With a Flash resume spanning a presidential election, trips to Hell, living clothes and a cosmic death-race, Paul Ryan’s work on the title is some of the most diverse of any artist to ever pencil those pages.

Starting with issue 119, a crossover with the Final Night mini-series, Ryan was paired with Flash scribe Mark Waid. From the Presidential Race storyline through Hell to Pay, Ryan was present for the return of The Top, Wally’s temporary relocation to Santa Marta and the raging comeback of the undead Rogues.

When Waid took a break from Flash in 1997, well-known writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar took over for a year’s worth of stories. The tone of the book changed with the reintroduction of temporal challenges, mystical concepts and sci-fi elements reminiscent of the Silver Age Flash, as well as the expansion of more recent tropes like the Speed Force and Wally’s childhood.

Ryan also illustrated Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Crisis architect Marv Wolfman, which tells the story of Barry Allen’s time on Earth D.

Previously an artist over at Marvel Comics, Ryan co-created the New Universe series DP7 and spent a notable, lengthy run on Fantastic Four. Most recently, he has illustrated The Phantom comic strip.

Recently collected for the first time, Emergency Stop and The Human Race showcase much of the second half of Ryan’s run on Flash.

Ryan answered our questions via email, revealing some of the process and his favorite Flash.

Q: You got one of the first cracks at the classic Rogues Gallery during a time when they were not used as frequently (outside of Waid’s Underworld Unleashed). Did any previous Flash vs. Rogues stories or issues in particular come to mind when you started to work on those scenes? Also, what was it like having the one of the first chances to portray the Rogues as the ruthless, murdering type? Even though they were under the control of outside forces during that story, a “measured” amount of violence and murder has since become the norm for these characters.

PR: I remembered many of the stories illustrated by Carmine Infantino that featured those wonderful villains. I had those comics (until my Mother gave them away…I forgive you, Mom) and loved them all. I can’t say that I thought of any specific issue when I was working on the Underworld storyline. It was more like an overall sense of nostalgia. It was cool to be playing in the same sandbox as Carmine Infantino. My wife, Linda, and I met him a few years ago at a Boston Con. What a nice gentleman.

The Rogues were gentlemen thieves in the sixties. Transforming them into ruthless killers was not comfortable for me but we were dealing with a new time and place. A grittier, harsher world that the readers seemed drawn (no pun intended) to.

Q: When Wally West was still living in Keystone but “working” in Santa Marta, you were portraying a Midwestern city and a Pacific coast one at the same time, sometimes on the same page. What went into making the locales appear different, and what was it like executing the siege of both at the beginning of Hell to Pay?

PR: Ah, yes, the Santa Marta storyline. I had plenty of reference on California from my trips to ComiCon. The Keystone reference was already available from previous issues. An interesting thing about Wally’s house in Santa Marta. Around the time when I had to design the house, I had a visit from a British fellow, Simon Powell, who wished to purchase some of my artwork. We had already established a relationship that started on eBay and I had told him that whenever he was in the New England area he was welcome to stop by and go through my stacks of originals. During his visit he mentioned that he was moving to Grand Cayman. He showed me a photo of the house he had just purchased. It was the perfect house for Wally. I asked Simon if I could use the image of his new house in The Flash. With a laugh and a grin Simon gave me the photo reference and bingo Wally had a home in Santa Marta.

There was one scene where Wally had to save someone from a wheat harvesting combine. I took that reference from Superman III.

Q: In the first issue of Emergency Stop, #130, the story centers around a time travel mystery and Flash’s solution to his own apparent death in the future.

In issue #133, the Mirror Master story features a prism-trap resulting in a rainbow-Flash team, as well as Flash sorting out the bizarre effects of the mirror world. When it comes to portraying non-linear super-heroics and Flash’s interaction with theoretical environments, what are some of the biggest challenges?

