Somehow, at San Diego I hardly spent any time on the convention floor at all from Thursday through Saturday. I was always running from one event to another, and spent maybe half an hour in the main hall at a time. So on Sunday, I made a point of walking the entire hall until I couldn’t stand it anymore.*
Among the things I’d been meaning to do at the con was to get my copies of The Flash #1-3 signed by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul, and if possible to get a sketch by the artist. I never managed to make it to a Geoff Johns signing this time around, but I did catch up with Francis Manapul at his Artists’ Alley table.
There were five or six fans ahead of me in line who asked for sketches of various characters including Sinestro, Hal Jordan, Batman and the Flash. After a while I was beginning to wonder whether I’d make it to the front before he had to leave for a signing at the DC Comics booth, but I made it to the head of the line with plenty of time to spare.
In a revelation that I’m sure will surprise no one, I asked him to draw the Flash.
While he sketched, I asked him about the TV series he was on, Beast Legends, in which a team traces the origins of various mythical creatures. It’s airing in Canada now on History Television, and will hit the US on SyFy in September. It sounds like fun, and in some cases they actually traced legends to surprising sources — like tracking griffins to Mongolia!
*This was a real issue, since with no events in the gigantic Hall H to warehouse 6,000 people plus more waiting in line, the main floor was actually more crowded on Sunday.
For those who haven’t been able to check out the SDCC 2010 DC Universe Online Trailer here are some captures of The Flash in an alternate reality sporting an armored look.
Now for those who haven’t seen the trailer and care to know why The Flash is wearing those armored duds, this takes place in an alternate future in which Braniac quietly abducted superhumans and then finally launched an all out invasion force that wiped out humanity leaving only that world’s alternate version of Lex Luthor intact. He traveled through time to warn the Justice League of the past of what may be coming to them in the future. The story reminds me a little of the recent DC animated release, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths or JLA: Earth 2, the book the movie was loosely based on. Right down to the alternate version of Luthor trying to change things and the involvement of Braniac in the main plot. It’s not too similar though, where I feel like we’ve already seen this before. I can’t wait to see how the story ends up unfolding.
I’m digging the armored look overall. I know it’s probably not going to be present in the main part of the game but it’s still cool to see heroes armored up for super threats or super battles. It also reminds me a little bit of the Kid Flash design for the upcoming Young Justice animated series. Would be kind of cool to see it as an action figure and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an action figure line released with this game.
I caught this video on Sunday at the DC Comics booth. It’s an incredible battle between DC’s heroes and villains, really showing off some of their powers and skills (particularly Wonder Woman, Deathstroke, Superman and Lex Luthor). Spoilers for the DCUO storyline, so don’t play it if you want to be surprised.
The look, at least for the cut-scenes, is fantastic…though I’m not too big on the image of the Flash in armor.
I spotted this trio in the crowd on Saturday, but was too dazed to even try to ask for a photo (not that there would have been any room for them to pose). Luckily, I ran into them again in the lobby on Sunday.
I’m almost done uploading my Comic-Con photos to Flickr, though it’ll be a while before they’re all properly labeled.
ABC ran the entire pilot episode for No Ordinary Family today at Comic-Con, followed by a brief Q&A session with Greg Berlanti, John Harman Felman, and stars Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz. It looks promising.
It’s a little hard to pin down, genre-wise. It’s not a super-hero show, but it has super-powers (and lots of references that comic book readers will catch). It’s not really an action show, though there is some action involved. I’d say it’s primarily a family drama with comedic and action highlights.
On one hand, there is a bit of an Incredibles vibe to it: It’s about a family with super-powers, the father is trying to reclaim his glory days by going out and secretly fighting crime, etc. But it’s different enough not to feel like a retread. For one thing, the powers are new, and it’s set (like Heroes) in a real-world setting that hasn’t seen super-powers before.
The pilot is structured as an interview with flashbacks, first with Jim Powell speaking, then with Stephanie Powell taking over, then switching back and forth. The episode shows the characters and how they relate, then shows each of them discovering their powers, then delves into how those powers affect them. Edit: You do eventually find out who they’re talking to.
Sort of like Freshmen, they all gain powers related to their self-perceived shortcomings.
For all you Wally fans and Bart fans, we’re doing a second Flash book next year called Flash: Speed Force
COOL!
*ahem* Sadly, that’s the most I’m letting myself get excited about it. Plans change, and even when they go through as planned, they don’t always happen when planned. If I were to guess, it probably spins out of or into Flashpoint (probably out of, given the timing), and since he mentioned both Wally and Bart (and talked about Jesse, Jay, John Fox, and even XS when answering other questions), it’s probably a Flash team book or rotating cast — either of which I could get behind.
Anyway, I’ve got to get going. I just figured this should get a little more attention than being buried inside the live blog.
(Thanks to comics.org for the cover of the 1997 Speed Force one-shot. And a shout-out to the High Five Comics crew, whom I finally met in person after the panel!)
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.
OK, this’ll have to be quick, because I’m between events.
