Speed Force

DC has posted its Brightest Day solicitations for November, including…

The Flash #8

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS
1:10 Variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU

“Reverse Flash Rebirth!” In this FLASHPOINT prelude, don’t miss the epic telling of the origin of Barry Allen’s greatest foe, Professor Zoom! Eobard Thawne’s story is just beginning — and he intends to finish it with The Flash!

On sale NOVEMBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Thoughts

So, one more stand-alone issue before Francis Manapul returns for the second story arc. It’s hard to complain when the fill-in artist on The Flash is Scott Kolins, though.

That said…I’m kind of disappointed that we’ll only have one Flash story before jumping into Flashpoint. It’s odd that on one hand, DC is absolutely determined to establish Barry Allen as THE Flash before widening the scope to other speedsters, but at the same time they’re jumping straight into this big event.

That and I think I just don’t really like Eobard Thawne that much. He’s too much of a mustache-twirling caricature villain. Hunter Zolomon was far more interesting a character…though IMO neither should appear too often, or else they risk losing their impact. (That pretty much happened with Zolomon during the Villains United/Infinite Crisis period.)

So, who wants to take bets on just how much of Mark Waid’s classic “The Return of Barry Allen” gets trampled by this new origin?

Update: Full solicitations are up. Here are some more Flash appearances in November.

Captain Boomerang is sort of in a legal limbo right now: is he still culpable for crimes he committed before he died?

In one sense he’s like Ygor in Son of Frankenstein: Ygor was hanged for grave robbing and pronounced dead — but the coroner made a mistake. He was still alive, but legally speaking, no one could touch him. Not only had the sentence for his original crime been carried out, but they couldn’t arrest a “dead” man for new crimes.

In The Flash #3, the guards at Iron Heights prison talked about getting Boomerang’s murder convictions reinstated…but something’s missing: Until that happens, what is he being held for? What has he been charged with? (Admittedly, the prison is still run by Warden Wolfe, who has never been particularly concerned with following the law where criminals are concerned.)

Of course, now that he’s shattered a frozen guard (probably killing him), seriously injured several others, broken out of prison, and left a swath of destruction on his way to confront the Flash, it’s a moot point. There are plenty of new crimes to charge him with the next time he ends up in police custody.

But technically, what was he doing there to begin with?

The legal system in the DCU must have procedures, or at least precedent, for dealing with heroes and villains coming back from the dead. No one seems concerned about the Flash’s legal status, and Barry Allen’s official records say he was simply in Witness Protection, not dead, but it’s got to have come up in other cases.

I’ve been really enjoying the ongoing Flash series despite the frustration and disappointment of Flash: Rebirth. It’s as if “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” is being written by Geoff Johns, and Flash: Rebirth was written by the mirror Geoff. Or in a multiverse context, the Geoff Johns of Earth-3.

Also surprising: Johns seems to have remembered an old saying about writing comic books: Every issue is somebody’s first. A few deftly placed lines of dialogue spell out the key details of the story so far: Boomerang’s status and new abilities, who the Renegades are, what file is missing and why, etc. Considering this is part 4 of a 6-part story, I suspect most writers today wouldn’t have bothered.

Francis Manapul’s artwork continues to be the highlight of this book. The Flash stands or falls (runs or stumbles?) on pacing and the reader’s perception of speed, and Manapul delivers. This time around, the stand-out panels are splash pages in an effort to rescue pilots from a damaged helicopter. (One nice easter egg: in the background of that double-page spread, we see the bridge that Wally West rebuilt back in “Crossfire.”)

I’m neutral on the “Flash Facts” pages, though if they’re going to keep using them to spotlight the villains, I like the way they link the real tech with the comic-book tech. Last month it was “How Boomerangs Work” and “How Captain Boomerang’s Boomerangs Work.” This month it’s mirrors and Mirror Master’s mirrors.

Some of the luster is beginning to fade, though. The structure is starting to feel formulaic: Barry Allen keeps fighting the Renegades, and every battle gets cut short one way or another. Every issue has a major super-speed feat, which individually manages to be extremely cool, but gets repetitive four issues on.

