May 22, 2012
In an interview posted on Friday, Flash co-writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato talked to comic book resources about the arc of their speedster saga. Going into this week’s first New 52 Grodd story, and upcoming reintroductions of Weather Wizard, Heat Wave and (Golden) Glider, the Flash team delved into the existing relationship between the Rogues and the road to September’s Flash Annual.
Manapul kicks things off by explaining the crescendo of the series thus far:
Francis Manapul: I think there’s a theme that the book is really about overwhelming the Flash. In the first arc, we created this villain who could really be in multiple places at once, so in that sense, the Flash is overwhelmed physically and also overwhelmed emotionally because of the fact that he’s [fighting] an old friend, a guy that he grew up with. It’s kind of an overwhelming time for Barry Allen, having discovered that the weight of the world is on his shoulders. On top of that, the Rogues are slowly starting to get back together; we’re slowly showing what kind of a threat they would be to Barry Allen.
For highlights, including choices made during the redesign of the Rogues and the team’s answer to the Wally West question, follow the jump!
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May 16, 2012
IO9 has a preview of Flash #9 online.
THE FLASH #9
Continuing the debut of Gorilla Grodd in DC Comics –- The New 52! The Flash travels to Gorilla City for the first time! Who are the “Runners” –- and what do they mean for The Flash and the Speed Force?
Written by: Brian Buccellato, Francis Manapul
Pencilled by: Francis Manapul
Inked by: Francis Manapul
Cover Color by: Brian Buccellato
Lettered by: DC Lettering
Colored by: Brian Buccellato, Francis Manapul
Flash #9 arrives in stores next week.
May 14, 2012
THE FLASH #12
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale AUGUST 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Setting up THE ROGUES as a team as the next major storyline for the series begins!
• GLIDER takes center stage!
What a gorgeous cover. DC’s August Justice League solicitations are up at The Source. The cover for the Flash Annual was revealed last week.
For the full Annual solicit, plus Kid Flash solo and Jay Garrick’s Earth 2 adventures, follow the jump…
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May 12, 2012
Flash artist/co-writer Francis Manapul has been nominated for Best Cover Artist in the 2012 Joe Shuster awards. Last year he won Outstanding Comic Book Artist. (via @SpeedsterSite)
May 11, 2012
DC announced on The Source today that Batwing artists Marcus To and Ray McCarthy will be drawing The Flash #10 and #11, focusing on Weather Wizard and Heat Wave.
“FLASH #10 spotlights the reimagined Weather Wizard and his twisted family tree, and we’re thrilled to welcome artist Marcus To and inker Ray McCarthy on board to tell the tale,” Editor Matt Idelson told THE SOURCE. “Marcus shares studio space with regular FLASH artist Francis Manapul (we’ve enjoyed hearing his snarky comments in the background of our calls with Francis), so we’re keeping things in the family, as it were… and as you can see from the double-page spread below, Marcus is gonna blow through this book like a hurricane! Issue #10 is going to be a blast, but just wait until July’s scorching issue #11, where — fittingly for the height of summer — you’ll be re-introduced to the very nasty, very crispy Heat Wave!
Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato return as the regular artists with issue #12. On Twitter, they confirmed that they are still writing (or, more precisely, have already written) the scripts for those issues, and Marcus To is working from Francis Manapul’s layouts. The story is still building toward the Flash Annual.
@ and I will still be doing the writing, and I’ll still be doing the layouts for Flash 10 and 11. I just needed bit of a breather
He’s definitely earned that breather after putting out nine issues in a row (well, eight so far, but there’s been no word of delays on #9) right on time while serving as both writer and artist!
Update! Newsarama has more info, including an interview with Marcus To.
May 8, 2012
Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are featured in a new interview over at Newsarama where they discuss the title’s next steps on the road to the one-year mark of the New 52. Within, the cover for the upcoming Flash Annual, due in September, is revealed. It features the first looks at new versions of Mirror Master, Heat Wave and a re-imagined Golden Glider, alongside Captain Cold, Turbine and the new Weather Wizard, forming a Gauntlet of Super Villains for the New 52 Flash.
Check out what the duo had to say about thematic ties to Flashpoint, the new, “crispy” Heat Wave, Weather Wizard: Drug Lord and the reintroduction of the Pied Piper (and much more!) after the jump…
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April 9, 2012
THE FLASH #11
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale JULY 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• The New 52 debut of HEAT WAVE!
• THE FLASH is on a crash course with THE ROGUES!
The image above is new and is included in the cover gallery for the solicits, but a caption does state it is not the final cover.
DC’s July Justice League solicitations are up at The Source. Flash fans looking for more Jay Garrick should check out the solicit for EARTH TWO #3 after the jump…
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March 28, 2012
On the road to today’s release of Flash #7, the creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato has been making the interview rounds. Here’s a roundup of the past few days, covering their appearances in multiple outlets.
First up, Manapul stopped by iFanboy’s Word Balloon podcast to talk about his work on the title, include the nature of his collaboration with Buccellato. From the description:
Artist/writer Francis Manapul is back to tell us what’s been happening in the pages of The Flash for DC Comics. We talk about his unique art choices to display the hero’s super speed, and the Flash’s point of view when faced with the choices of how to stop a crime or disaster from happening.
More after the jump!
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March 12, 2012
DC’s Justice League Group solicitations for June are up. You can find a larger cover at Newsarama.
THE FLASH #10
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale JUNE 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
- THE FLASH vs. THE WEATHER WIZARD!
- The Flash may survive…but will BARRY ALLEN?
Good to see that the Weather Wizard still uses a wand (though it’s ironic that he’s one of the few Rogues whose power actually was internalized in the previous DCU). Not sure about the raincoat, though.
Also, the Earth Two issue featuring Jay Garrick on the cover will also reveal his new origin.
EARTH TWO #2
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale JUNE 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
- MR. TERRIFIC – Michael Holt – lands on EARTH TWO!
- Don’t miss the origin of the Earth Two FLASH – and the first time he uses his powers!
- What could be a bigger threat to Earth Two than APOKOLIPS? Jay Garrick is about to find out!
I’ll admit that “hard water fumes” doesn’t hold up that well as a way to gain super-powers (though you can sort of excuse it if you assume they meant “heavy water fumes”), but is anyone else nervous about this?
February 22, 2012
With issue #6 hitting stands today, the Flash creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are featured in two new interviews, one over at Newsarama and the other at PopMatters.
The Newsarama piece discusses the reintroduction of Captain Cold, the new character Turbine, as well as the vision for Speed Force as it appears New 52 version of Flash. They also discuss the pacing of the title, noting stories will be told in one-to-two issue sets for the next few months. The article features preview pages from issue #6, out today, as well as the first announcement of a new Flash Annual, due before issue #12 hits stands.
On their upcoming portrayal of the Speed Force:
Manapul: Inside the speed force itself will be quite different. I think before, it’s always been portrayed as just these speed lines and light and stuff like that. We really want to make it a world that’s fully realized, you know? And when the Flash enters this world, we want the readers to be in awe just as much as Barry Allen is.
It’s really going to be quite different visually.
More after the jump, including selections from a new interview with PopMatters.
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