PAUL RYAN: If the writer does his job then I can “see” his vision in my mind. I simply put that image down on paper. Sometimes, with Grant, the stories were a little confusing but I muddled through as best as I could. Flash #130 was just such a script. I had to redraw several pages because I assumed that Wally was going to end up in the alley as we saw him at the beginning of the story. I thought the script read that way. NOPE! For some strange, paradoxical, reason known only to people of Scottish descent, Wally ended up in someone’s suburban backyard.

With regard to the Mirror World storyline, some backgrounds had to be redrawn. Not because I didn’t read (“see”) the images right. Grant decided to rewrite a section of the story after I had completed all the pages, in pencil, passed them in and was working on the next issue. It was not the best working relationship of my career.

Q: Your work ranged from some more street-level stories early on in the Santa Marta arc, to a confrontation with Hell, to the Silver Age John Broome tribute of the battle with The Suit, and finally Flash racing his imaginary friend across the universe. Flash’s powers and their implications lead to a number of story possibilities. What was your favorite to illustrate: the more extreme sci-fi or the urban, or somewhere in-between?

PR: I have been a fan of Science Fiction for many years so I like to illustrate that type of story. I got a feel for drawing the real world from my time on DP7 at Marvel. I like to draw those stories as well. I think putting a superhero in a real world environment works really well. We get a contrast, that we can relate to on just how impressive the hero can be.

Q: Can you talk about some of the differences in working with Mark Waid vs. Grant Morrison & Mark Millar? These are big names in comics, but the styles seem very different and Waid in particular had been working on the title for some time when you were working on Flash. Was the transition between teams difficult?

PR: I really enjoyed working with Mark. He asked Paul Kupperberg (Flash editor) to offer me the penciling gig on the Flash. Mark did some very good people stories. No matter how cosmic the villain or catastrophic the disaster it all came down to the human experience. He, especially, did some very touching stories about Wally and Linda. And he always turned his scripts in on time. When Mark left on a one year sabbatical from the Flash he asked that I stick around until he got back. That didn’t work out.

As I have stated Grant’s stories and work habits were a bit stressful to this storyteller. I never met him. We never corresponded in any form. Everything went through Paul Kupperberg. Rumor had it that Grant wanted me replaced right from the start. Kupperberg eventually did replace me and put Pop Mhan in as penciler. He asked that I stay on as inker because “The new guy needs help!” I walked. I think Pop lasted six issues. I have no idea why he left so quickly.

Q: Were you involved in the design of the Speed Force suit Wally creates during Emergency Stop, and the uniforms of the Justice Alliance from Earth D in the Crisis: the Untold Story one-shot? If so, what goes into creating a familiar-but-new look for such recognizable characters?

PR: Grant submitted a design for Wally’s speed force costume. It involved a helmet like Jay Garrick wore. It had the scientific symbol for Mercury (the element) on his chest. Visually it didn’t work very well. So I made up my own. I used the goggles to protect his eyes (like Impulse’s costume). The lightning symbols, on chest, forearms and calves, was indicated through use of shadows and I tried to make it as sleek as possible. No air drag.

I designed all the alternate costumes for the Crisis special. It’s been quite a few years since I drew that special. I don’t remember all the reasons for my designs. Aquaman’s design borrowed a little from the Silver Age and the Bronze age with a little Marina from the Avengers/Alpha Flight. Wonder Woman was pretty much the Alex Ross look. I imagined Green Arrow as a Native American. I seem to remember giving the Atom a sturdier costume with a helmet. I figured a six inch tall guy needs more protection than spandex. I did the same for Scott Lang (AntMan) at Marvel. Little guys need armor. Lots of armor!!

Q: You mentioned the human experience and Mark Waid’s ability to maintain that no matter the storyline. As a reader, this was always the reason why Wally was such an engaging character: so many of the best stories are founded in his relationships. If something reaches you personally in a script, how does that affect your work?

