July 25, 2011
At Comic-Con’s Sunday “The New 52″ panel, Dan Didio stated that he’d wanted to reboot the DC Universe for five years, since Infinite Crisis*, but that the time didn’t seem right. Why not? And why is it happening now?
It makes more sense to tie it to Infinite Crisis: follow up a classic universe-changing event with a new universe-changing event 20 years later and usher in a new “age” of DC comics.
It seems clear that his plans morphed into One Year Later. Like the New 52, it was an attempt to establish a new status quo and provide a new jumping-on point for the entire line.
Something else Didio wanted to do with Infinite Crisis was bring back Barry Allen. He was coy about it for several years, but in the DC Nation column that ran the week of the last issue of Wally West’s Flash series, he explained that he’d wanted to bring Barry back with Infinite Crisis, but things didn’t work out, so they set up Bart instead. Then he’d wanted to bring Barry back in The Lightning Saga, but again, things didn’t work out, so they brought Wally back instead.
So what does it mean that things didn’t work out? Read the rest of this entry »
July 24, 2011
DC released a lot of information over the weekend in San Diego, which I’ve pieced together from CBR, Newsarama, and reports from fans’ conversations with Dan Didio, Francis Manapul and others.
Read the rest of this entry »
July 21, 2011
DC has four sessions on The New 52 at Comic-Con, and it sounds like they’re presenting on a different chunk of their line each day. The Flash wasn’t in today’s presentation, but people asked about it during the Q&A session. More specifically, people asked about the fate of Wally West, and for once, Dan Didio actually gave a straight answer.
From CBR’s coverage:
Asked about Wally West and his family, DiDio said “there are no plans for Wally West in the ‘Flash,’” because that series is about the “uniqueness of who [Barry Allen] is and how he moves through the world.”
Newsarama has a little more detail:
A fan who liked the multiple generations of speedsters asked about Wally West and his family in the DCnU
DiDio: “Right now there are no plans for Wally West in the new Flash series”
The series focuses on the uniqueness of how someone who moves and thinks near the speed of light lives.
Q: “I’m here to still talk about Wally West…”
DiDio: “okay…”
Fan: “Last year you said you took Wally off the table so Barry could be the sole focus, and now you’re still saying that again.”
DiDio: “We did say that last year cause we did want to build Barry Allen up as much as possible, and this year with the relaunch even more so”
Fan: “How does that work when you have four Robins running around?”
DiDio: “I think we could do that with all the characters” He ended the conversation by saying “I think we’ll be sticking with Barry for awhile.”
As you might imagine, I have some thoughts on this. I’m going to save them for later so that I can collect them properly.
April 29, 2011
If I go into a McDonalds and say “Hey, I love your McRibwiches. I don’t always see them all the time, though. When are you guys bringing back the McRibwich?”
the manager doesn’t flip me off and say “The McRibwich sucks, buy a Big Mac.”
– Comic Bloc message board poster Stephen Henel writes on DC’s approach to “Where’s Wally?” inquiries in a discussion of Flash #10.
March 22, 2011
It used to be a joke, “As long as you keep buying late books, we’ll keep making ’em.” It’s not a joke anymore: you stopped buying ’em. We need to get our schedule under control.
– Dan Didio at DC Nation, C2E2 (as reported by CBR).
July 23, 2010
It took me a while to get into this panel, but I’m here now!
Featuring: Dan Didio, Jim Lee, Grant Morisson, Geoff Johns and J. Michael Straczynski with fans dressed as Darkseid, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
» More Comic-Con photos
July 22, 2010
If all goes well, a few minutes after this post goes live, I’ll be live-blogging the panel! Once it gets started, the view here should update automatically as I add to it.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
» More Comic-Con photos
May 30, 2010
Some art-related linkblogging…
Yildiray Cinar draws an impressive Reverse Flash (via @SpeedsterSite)
There’s a new Rogue in town…a new Rogues blog, that is: The Rogues Kick Ass (via @liabrown1). So far, it’s mostly comedic scans from published comics. (Context? What context?)
This is Knutz presents: The Rogues as kittens. (via @SpeedsterSite) Hilarious!
The Best Comic Covers looks back on the 9 Best Superman vs Flash Covers.
Various people at DC Comics weigh in on their favorite DC covers. Dan Didio’s is Michael Turner’s Flash #207 (via @SpeedsterSite).
Last week, Once Upon a Geek posted a series of poster galleries, including the JSA, Flash, Green Lantern, Sandman, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and more.
Behind the Scenes
Francis Manapul has been posting a lot of Flash art on Twitter lately: the uncolored art for the Flash #5 cover and five pages from Flash #2.
Val Victory’s review of the Flash: Rebirth hardcover includes scans of Ethan Van Sciver’s discarded designs for Wally West’s new costume.
