August 22, 2010
Some weekend linkblogging…
Art
I finally placed what that Funko Flash plush toy reminds me of: paintings by Degrazia.
Michael Cho is bringing some great paintings of the Flash and Mister Miracle to Fan Expo. (via @FrancisManapul)
In Brightest Day, In Blackest…Coffee? The Nerdy Bird has found an awesome T-shirt on Etsy.
Giant Size Geek (formerly Photon Torpedoes) found a “trippy” Martin Ansin painting of the Flash. Actually, there’s another Giant Size Geek find that’s going to get its own post…
Commentary and News
Quick Time is a new blog focusing on Jesse Quick and Hourman. Recent posts include costumes, low points (Jesse in Titans, anyone?), and thoughts on the Justice Society roster.
That F’ing Monkey looks at Flash postage stamps in the Fastest Mail Alive.
The Source has a new video ad for DC Universe Online, “I am the Next Legend.”
The Flash makes IGN’s top DC series list at #8.
CSBG has completed their series on the Top 75 Most Memorable Moments in DC Comics History.
July 26, 2010
One of the downsides to attending a convention is that you miss all the announcements at panels you didn’t attend — like an Astro City movie deal! *ahem* Anyway, on to speedster news.
At DC Universe Event Horizon, James Robinson stated that the Justice League would be battling the Crime Syndicate at some point, with Jesse Quick battling Johnny Quick , Batman vs. Owlman, Supergirl vs. Ultraman etc.
At DC Focus: Teams, incoming Teen Titans writer J.T. Krul said that Bart Allen “is past the Impulse stage but he still has that innocent, light-heartedness about him.” (Quote from Newsarama, may be paraphrasing him.)
At the Superman panel they announced that Superboy #3 will feature the first-ever Superboy/Kid Flash race.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
July 23, 2010
June 24, 2010
This photo by spatula108 got me thinking: I’ve seen several women dressed as the Flash at conventions, and two or three as Liberty Belle…but I can’t think of a single Jesse Quick cosplayer.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 17, 2010
One aspect of the upcoming JLA/JSA crossover is that Liberty Belle will be moving from the Justice Society to the Justice League as Jesse Quick. Check out this this variant cover for Justice League of America #46:
Wow!
I’ve mostly lost interest in the current Justice League series. From what I’ve seen of it, the book has been too focused on shuffling the roster and supporting crossovers. And after the Cry For Justice fiasco (though I get the impression that the worst of it was editorially decreed), I’d made a conscious decision to avoid James Robinson’s run.
But you know what?
I think I’m picking up this comic, if I can find a copy with the variant cover at a reasonable price.
Jesse Quick + Liberty Belle + Francis Manapul. Seriously.
Update: Francis Manapul has posted the uncolored artwork.
Justice League of America #46 arrives in stores June 30.
June 15, 2010
Among DC’s September solicitations are announcements of upcoming action figures and collectibles, including a Jesse Quick statue.
Well, sort of.
AME-COMI HEROINE SERIES: JESSE QUICK AS THE FLASH PVC FIGURE
Sculpted by Jack Mathews
Faster Than Lightning!
Super-speedster and member of the Flash family of zoomers, Jesse Quick invokes the mysterious 3×2(9y2)4A formula, tapping into the power of the Speed Force.
Fleet of foot, Jesse sizzles with swiftness!
Packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook, this non-articulated PVC statue stands approximately 9” high and includes a display base.
On sale February 9, 2011 * Statue * $70 US
Thoughts: This is part of a series of statuettes that have taken DC heroines and redesigned them with looks inspired by anime. This one’s a bit odd, as is another one announced today (Duela Dent as the Joker) in that they’re double mash-ups. Instead of just anime-inspired Jesse Quick, it’s anime-inspired Jesse Quick as the Flash.
OK, the Flash has the name recognition. And while they could have just given us a female Flash, it’s nice that they actually used one of DC’s few female speedsters (most of them are alternate-reality, past or future characters). And, let’s face it, Jesse Quick doesn’t exactly have an iconic look to start from. She’s gone through at least half a dozen costumes since her first appearance.
Side Note: Speaking of Jesse Quick and anime, about ten years ago I watched a science-fiction sports epic called Battle Athletes Victory. There’s an athlete named Jessie with long blonde hair whose last name I could never remember, so I always thought of her as Jesse Quick!
Reminder: You can now follow Speed Force on Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz.
April 26, 2010
Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers interviews James Robinson about his Justice League of America run and the upcoming crossover with the Justice Society. He talks about the team dynamic and some of the new characters joining the roster, including the team’s new speedster…Jesse Quick, who will be moving over from the JSA to the JLA by the end of the crossover.
Newsarama: Her encounter with her father during Blackest Night explains why she chose this costume and identity now, but why do you think it works for her to join the Justice League?
Robinson: Well, you’ll have to read the story to see how it happens. But what I like about her joining the Justice League is there’s a natural link between the Justice League and the Justice Society because of her marriage to Hourman, which we can play upon. There’s a natural organic link between the two teams now, which is good.
