding element of the limited series has been the delays. To misdirect attention from his super-powers, Barry Allen would make a point of always arriving late. True to form, the publication delays add a hint of Barry Allen charm, making his public wait, just that little while longer.

The Daily P.O.P. reviews Flash: Rebirth as a whole.

Hello Kello writes: What I Learned from Flash: Rebirth.

Collected Editions reviews Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., Geoff Johns’ first DC work.

Commentary!

Screen Rant considers: What Will The Flash Movie Be About?

At the Hall of Justice annotates Blackest Night: The Flash #3.

Comic Book Revolution asks: Would you read a comic if the writer left?

CSBG/Lorendiac’s Lists takes a look at 11 Methods of Target Acquisition – in short, just how do super-heroes and supervillains end up in the same place to have those slugfests?

And finally, totally off-topic…here’s a picture of an Office Depot truck with an Autobot symbol.

I’m imagining Optimus Prime working out some sort of advertising deal to help bring in some revenue.