PR: If there is something in a script that touches me in a personal way, the assignment becomes more than an exercise in layout, form and shadow. With most scripts I can “see” the scenes in my head as I read the story. It’s just a matter of getting that down quickly in a thumbnail sketch. When a story touches me, I can feel the emotions of the characters. I felt that with Mark Waid’s scripts that dealt with Wally and Linda’s relationship. I experienced it, most recently, on The Phantom. Tony DePaul and I have been working on a multi script story arc dealing with the “death” of Diana Palmer Walker, the Phantom’s wife. Chatu, The Python, orchestrates the bombing of a UN building in Mawitaan. Many people die. All believe that Diana was one of them. The Phantom mourns her death and does a lot of soul searching about his role as Bangalla’s protector. Meanwhile we learn that Diana was spirited away before the blast and was taken to a prison in the rogue state of Rhodia. Diana suffers physically. The Phantom suffers emotionally. Finally, after months of traveling and fighting terrorists, he discovers she is alive and he breaks her out of prison. The moment when they finally meet again really touched me. I guess it must have shown in the art that day. Readers have told me that it really moved them.

Q: What is your favorite speed trick of all time?

PR: The windmill arm trick. I would add the vibrating through a wall trick but Wally seemed to have a problem with that one. Barry was my favorite Flash. He could do it all.

Interview: Paul Ryan Talks Flash is a post from Speed Force.

• Emergency Stop (Flash vs. the Suit)
• Through the Looking Glass (Flash vs. Mirror Master)
• Still Life in the Fast Lane (a focus on Jay Garrick)
• Three of a Kind: Part Three (a courtroom drama dealing with the aftermath of a Flash/Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-up)

Read the review at Collected Editions, or order the book at Amazon.

Review: Flash — Emergency Stop is a post from Speed Force.

Along the way, I’ll be contributing a couple of guest reviews covering the Grant Morrison/Mark Millar collections, Emergency Stop and The Human Race.

Collected Editions is a great site for news about upcoming DC Comics (and sometimes other) collections as well as reviews. The site also maintains the DC Trade Paperback Timeline. Last year they put together a Top Flash Trade Paperbacks list.

Flash Week at Collected Editions is a post from Speed Force.

Responding to a question about the new costumes introduced in Flash: Rebirth #5, he talked about the “Emergency Stop” story by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar and how it provided “the first inkling that the Speed Force was more than just gasoline.”

I always thought of the Speed Force as if it were this layer, kind of like the fluid in your joints that allows your bones to move together, and if you think of that as the Speed Force, it’s this fluid between the now and the time stream. It allows the two to co-exist, because the way time exists, it’s not just a line, it’s a sphere. So that fluid coats that sphere and the sphere is the Speed Force. And that sphere touches all reality and it’s full of everything, it’s full of ultimate speed, moving through reality, because time is all relative and it’s full of all scientific knowledge. It’s all knowledge of all eras.

Johns answered several other questions about the Flash, confirming that the Rogues will be heavily involved in the new series (no surprise there) and that their tailor, Paul Gambi, will return.

Another item I found interesting is that the price was a major factor in the decision to scrap the backup stories they had previously announced.

There’s more there about the Flash, plus he answers questions about Blackest Night, Earth One, Smallville and more.

Geoff Johns on the Nature of the Speed Force is a post from Speed Force.

The Absorbascon examines Abra Kadabra, go-to-guy for crazy, impossible things.

Now Read This! reviews Flash: Emergency Stop.

Death and Rebirth

The Alliterates ponders why dead men (Barry & Hal) tell more tales.

Dan Didio talks death and resurrection in his latest 20 Questions feature.

Where Are They Now?

Mark Waid talks Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer.

Marc Guggenheim (“Full Throttle”) and Michael Green talk about trying to get serialized fiction onto TV…not to mention dealing with religious themes on TV.

Speed Reading: Kadabra, Death, and the Marks is a post from Speed Force.