I think the main thing that disappointed me about this issue was the revelation behind the murder mystery. Sure, it’s one of the few explanations that fits Barry Allen’s character, but it also violates the expectations set up in the first half of the story. To say any more, I’ll have to break into….

SPOILERS!

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After the madness of Comic-Con International, it’s time to get back to what that convention is all about: comics! And this Wednesday, we’ve got a new comic about that super-fast guy in a red suit.

The Flash #4

The original Captain Boomerang returns as BRIGHTEST DAY continues. Meanwhile, Barry must prove his innocence to the Renegades, cops from the 25th century. Discover what connection they have to the Rogues and what travesties have occurred in the future.

Written by GEOFF JOHNS · Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL · 1:10 variant cover by SCOTT KOLINS

32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

DC has posted a 4-page preview at The Source, plus final cover art.

Other Speedster Appearances

• Justice League of America #47
• JSA vs. Kobra TPB
• Teen Titans #85

Some mid-week linkblogging as Comic-Con gets going…

Less than a week in, CSBG’s 75 Most Memorable Moments in DC History has already cited two Flash moments: The discovery of Earth-2 (“Flash of Two Worlds”) made day four, and Barry Allen’s lab-accident origin made day five.

Once Upon a Geek has been featuring DC Comics ads from shortly after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Today’s spotlight includes a 1987 ad for the then-new Flash series.

The Hooded Utilitarian really disliked Flash: Rebirth. (To be honest, I pretty much agree with this review — and yet I’m really enjoying the ongoing Flash series. It’s as if the two stories are being written by two different writers, both of them named Geoff Johns.)

Yesterday, artist Greg LaRocque dropped by to shed some light on the Flash Jam Sketch posted last month.

Adidas has winged shoes going on sale August 10.

Yahoo News posts a photo of three JSA cosplayers from last year’s Comic-Con International, dressed as the Golden Age Hourman, Atom and Flash (with Dr. Mid-Nite barely visible behind them). I think this is the group I ran into on the day that I was dressed as Jay Garrick, and one of them said, “I was you yesterday!”

Comics Alliance presents today’s comic book covers reimagined in the Silver Age

Firestorm Fan spotlights an Old West Firestorm and Sillof’s Gaslight Justice League.

The Weekly Crisis has analyzed the Brightest Day teaser image.

Marc Guggenheim talks to Newsarama about his upcoming TV series No Ordinary Family, about a family who gains super-powers but aren’t super-heroes. Early reports had the mother (Julie Benz) gaining super-speed, but this interview makes no mention of what anyone’s powers are.

Full solicitations are coming soon, but DC’s Brightest Day comics for October are already up…and the Rogue Profiles are back!

The Flash #7

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by SCOTT KOLINS
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 “DC 75th Anniversary” Variant cover by DARWYN COOKE

The Rogue Profile issues return as BRIGHTEST DAY zips on with a spotlight turned toward the resurrected Captain Boomerang! He knows why he’s back and what he needs to do. But does he still have what it takes to be a Rogue?

On sale OCTOBER 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: I’d been speculating that we might see a done-in-one story after “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” finished, though it didn’t occur to me that it might be a Rogue Profile.

For those who weren’t reading The Flash during Geoff Johns’ first run on the title, in between major storylines he would take a break and focus on one of the villains for an issue, often with a guest artist. He started with Captain Cold, then Pied Piper, Zoom, Mirror Master and finally Heat Wave. These off-format issues were a highlight of Johns’ previous run, and I’m glad to see him returning to the concept.

Scott Kolins is really carving out a niche as the artist for the Rogues. His initial run on The Flash, Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, Blackest Night: The Flash, and now this Captain Boomerang Spotlight.

Update: Not that this should come as a surprise, but Francis Manapul confirmed on Twitter that he’s still on the book and will return for the second story arc.

I usually wait for ICv2 to post their sales figures so that I can be sure the month-to-month numbers are comparable, but I don’t see them yet, and I believe these CBR estimates for June are based on the same numbers.

