Speed Force

The Source has posted the variant cover to Flash #6.  Featuring artwork by Mike Choi, the cover shows the Flash frozen mid-movement.  It has been revealed that Captain Cold will make his first full appearance in Flash in issue #6.

Choi is also quoted in the post, where he talks about some of his artistic influences:

From the get-go, [Flash editor Brian Cunningham] told me to try and infuse more dynamism to my figure work by looking at artists like John Buscema and Wally Wood, and hopefully that’s coming through bit by bit as my career progresses.

Interestingly, the solicit up at DCComics.com has not been updated to reflect the new content in issue six and still reads as below.  It has been stated by writer Brian Buccellato that the CSI story is “off the table.”

THE FLASH #6
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by MIKE CHOI
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Struggling with the climactic aftermath of his battle with Mob Rule last issue, The Flash must solve a murder mystery that dates back 150 years! Is this case too cold even for Barry Allen? Also: Learn the origins of Central and Keystone City!

Old news, but I missed it with all the Christmas/New Year/catching up with family from out of town/etc.:

Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato posted in a couple of forums last week that the Captain Cold arc originally scheduled for issue #7 has been moved up to #6, replacing the stand-alone CSI mystery originally solicited.

From the CBR thread:

Speaking of Captain Cold…

I wanted to give you all a heads up that we’ve moved the Captain Cold storyline up to ISSUE #6. Rumor has it that the folks REALLY wanna see the Snart. Done and done.

Jingle Bells!

In response to questions, he adds:

Hey guys… as it stand now, the Captain Cold arc is gonna be 3 issues. As far as the original #6 with the mystery… not sure when we are gonna get to that one. We still want to do it, though.

Personally, I’m kind of disappointed, since I was really looking forward to reading about the history of Central and Keystone Cities, and a straight CSI story would really take advantage of the fact that DC chose Barry Allen for this universe’s Flash. (To be honest, I was more intrigued by the 150-year-old cold case than by the Captain Cold story.)

Still, I can understand the decision. If there’s anything DC learned from “The Wild Wests” and “Lightning in a Bottle,” it’s that the Flash audience wants to see Rogues. And then there’s the “Eh, it’s just filler” attitude that many readers have toward done-in-ones. I can imagine DC might be afraid of losing momentum on the book.

Here’s hoping that they’ll be able to fit in the cold case story sometime soon!

(via The Rogues Kick Ass)

In an interview published today, Flash writer and artist Francis Manapul spoke with Comic Vine about Captain Cold and his fellow Rogues.  DC revealed Captain Cold’s redesigned duds last week, and announced that he and the Rogues would be making their return to the magazine with issue #7.

On the redesign, which generated a lot of discussion on this site, Manapul had this to say:

FM: Well I ran all my designs by the higher ups, and they all chimed in with their two cents. I didn’t get too many notes. We were split on keeping the parka as some felt it was a very iconic part of who he was, and the other half felt that it made him look dated. In the end I came up with what I felt was a good compromise to keep those that didn’t want the hoodie happy, but at the same time make him look more modern yet still staying true to his iconic look. Some of the other Rogues the changes were a bit more extreme, I allowed the story to dictate how they would look, I strongly feel that design follows function.

Check out the complete post at Comic Vine, right now!!  More after the jump:

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THE FLASH #7
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Variant cover by DALE KEOWN
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale MARCH 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
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!

DC released their March Justice League group solicits today.  Check them out over at The Source!

The Source has posted the first complete look at Captain Cold, as he appears in the New 52.

Of the redesigned Rogue, the Flash creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato had this to say in a recent interview with IGN:

IGN: What plans do you have for Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues?

Manapul:Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues are currently broken up. In fact, they hate each other. In our second arc we catch up with Captain Cold and learn more about this dysfunctional family called The Rogues. Thematically, they take a similar journey as the Flash, and it will all come to a head in that arc.

Buccellato: They are going to TRY and kick The Flash’s butt all over Central City.

Manapul also had this to say, in an interview with CBR, about the new take on Cold and the Rogues:

Manapul: I love Captain Cold. To me, he is a real badass! And I think you’re going to see that, once we start our second arc. I also like characters like the Pied Piper, but our take on him is going to be different, he’s — well, I don’t want to reveal anything! But it’s going to be fun, because what you are going to see is, rather than a reintroduction of the Rogues, you’re going to see an evolution of them.

The “evolution” has been revealed to be an internalization of their powers, which is evident as well in the new image.

What do you think of the new look for The Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero?

Citizen Cold #3 marks the end of the limited series, and while I definitely enjoyed it overall, it ended pretty much as expected. Given the nature of Flashpoint, this was probably inevitable, but it’s still a slight disappointment considering how much promise the series started with. More details and spoilers after the cut.

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Apologies for the lateness of this review, as I’ve been somewhat unwell recently. My lateness certainly had nothing to do with disliking the issue! I enjoyed it very much, as it was a lot of fun. More details and mild spoilers after the cut.

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I’m back from a day at Comic-Con International, and I’ve posted my photos from Friday up at Flickr. This one here is of the two costumed con-goers who came to the Flash photo shoot originally planned for yesterday at 11:00, but now rescheduled for Saturday at 4:00 PM.

I’ll be posting some of the “Flashier” pics here, including a round-up of the action figures on display at the DC Comics booth. My con report, as usual, will go up at K-Squared Ramblings once I’ve had time to write it. Update: Here it is!

Citizen Cold #2 is fairly different from the previous issue; for one thing, it’s notably more action-oriented, and this sets a disparate tone. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the last issue. See below the cut for spoilers and more details.

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 Citizen Cold #1 is the first in a three-issue Flashpoint series, written and drawn by longtime Flash artist Scott Kolins. I’m happy to report that it doesn’t disappoint, finding it a well-written and fun story and looking forward to the future issues.

Spoilers behind the cut… Read the rest of this entry »