Comics In Crisis presents Flash v.2 #182 (2002), the Captain Cold Rogue Profile story, among the 10 Essential Bronze Age Comic Stories You Should Read. I’d disagree with the Bronze-Age classification (traditionally, the Bronze Age of Comics ran from the 1970s through mid 1980s, with Crisis on Infinite Earths being a good reference point for DC books), but it’s absolutely a must-read.

X-Man reviews Flash vol.2 #1 (1987), noting how different Wally West was at the age of 20 than he is today. That’s actually one of the things Wallys’ long-term fans like most about the character: that we’ve seen him grow and change naturally, rather than simply be given a personality transplant whenever a new writer shows up.

The Quantum Blog talks about TV shows canceled before their time, including the 1990-1991 Flash TV Series. (Hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years. Seriously, Quantum Leap is having a 20th Anniversary convention this month. I feel old…)

The Worlogog celebrates Weird Silver Age Tales of the Flash.

I haven’t had a chance to listen yet, but Raging Bullets Podcast #152 features Flash’s Rogues with listener guest Mike Simms.

Heritage Auctions will be selling a CGC 9.6 copy of Showcase #4, the comic that rebooted the Flash as Barry Allen, launching the Silver Age (via It’s all Just Comics)

A Journal of Zarjaz Things looks at Flash: Emergency Stop, griping that Grant Morrison’s 9-issue run is split across two trades with the second “padded” out with a 3-parter by Mark Millar. IMO, though, Morrison didn’t write a 9-issue Morrison run — he co-wrote 9 issues of a 12-issue Morrison/Millar run. It would have been less responsible for DC to print only the Morrison issues and leave out “The Black Flash,” which has arguably had more lasting impact on the Flash mythos than the other stories in these trades, good as they are. (It is silly that they left out the first two parts of “Three of a Kind,” though.)

Speed Reading: Retro Reviews, Doug Hazlewood, TV Shows and More is a post from Speed Force.

The segment in The Flash v.2 #135 focuses on the villains’ trial, with flashbacks to the incident. At the time, Wally West’s identity was public knowledge, though he testified in full costume. This in itself is unusual given standard courtroom dress codes (a skin-tight bright red costume isn’t exactly conservative business attire, and tends to stand out a bit). But then Green Lantern takes the witness stand:

The usage is similar to the U.S. Constitution’s 5th Amendment, which states in part that “No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” Two things can be gathered from these panels:

• The DC Universe had a “Federal Authority of Registered Meta-Humans” years before Marvel’s Civil War (though after the first story with the Mutant Registration Act).
• The DCU version of the United States Constitution has a Twelfth Amendment which, under some circumstances, allows witnesses to give an alias rather than a real name when testifying in court.

There’s no indication that it’s required to register, or whether it’s simply a good idea if you want legal backing. It’s not even clear whether heroes have to register under their real names. I can’t remember whether any other books made reference to this authority, but suddenly I really want to find and reread my back issues of Chase.

In the real world, the Twelfth Amendment dates back to 1803 (passed 1804) and changes the way the President and Vice-President are elected. Assuming the DCU’s US just has one more Constitutional amendment than we do, their Twelfth would be just about as old, which leads to the question: Why did they need to amend the supreme law of the land to allow masked heroes to testify 130 years before the Golden Age of super-heroes?

Thinking about it, though, DC does have super-heroes whose adventures take place in earlier eras, especially in North America. Not just heroes of the Western genre like Jonah Hex or Bat Lash, but classical super-heroes with masks, costumes and powers. Max Mercury’s origin dates back to the early 1800s, for instance, and Miss Liberty (an ancestor of Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle) fought in the American Revolution.

Might the early United States in the DC Universe have decided it was worth letting some of their more colorful national heroes remain pseudonymous even in legal proceedings? It’s certainly possible.

Whatever the circumstances of its passage, it sheds some light on the otherwise nonsensical fact that Barry Allen kept his mask on and his identity secret from his arrest all the way through his trial for manslaughter in the case of Professor Zoom’s death, dissected in great detail by Bob Ingersoll.