So: The Flash #3 climbed from #12 to #11 in sales rank, while the number of comics sold dropped 10.1% to 68,799 copies.

Let’s compare that to the other recent Flash relaunches again:

It’s still selling less than Flash: The Fastest Man Alive and dropping as quickly as “The Wild Wests.” That’s kind of disappointing. Though the real test is still going to be looking at orders for #4, because that’s where retailers will have had a chance to react to the way #1 actually sold, and how their customers actually liked it.

On the plus side, it did a lot better than Velocity, which clocked in at 8,171 copies sold. But then, Velocity was Top Cow’s #2 title, just behind The Magdalena at 8,326.

The size difference between the Marvel/DC superhero audience and the indie superhero audience is just astonishing. Numbers that would signal immediate cancellation (like, say, cutting off Magog in the middle of a storyline before part 1 goes on sale) from DC can be respectable successes for smaller publishers. If you want an eye opener, check out The Beat’s indie sales analysis series sometime.

Francis Manapul reported on Twitter, and then The Source confirmed that The Flash #1 and 10 other recent launches are getting second printings.

No word yet on when it will ship, or what cover DC will use. They already used an uncolored sketch version of the original cover as a 1:100 variant, but with the number of random Flash covers they seem to have stocked up by various artists, I’m sure they could simply reassign the variant for, say, The Flash #7, or another issue that hasn’t been solicited yet. They could also put out a variation on Tony Harris’ variant cover for the first printing, or use an interior splash page, or take the black-and-white with spot color approach to either of the original covers.

Sorry this review is so late. Things just kept coming up, and I pushed it further and further back. Then my local comic store didn’t receive their order of The Flash #3 on time (Diamond sent them extra copies of Deadpool Team-Up instead), so I haven’t had a chance to read the new issue…and it occurs to me that this is my last chance to review The Flash #2 before reading issue #3!

So, on to the review!

I’m still enjoying this series a lot more than I did Flash: Rebirth. Francis Manapul’s artwork has a lot to do with that, but also the fact that they’re just telling stories about a guy with super-speed instead of trying so hard to justify why they’re telling stories about this guy with super-speed.

Admittedly not a whole lot happens in this issue, but it continues to move as quickly as the previous chapter did. I expect that when “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” is finished, pairing it with a collection of Silver-Age stories like Flash vs. The Rogues will provide a great example of the change in comic-book storytelling styles from 1960 to 2010.

The expected confrontation with the Renegades is cut short, leaving the rest of the issue divided between the mystery aspects (presented through Barry Allen’s civilian life) and a visit with Captain Boomerang, providing the Brightest Day connection advertised on the cover. Also: the Flash evacuates, then rebuilds an apartment building at super-speed. Once again, the issue ends on a cliffhanger, only this time it has to do with Barry Allen, rather than the Flash.

Francis Manapul’s artwork continues to stand out, especially in sequences like the apartment evacuation, though there are some places where it seems a bit more static than last issue. Last issue I thought his faces seemed a bit off, but this time I started noticing the way he handles expressions. There are a couple of sequences where he really makes use of changing expressions with similar panel layouts. The last two pages stand out, as does a sequence earlier in which a girl complains that she lost her doll in the building collapse. (His attention to detail holds as well. If you flip back a few pages, there she is…and there’s her doll.)

Okay, spoiler time!

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According to Diamond/Previews’ shipping updates, Flash #4 has been pushed back one week from July 28 to August 4. (Hat tip to Jay75 on Comic Bloc)

In the discussion on Comic Bloc, trmnlvlctyyy pointed out that Francis Manapul has been traveling a lot filming a TV show, which probably interferes with his time to work on the art.

On the other hand…how many comics is Geoff Johns writing these days? Add in the fact that Brightest Day is biweekly and has to be a priority, and he’s got that new job wrangling all of DC’s media adaptations, and you’ve got to wonder just where we should be pointing the finger.

Flash #3 is still scheduled to arrive in stores next Wednesday, as can be seen on Diamond’s upcoming releases list.