April 7, 2010
More precisely, the book is Flash: Secret Files and Origins 2010 #1. (I’m always faintly amused at the tendency of comic book publishers to slap a big “#1″ on the front of an obviously one-shot issue.) Like most of DC’s Secret Files books, this is made up of a lead story and a series of profile pages.
Lead Story
“Running to the Past” by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins was a fairly standard Flash story. It doesn’t really stand out as particularly good or bad, but it serves as an introduction to Barry Allen, his primary motivation (the retconned-in death of his mother), and the sometimes lonely life of a speedster.
There are some nice moments, like the sequence of panels early on in which Barry hits a light switch, pours himself a glass of water, and then the light comes on (though if you think about it, that only makes sense if the water is sped up too).
Oddly, while the whole story is drawn by Scott Kolins, the epilogue featuring the Rogues looks vastly different. It really highlights something I’ve mentioned before, which is how well-suited his art is to the Rogues.
It is a Barry Allen story, first and foremost, though the rest of the “good guy” speedsters show up briefly. I didn’t really expect anything beyond that, but the solicitation text suggested that Wally West and Bart Allen might be more involved, and I’m sure there are people out there for whom that will be a factor in whether they pick up the book. Perhaps DC planned bigger roles or a second story, back when they still planned a series of backup stories featuring Wally and a Kid Flash book featuring Bart, but if so, it didn’t make it to the finished product.
Read the rest of this entry »
I’m back from San Francisco, catching up on work, email, and reading. I’ll post my WonderCon write-up when I get a chance (tonight, I hope, but definitely by the end of the week [Update: it's up now]), but for now, here are a few more Flash items from the convention:
Jesse Quick will be joining the Justice League of America after the upcoming JLA/JSA crossover, as announced at the James Robinson Spotlight.
He included the character because he was always such a fan of the character’s father, Johnny Quick. The writer made sure to mention that he has no plans to upset the marriage between Jessie Quick and Hourman. He promised there would be no cheap plot device to break them up.
Robinson also made some thought-provoking remarks about the Flash in the Super-Hero Origins panel, which I’ll write up when I have more time and can look at my notes. Update: Here they are: JR on super-hero origins.
When asked about plans for DC movies beyond Green Lantern, Geoff Johns said, “We’ll talk in San Diego.” A lot of sites are taking this to mean that DC will announce Flash & other movie plans at Comic-Con International in July.
At the Ethan Van Sciver Spotlight, the artist was asked about Carmine Infantino’s classic art in connection with Flash: Rebirth.
The artist said that he loved Infantino’s work, and that besides Batman, the Flash has one of the best set of villains in the DCU, which Van Sciver credits to Infantino. “His characters were so unique and individual, so wonderfully different from each other,” he said, also mentioning that he would love to go back to “revisit the wonderful, angular, ugly faces of Carmine Infantino’s rogues, and restore them.” Van Sciver even said he would talk with new “Flash” artist Francis Manapul about Infantino’s rogues.
And once again, my photos from the con are up on Flickr.
March 8, 2010
You ever have moments where you are on the internet randomly searching for Kid Flash costume variations and you stumble upon something really cool yet completely unexpected? This happened to me a few weeks ago when I came across some great stuff I’m not sure many fans of the Scarlet Speedster have seen yet.
Remember that Flash video game that was cancelled a few months ago? The Flash video game that was was covered by Kelson back in September and October of last year? Well I mentioned I was randomly interested in Kid Flash costume variations and I stumbled upon a nifty one in google images that rocked my socks off:
Taking a closer look around the site I found a few more:
And a nice Pied Piper:
Turns out these were modeled by Helen Rusinoff for the cancelled Flash video game. The costumes were designed by Roger Robinson who was featured in the previous Flash video game article Kelson posted. There were a few pictures that I didn’t have room to show but you can find those at her website.
I emailed Helen about showcasing the pictures on Speedforce.org and she emailed me back promptly. Not only did she give me permission to repost her work, but she also pointed me in the direction of Roger Robinson yet again. I visited his website and didn’t really find anything new to report. Wandering around that site however I came across another blog, where I found these pictures:
You can find a few more at Roger Robinson’s other website.
Seeing that we could have had Kid Flash, and Jesse Quick in this game makes me downright depressed. I wonder if there were any cool multi-player modes that they might have had planned using the various members of The Flash Family? The Flash meets Sonic Adventure 2 Battle? That wouldn’t have been a bad thing. I also wonder if they had any plans to have alternate costumes. That was a very nice touch in Justice League Heroes, which included Jay Garrick and Walter West as alternate uniforms for Wally. Too bad the game was so dang mediocre.
Until they find a way to either bring this back from the dead or create another one I guess I’m stuck playing this:
Actually Justice League Heroes: The Flash isn’t bad. I preordered it when it was first announced and purchased a Gameboy Advance SP just to play it. I now have it on my PSP as well and have beaten it many, many times. A lot of fun to play on the go(although I take Bart’s advice and don’t use my “playtendo” while running).
I hope you all enjoyed a deeper glimpse into the game that could have been. The potential was definitely there for a good, solid, fun game to play. Here is hoping they decide to create another one sometime down the road.
-Devin “The Flash” Johnson