*It’s a little more complicated than that, of course.

Secret Identities on Trial is a post from Speed Force.

So what does that include?

• “Emergency Stop” — Flash vs. the Suit, with a time travel mystery.
• A one-shot fighting the Mirror Master.
• A one-shot focusing on Jay Garrick.
• The third part of the “Three of a Kind” crossover with Green Arrow and Green Lantern.

See also my overview of the whole run.

The surprise here isn’t that it’s only half the run. 6 issues is typical for a collection these days, and since the whole run is 12 issues, that makes it easy to cover the whole thing in two books.

The surprise is that with “Three of a Kind,” they included 1/3 of a 3-part story. At least it should flow reasonably well, since it was told with its own framing sequence, but it’s still an odd choice.

Update: “The Black Flash” will appear in Flash: The Human Race, shipping in June 2009.

No Black Flash Trade Yet is a post from Speed Force.

Update: Full solicitations are up. Read on!

The Flash #247

Written by Alan Burnett
Art by Carlo Barberi & Drew Geraci
Cover by Brian Stelfreeze

“This Was Your Life, Wally West” concludes! As Flash stands alone without his powers or family to support him, only one question remains – is this end of the Fastest Man Alive?

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

Notes: Surpisingly enough, the solicitation doesn’t actually say that it’s the last issue.

Team books and events appear after the cut.

Team Books and Events

Final Crisis: Secret Files #1

Written by Grant Morrison & Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Frank Quitely & various
Covers by Frank Quitely and Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Finally, the secrets of this year’s most talked about event can be revealed! Witness how Darkseid’s death shattered the Multiverse, creating continuity ripples throughout the DC Universe! Submit to Darkseid and read the full Anti-Life Equation! This is a book you cannot resist to buy!

On sale December 24 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Notes: I find this very interesting for several reasons. First, it’s clearly meant in part to be “spackle” to fix the continuity gaffes between Countdown, Death of the New Gods, and Final Crisis. (Morrison mentioned this at San Diego’s Final Crisis Management panel, and later in his IGN interview.) Second, it’s probably a delay to allow them more time to finish up Final Crisis #7, which is conspicuously missing from a preview set that includes the Secret Files book, Revelations, and Legion of Three Worlds. (Rogues’ Revenge will already be finished by then.)

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #4

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by George Pérez & Scott Koblish
Covers by George Pérez

Don’t miss this issue as lightning strikes again in the DC Universe! The Crisis of the 31st century continues as a great hero falls and another returns to help Superman and the Legion combat the murderous Superboy-Prime! Meanwhile, the Time Trapper makes his move against the three Legion founders, Polar Boy’s bizarre mission comes to an end and Superman makes a shocking discovery that will redefine the terms of this war. [emphasis added]

On sale December 24 • 4 of 5 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Notes Still hinting at the return of Bart Allen, and this time, Brainiac 5 is holding the celebrated lightning rod. It’s worth noting that issue #3 was recently pushed back to December 3.

Justice League of America #28

Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art and cover by Ed Benes

The Shadow Cabinet has stolen the mortal remains of Dr. Light. The Justice League has vowed to bring them down. Plus, Shadow Thief has returned deadlier than ever before, and you won’t believe the source of his new powers.

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

Notes: I don’t actually see the Flash on the cover, but Wally West has been appearing a bit more regularly in the book over the last few issues.

Justice Society of America #22

Written by Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Art by Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham & Nathan Massengill
Cover by Alex Ross
Variant cover by Dale Eaglesham & Nathan Massengill

Concluding the sequel to Kingdom Come and featuring several pages of painted interiors by Alex Ross! The Justice Society have had their greatest wishes granted, but at what deadly price? As war breaks out among the Justice Society, the cost of Gog’s watchful eye comes to light. But removing Gog from Earth will cost more than they could ever imagine. This finale will leave the Justice Society torn apart…and see a new team rise out of the ashes!

