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 25, 2010
July 12, 2010
The Source has posted more detail on Spring 2011 collections.
We already knew that the hardcover edition of The Flash: The Dastardly Deaths of the Rogues was coming out next February, but there’s been a slight change. Earlier reports showed it featuring The Flash #1-7 and The Flash Secret Files 2010, but now DC is saying that it collects The Flash #1-6 and The Flash Secret Files 2010. This makes more sense, because it lines up exactly with the first story arc instead of extending one issue beyond it. On the other hand…
The Flash: Rebirth paperback is scheduled for April, and someone forgot that the miniseries was six issues long and not five! I guess we shouldn’t rely too much on the numbers here.
Other books
Additionally, the Justice League International trade paperbacks start collecting Justice League Europe with volume 5. Flash Wally West was a founding member of that branch of the League, based at first in Paris and later in London. This volume features two JLI annuals and the first six issues of JLE. The next two issues are actually part of a JLA/JLE crossover, “The Teasdale Imperative,” which picks up where the previous volume left off collecting Justice League America. I’d guess that volume 6 will feature that crossover and some mix of the two series.
Justice League of America: The Rise and Fall collects the “Fall of Green Arrow” and “Rise of Arsenal” storylines spinning out of JLA: Cry for Justice. Barry Allen appears in the Green Arrow story.
There’s a new Showcase volume of Justice League of America.
I think Kid Flash Bart Allen is in Teen Titans: The Hunt for Raven.
Flash Barry Allen appears in at least the opening chapters of Brightest Day Vol.1.
Justice League of America: Dark Things covers the JLA/JSA crossover that just started, featuring Flash Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick.
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.
May 19, 2010
I had an odd thought while reading The Flash #2* last week. Francis Manapul draws Barry and Iris in a way that makes them look fairly young, and I remembered someone’s remark that the cowl on Wally West’s new costume makes him look older than Barry, even though Wally used to be Barry’s younger sidekick.
Then it hit me: No, Wally isn’t older than Barry Allen (even with time travel) but when you factor in his earlier Kid Flash career, he actually has more experience than Barry at this point!
No, Really!
Wally West became Kid Flash very early in Barry Allen’s Flash career — only six issues into his solo series! Flash vol.1 started with #105, picking up from where the Golden Age Flash Comics left off, and Wally was struck by lightning in Flash #110, back in 1959. He didn’t retire as Kid Flash until very late in Barry’s career, in New Teen Titans #39 — just one year before Barry vanished in 1985.**
So Wally West has been running around for most of Barry’s career plus his own!
Team Player
During his JLA run, Grant Morrison is one of the few writers I can remember really building on the fact that the original Titans grew up as super-heroes. I don’t recall it being a plot point, but Morrison mentioned it in an interview, or possibly one of the Secret Files books, and it clearly factored into his characterization of Wally West. He might not have been as old as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but he’d been working with a team longer than they had, and he was a consummate professional.
Wally wasn’t the rookie on the team by any stretch. That honor went to Green Lantern Kyle Rayner.
Of course, neither Wally nor Barry can hold a candle to Jay Garrick, who has been speeding since 1940!
*Yes, I do still plan on reviewing it. It was just a busy week, and for some reason, it’s been hard to sit down and write it.
**These are of course the real-world publishing dates. The fictional DC Universe would use a vague “X years ago” timeline that always seems to change, but usually compresses everything from the dawn of the Silver Age onward into a 10-15–year period.
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
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.
April 2, 2010
Some Friday morning linkblogging…
Once Upon a Geek presents the Justice League #1 cover redone with action figures
Newsarama writes about the Secret Origins of Geoff Johns and Kevin Feige in the office of Richard Donner.
Commentary
Abbracadabbling looks at the long road to a Flash movie.
Comics Should Be Good contends that Kurt Buseik unwittingly ruined DC/Marvel super-hero comics.
Living Between Wednesdays is annoyed by a revelation in Green Lantern #52 that doesn’t line up with current scientific cosmology…or even the rest of DC’s space mythology.
Top Cow’s Filip Sablik talks about Information Overload at Newsarama — a topic which Geoff Johns ahs brought up on several occasions when talking about his new approach to the Flash.
Humor
This noscans_daily Macro Monday thread includes some funny Flash Rogues captions. (For those who aren’t on LiveJournal, the “Adult Content Warning” is a blanket one for the group. Last I looked, this thread was still work-safe.)
Despair, Inc. has a new Flash shirt (link via @SpeedsterSite) that reminds me of a certain Fred Hembeck comic strip from a while back.
And on a similar, but more canon note, What Were They Thinking?! presents the Flash vs. Captain Pantsless.
Update: An April Fool’s joke from Screen Rant: Michael Cera cast as the Flash.
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
March 5, 2010
A few years ago I was browsing eBay (like I frequently do) in hopes of finding cool Flash collectibles when I stumbled upon an awesome piece of Flash fashion:
A sterling silver Justice League/The Flash-themed class ring! Thinking this ring popping up was a random one of a kind occurrence, I quickly snatched it up. When the ring arrived a week or so later it came with a catalog for Arrobasilver.com. I looked up the website and didn’t really see anything else Flash-related at the time, although they did have class rings for every member of the Big Seven. Nevertheless I still subscribed to their newsletter because A) The ring was gorgeous, had a great heft to it and was extremely detailed. And B) I wanted to know if and when they added new Flash stuff to their catalog.
Fast forward a year or so and I get a newsletter with an announcement for these designs:
Traditional Red and Yellow
“Dark Flash” Silver on Red
Red on Silver
And last but not least “Professor Zoom” Red on Black.
Pretty nice huh? One doesn’t have to be ultra-brazen to wear these out in public, but they still have a distinct look and unique flair to them. They run for $54.99 USD plus shipping, and with the amount of creativity, and craftmanship that goes into these pieces I’d say they are worth at least double that. Not only that but they are officially licensed by DC Comics and Warner Bros and that authenticity shows.
By the way when I asked Arrobasilver for permission to feature them they were kind enough to give Speedforce.org an exclusive promo code to knock 10% off of these bad boys. Just enter GA001 when checking out. Also stay tuned for some exciting news concerning Arroba Silver and Speedforce.org in the next few days.
Oh and one more thing:
***Slightly Off-Topic***
For those random non-Flash fans that show up here from time to time, Arrobasilver does much more than just Flash Rings. They have over 20 Green Lantern Ring designs alone that you can check out HERE, as well as other Justice League-related rings including a swanky Captain Marvel (Shazam) Ring they just released a few weeks ago. Remember: GA001 gets you 10% off exclusively so take advantage of this unique opportunity while you have the chance.
Remember, some exciting news is coming up in the very near future concerning Speedforce.org and Arrobasilver so keep an eye out.
-Devin “The Flash” Johnson
