February 1, 2012
Today’s guest post is by Ryan Heuer of BuySuperheroCostumes.com.
The fastest superhero to ever grace the pages of comics wears one of the most recognizable costumes, but as the role of the Flash has changed hands from Barry Allen to Wally West, the costumes over the years have incorporated some subtle changes. Of course, no one would be talking about DC Comics’ Flash at all without the original inspiration behind the modern day Flash if Golden Age Jay Garrick had not inspired the superhero’s more popular incarnations.
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October 26, 2011
With Halloween approaching fast, now* seems like a good time to highlight a pair of old posts on how to make a Jay Garrick costume!
My wife and I (OK, it was mostly her) made this for Comic-Con International 2009, and it worked out really well. Unfortunately the gold paint on the helmet wings has tarnished since then, and the boot covers have detached themselves from the shoes, so it needs some touch-up if I plan to wear it again. Maybe next year.
*Yeah, I know last week or even earlier in October would have been a better time, but I only came up with this “Wayback Wednesday” idea acouple of days ago.
July 6, 2011
The webcomic Shortpacked! explains all the extra detail on the Flash’s new, post-relaunch boots. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
Read the whole strip for Batman’s reaction.
Hmm, I wonder if the chin guard helps him breathe in space?
July 1, 2011
iFanboy asked Francis Manapul how super-speed would make his life better. He answered, and DC sent them the finished artwork from the page showing how the Flash’s costume comes together in the relaunched DCU.
Click through to the interview for a larger image….or head over to the artist’s new Tumblr blog and check out the original inks for the page!
June 21, 2011
DC released art from the upcoming Flash relaunch over the weekend at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, and guest Francis Manapul revealed a few scraps of information.
First up: This amazing splash page from Flash #1 at CBR.
Be sure to click through and see the high-resolution version. It’s absolutely incredible. (Have I mentioned how much I like Francis Manapul’s art lately?)
Bleeding Cool reports from the DC Nation panel:
Francis Manapul confirmed Barry Allen is the Flash, with no word on the rest of Flash family, but that to expect Wally West at some point. A new villain was created for first arc, but Grodd will be along shortly. The costume will stil be kept in the ring, but will form around him in a different fashion. Flash’s costume is generated in pieces and fits together along the seams of the Jim Lee design, with lightning comes out of the seams.
I’m glad to hear that the first arc’s villain really is a new villain, and it should be interesting to see how Barry deals with the newer, more savage Grodd of modern times (or will Grodd himself be re-invented again?).
I think this is the first mention I’ve seen that Wally West actually exists in the post-relaunch universe, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for him to show up. DC’s used up all the benefit of my doubt regarding Wally over the last couple of years, just like they came dangerously close to using up all the benefit of my doubt regarding The Flash until they announced Manapul and Buccellato as the creative team.
Anyway, back to the costume. Bleeding Cool also has a set of blurry photos from the panel, originally posted at The Daily Blam, including another fully-colored view of the costume and a few panels of it forming up.
UPDATE: The Source has released a clear image of the costume in the post congratulating Manapul and Fiona Staples on their Shuster awards.
I like the boots better in this version. They look less clunky than they did in the Converse ad.
The mask still bugs me, though, not just the chin strap but the corners at the cheeks that have become narrow slits in this version. I think I figured out why: it makes his face look too closed. The closed-off look worked for Walter West and sort of works with Wally’s new costume, but in general I think the Flash’s face should be more open.
June 16, 2011
DC has started running a series of ads for Converse shoes featuring different versions of their characters from the Golden Age through the upcoming September relaunch, under the slogan, “Classic Heroes. Classic Shoes.” The Flash ad, seen in pictures at Bleeding Cool, gives us another look at the new Flash costume, and our first view of his boots. [UPDATE: Here's a better scan that I made from Flashpoint: Legion of Doom]
Personally, I think the new boot design (like all the seams on the costume) is a bit busy, but I’ve seen far worse.
The poses are so similar that I’m pretty sure they’re all new art, but whoever did these drawings did a great job mimicking the styles of particular artists over the decades.
Update: We have an explanation for the boots! (Sort of.)
June 3, 2011
DC’s don’t-call-it-a-reboot is the perfect opportunity to give Wally West a costume that’s recognizably The Flash, but different enough from Barry Allen’s costume that even a casual reader can tell them apart at a glance, even if the artists miss a few details. Especially since several elements of Wally’s new costume from Flash: Rebirth (the raised yellow outline around the chest circle, and the V-shaped belt) have been incorporated into Barry’s new outfit.
Yes, I’m talking about the Dark Flash costume, worn by Walter West, a version of Wally from an alternate reality. It wouldn’t have worked in the post-Crisis continuity because of what the experience meant to “our” Wally (he didn’t want to be reminded of what he could have become), but in a revised history, it doesn’t need to have the same associations.
Brighten it up again, make it crimson and gold (like Wally’s current costume), and I think it’ll do the trick.
Assuming, of course, that DC has a place in the New DCU for an adult Wally West, and has neither erased him from history or reverted him back to Kid Flash. (I’m trying very hard to stay positive here.)
May 31, 2011
The USA Today article about DC’s upcoming reboot includes a drawing of the Justice League with Jim Lee’s new costume designs…but not the entire image. Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Green Lantern are all visible, but the Flash and Batman are both off-panel, but it turns out that the article thumbnail on the newspaper’s home page shows the Flash’s mask.
I got the impression somewhere on Twitter that the full image appears in the print version of the article.
Update: I was in such a rush to post this that I forgot to comment on it. The only thing that really stands out in this picture is the chin guard (which was my least favorite element of the Walter West Dark Flash costume). The seams will get lost in the detail when drawn by most artists, and the earpieces change all the time anyway.
Update 2: SpeedsterSite found a copy of the full Jim Lee Justice League image. Here’s the Flash:
Oh, look, there’s that yellow outline around the circle, which Ethan Van Sciver so carefully added to Wally West’s costume in order to distinguish him from Barry Allen.
Update: You can see more of the costume in Francis Manapul’s cover for Flash #1.
February 27, 2011
Blog@Newsarama’s Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. feature has been running a three-part series by Alan Kistler on the Flashes’ costumes.
- Flash Fashion Facts!
- Kid Flash Fashion Facts!
- The Renegade Flash Facts of Fashion!
On a related note, a few years back I put together a comparison of Wally West’s costumes, or at least those that contributed elements to his current outfit.
December 16, 2010
Today’s guest post comes from Dave Sun
I’m not much of a comic guy, i know the basics and that’s about it. For this halloween I wanted to make a costume that shows off a little bit of my muscles (much like how girls use halloween to be half naked). So I skipped the overplayed Superman, and the somewhat complicated Batman and landed on the Flash (Barry Allen).
With that said I like to share with you the pictures of my costume. it was made from scratch: shirt: adidas techfit; pants: eastbay athletic tights; gloves: eastbay athletic tights’ pant legs (left out the fingers for convenience); mask: combination of eastbay athletic tights’ thigh area and a masquerade mask and mighty putty; trim: foam sheets from michael’s; muscles: gym.
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