On sale December 31 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: Jay Garrick is, of course, a regular in the Justice Society.

Titans #8

Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Howard Porter

There’s a traitor in the Titans’ midst, and the entire Tower is under lockdown until the team can discover which member could betray them. The problem is, there’s no real way to investigate, since the traitor is now a sleeper agent!

On sale December 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: What? The Titans have to deal with a traitor? Wow, that’s never ever happened before! *grumble*

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #10

Written by Dan Jurgens and Ron Marz
Art by Wes Craig, Dan Davis, Andie Tong and Mark McKenna
Cover by Brad Walker

The fate of the Tangent Earth stands in the crosshairs! It will take the combined efforts of two worlds to save billions of lives! It’s Superman vs. Superman – and when the dust clears only one of them will be left standing!

On sale December 17 • 10 of 12, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

DCU Holiday Special 2008

Written by Alan Burnett, Franco Aureliani & Art Baltazar, Dan DiDio and others
Art by Rodolfo Migliari, Kevin Maguire, Ian Churchill, Tim Levins, Yishan Li and others
Cover by Frank Quitely

Celebrate the holiday as the Justice League of America host a surprise party guest! Dr. Light aids with the Festival of Lights and Nightwing delivers a special gift to Robin. Plus the super-secret origin of Santa Claus!

On sale December 17 • 80 pg, FC, $5.99 US

Notes: There’s no telling whether there might be a Flash story in here, but with Alan Burnett as the current writer it wouldn’t surprise me. Flash stories appeared in last year’s Halloween special and 2006′s Christmas special.

Advance Solicitations

The Flash: Emergency Stop TP

Written by Grant Morrison & Mark Millar
Art by Paul Ryan & John Nyberg
Cover by Steve Lightle

At last, DC collects the fast-paced 1990s epic by Grant Morrison (Final Crisis) and Mark Millar (Civil War) from The Flash #130-135! Confined to a wheelchair after a run-in with the mystery villain known only as The Suit, how can The Flash protect Keystone City from evil run amok?
On Sale January 21 • 144 pg, FC, $12.99 US

Notes: There’s been a lot of speculation as to what’s actually included in this trade. Now we know, it’s the first half of the Morrison/Millar run. So that includes “Emergency Stop” itself, plus two stand-alone issues (including the fantastic Jay Garrick spotlight from #134) and, oddly enough, the third part of “Three of a Kind,” the crossover with Green Lantern and Green Arrow.

Justice Vol.3 TP

Written by Jim Krueger & Alex Ross
Art by Doug Braithwaite & Alex Ross
Cover by Alex Ross

The final volume of the lushly illustrated maxiseries, featuring issues #9-12, is now available in trade paperback! The Super-Villains’ plot to exploit the innocent thickens as the heroes discover that it may even affect their comrades! Guest-starring Black Adam, The Marvel Family, Doom Patrol, The Metal Men, The Titans, Supergirl and more!
Advance-solicited; on sale January 7 * 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US

Justice League of America: The Lightning Saga TP

Written by Brad Meltzer & Geoff Johns
Art by Ed Benes, Shane Davis, Dale Eaglesham, Jim Lee, Adam Kubert, George Perez and others Cover by Alex Ross

Two super-teams join forces in this volume collecting JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #0 and #8-12 and JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #5-6! The JLA has discovered the presence of several members of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the present!

Advance-solicited; on sale January 21 • 224 pg, FC, $12.99 US

Flash Comics for December 2008 – Updated is a post from Speed Force.

It’s still listed as shipping in January, so with any luck we’ll get more solid information in DC’s next round of solicitations.

On a related note, the first real substantive post I made on this blog was a summary of the Morrison/Millar run. I don’t remember what price Amazon was quoting back then.

Emergency Stop: Full Run? is a post from Speed Force.