Lots of places have been posting about Wednesday Comics with the release of the hardcover this week. The Source has some of the extras, including art from Karl Kerschl’s Flash strip.
Comic Strips
OK, none of these strips are Flash-related… but I had to share them anyway.
Comic Critics points out that Gotham City is a bad place to open themed businesses.
Creebobby presents Batman after a bad night on patrol: Bat-Fail.
nedroid has been posting comic strips based on LOST, including Ben and Hurley #2: An Amazing Discovery. (via @TheNerdyBird)
April 19, 2010
DC has been really cagey with Flash news lately, since the new direction is just getting started, but they’ve let a few hints slip at C2E2. Here’s a round-up from Newsarama and CBR’s coverage of the event.
DC Nation was light on Flash information…though Dan Didio joked that “as far as dead meaning dead in the DCU, once we get to Nightwing and Wally West, yes.”
At the Brightest Day panel on Saturday, Geoff Johns answered a fan who was upset that Flash #1 had a “Brightest Day” banner, but didn’t tie into the book:
Johns said, “It was a good issue, wasn’t is?” before explaining that the book would tie in to what happens in “Brightest Day” in some small ways, though “I didn’t want to start Flash #1 with a white power battery. I wanted him to fight the Trickster.” Sattler added “The bannering on the books is about a theme in the DCU…the stories are important to Brightest Day’s central story.”
He told another fan, who was confused about the number of Zooms running around, “If you look at Reverse Flash, I try to do everything in reverse…”
At the DC Universe panel, Ian Sattler answered a question about a Flash Secret Origin story by saying, “Sooner than you think.” Wally West will make an appearance in Justice League.
Robinson also said that he’s “very excited about bringing Jesse Quick to the team.”
Finally, at Sunday’s Flash/Green Lantern panel, Geoff Johns declined to answer questions about the current arc or about Flashpoint. He has plans for Wally West and the West Twins. We will “eventually” see the Tornado Twins and John Fox, but there are no plans for Inertia (he’s “really dead”) or Walter West (“but never say never”).
Someone else asked why the resurrected Captain Boomerang is already in jail, “Or is this based on his previous crimes?” Johns said yes. “Is there a legal precedent in the DCU for culpability for crimes you’ve committed before you’re resurrected?” “I’ll have Boomerang complain to the guards.”
The most interesting remark I found in the write-up was this:
“The Rogues always told Wally there was a mutual respect between them and Barry, and that was a lie.”
The funniest, though: Someone asked about Mopee. No one on the panel knew who he was, except Geoff Johns, who sighed and joked that he’ll be in issue #715.
February 21, 2010
It’s always interesting to see what searches bring people to the site. Every once in a while I look through for questions, or implied questions, that aren’t already answered here.
Current Events
Why did Reverse Flash have a Brightest Day symbol?
We don’t know for sure yet, but the implication is that Brightest Day is related to characters who come back from the dead after or at the end of Blackest Night.
Is Jesse Quick back?
Well, she seems to be…but then she’s still appearing as Liberty Belle in Justice Society of America and the second features in JSA All-Stars, so it’s hard to tell. Maybe those take place earlier, maybe she goes back to the other costume, or maybe she’s just going to switch costumes depending on who she’s teaming up with that day.
Did Jay Garrick die in Smallville?
He only appeared in flashback, when Checkmate was rounding up the Justice Society and arresting its members on false charges. He was mentioned by other characters as if he was still alive. (Spoilers for Absolute Justice.)
Is DC working on an animated Flash movie?
If they are, they haven’t said anything about it. A Newsarama article more than a year ago included the Flash in a list of upcoming projects, but there’s been no mention of it since then.
Looking Back
What comes before Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge?
Rogues’ Revenge concludes a sort of trilogy, which you can follow in these collections:
- Flash: The Fastest Man Alive – Full Throttle
- JLA: Salvation Run
- Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge
It also takes place after the end of Flash vol.2 and during the first three issues of Final Crisis.
What year did the Flash superhero gain lightning?
That depends on what the lightning in question is:
- The symbol dates back to Jay Garrick’s first appearance in 1940.
- Lightning in the Flash’s origin goes back to Barry Allen’s first appearance in 1956.
- Lightning effects used to convey speed were used occasionally in the early 1990s, became more prominent when Mike Wieringo worked on the book (1993-1994), and really became established during Terminal Velocity (1995).
Slightly Off-Topic
What is Dan Didio’s twitter name?
As far as I’m aware, Dan Didio isn’t on Twitter.
Who was the female speedster in Heroes?
The character’s name was Daphne Millbrook, and she was played by actress Brea Grant.
Flashforward novel how did it know the pope’s name?
It’s off-topic, but I get a lot of these since I posted a review of the novel.
Author Robert J. Sawyer explains in this video interview that he looked at the list of past popes’ names for those that had good reputations and might be “ready for a comeback.”
