IGN has a preview of next week’s Flash #5.

Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by GARY FRANK; 1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL

Central City in chaos! Iris West captive in Iron Heights prison! And as Flash tries to deal with all of it, he must also try to save the life of his old friend Manuel Lago from Mob Rule, DC Comics’ hottest new Super Villain!

DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US

On Sale January 25, 2012

Flash #5 Preview at IGN is a post from Speed Force.

The LA Times blog Hero Complex has a four-page preview of The Flash #4, arriving in stores next week. The preview sheds more light on Manuel Lago, and begins the origin of Mob Rule.

Tip: I found that the slideshow viewer makes the pages too small to read. Fortunately, they provided direct links to the images at the end of the article.

Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by ERIC BASALDUA; 1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL

As Central City remains dark from the recent EMP blast, The Fastest Man Alive remains in hot pursuit of the one who set it off: Mob Rule! What does Mob Rule really want? Learn the rest of his origin right here!

Flash #4 Preview is Up! is a post from Speed Force.

Google has finally opened up brand/group pages on Google+ yesterday. DC Comics was one of the first to sign up, and their second day of posting features a four-page preview of The Flash #3. Last week I got a sneak peek during a conversation with Brian Buccellato at Long Beach Comic Con, and let me tell you: this is only the beginning. The issue looks amazing.

You can also find Speed Force on Google+ now, so if that’s your preferred network, please drop by, say hi, and add us to your circles!

Speed Force

on Google+

Flash #3 Preview and Google Plus is a post from Speed Force.

The Flash #2

Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by GREG CAPULLO; 1:200 B&W variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL

The Fastest Man Alive learns he can make his brain function even faster than before – but as much as it helps him, it also comes with a steep price. Plus: The mystery behind Barry Allen’s friend Manuel Lago deepens as Barry investigates his kidnapping at the hands of Mob Rule!

DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US

Newsarama has posted the first part of a two-part interview with Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, and we have the Greg Capullo variant cover.

Flashpoint (HC)

Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE; Cover by ANDY KUBERT

The red-hot, sold-out five-issue miniseries from Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert is back in a new hardcover!

This is Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it?

It’s a place where America’s last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of The Outsider, The Secret 7, S!H!A!Z!A!M!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces! It’s a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can’t find the villain who altered the time line!

DC Universe 176pg. Color Hardcover $22.99 US

Update (Wednesday): DC’s blog says it’s out next week, but their main website still lists Oct. 26. Actually, it refers to the “wide release” – so maybe they mean to the bookstore release. It’s still morning here, so it’ll be hours before I make it to the comic store today to see for myself whether they have it or not.

» Pre-order at Amazon

Teen Titans #2

Written by SCOTT LOBDELL; Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND

A strange creature haunts the streets of Los Angeles… and because of this creature’s age, both Red Robin and N.O.W.H.E.R.E. are racing to find her – but neither side is prepared for the horror known as Bugg!

Meanwhile, Superboy is on a collision course with the team, and Kid Flash plots his escape from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. with the most unexpected of allies!

DC Universe 32pg. Color $2.99 US

This Week: Flash #2 Preview & Flashpoint HC is a post from Speed Force.

CNN’s Geek Out! has an article on The Science of the Flash. Of course, science in comic books is always a bit more…flexible than it is in the real world.

The speed force is one of the topics discussed. In the 1980s, when DC relaunched the book with Wally West, they tried to explain away the Flash’s super-speed by requiring him to eat a lot. As physics professor James Kakalios points out, “the numbers just don’t work. A typical Flash running at his various speeds would have to eat something like 500 million cheeseburgers to run at the speeds he’s doing, even chewing super fast.” The solution: a field of energy that the Flashes draw their power from. A hand-wave explanation to be sure, but one that at least acknowledged the issue.

Today’s an interesting time to post the article, given the announcement of possible faster-than-light particles. (It does get into that staple of science fiction, the still-theoretical tachyon.) Revolutionary if it can be confirmed, but even the physicists who found the effect aren’t convinced yet. The announcement is basically: “We got these amazing results and haven’t been able to find any errors. We need more people to check our work.” As the webcomic XKCD points out, extraordinary claims like this usually don’t pan out…but when they do, it’s tremendously exciting!

Anyway, what most of you are probably interested in is the Flash #1 preview at the top of the article. It’s a different format than the usual method of just posting the full pages, more like reading a digital comic on a smartphone…only with commentary on each “page” by co-writer/artist Francis Manapul.

The Flash #1 arrives in stores next week, on September 28.

Flash #1 Preview / The Science of the Flash is a post from Speed Force.

Flashpoint #5

Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE; Covers by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE; 1:25 Black and white variant covers A by ANDY KUBERT; Variant cover B by RAGS MORALES

FLASH FACT: The war between the Amazons and the Atlantians has arrived. The battle between Diana of Themyscira and Emperor Aquaman will tear this world apart – unless The Flash can fix it!
DC Universe 40pg. Color $3.99 US

Justice League #1

Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art and cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS; 1:25 Variant cover by DAVID FINCH

Comics superstars Geoff Johns and Jim Lee make history! In a universe where super heroes are strange and new, Batman has discovered a dark evil that requires him to unite the World Greatest Heroes!
DC Universe 40pg. Color $3.99 US

This Week: Flashpoint #5 (w/Preview) is a post from Speed Force.

In order to catch up to his grandfather, Bart Allen will have to race against the speed force itself. As he is bounced around through time collecting multi-dimensional speed force energy from various members of the Flash family, Bart needs to gain all of the necessary tools to reach Barry in time to deliver a message that could save the universe. But will he be able to reach the world’s last hope for restoration before the speed force catches up to him?

In FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #3, Bart Allen finally realizes the personal sacrifice he must make in order to save his family and the people he loves. By Sterling Gates, Oliver Nome, Scott Kolins and Trevor Scott, the final issue in this miniseries races into stores on Wednesday.

Gates has said that this series, and issue #3 in particular, is his “love letter to the Flash family.” After seeing the pages, I’m…a little concerned about his definition of “love letter.”

Update: The writer replies on Twitter:

@SpeedForceOrg It’s the Flashpoint universe. Wait and see what happens.

August 19, 2011 6:06 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@sterlinggates

Sterling Gates

Indeed…you should never rely too much on a preview.

Preview up for Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #3 is a post from Speed Force.

DC Retroactive: The Flash 1990s

Written by BRIAN AUGUSTYN
Art and cover by MIKE BOWDEN

During the ’90s, Wally West took the title “The Fastest Man Alive” to a whole new level. Join the the writer who turned the sidekick into a hero in his own right for another race against evil, along with a classic tale from that decade.

ONE-SHOT • On sale AUGUST 17 • 56 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T

Newsarama has a set of DC Retroactive Previews including The Flash ’90s, which starts on page 6.

Be sure to catch our exclusive interview with Brian Augustyn about the special and his long-term collaboration with Mark Waid on The Flash.

Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #3

In this final issue of FLASHPOINT: LEGION OF DOOM, Heatwave has escaped his prison and is dead-set on getting his revenge against Cyborg. But first, he plans on burning the city of Detroit to the ground to send his nemesis a warning. Will Cyborg be able to stop Heatwave before thousands of innocent lives are lost?

FLASHPOINT: LEGION OF DOOM #3, in stores on Wednesday, is written by Adam Glass and features art by Rodney Buchemi and Jose Marzan Jr.

The Source has a preview.

This Week: DC Retroactive: The Flash 1990s & Legion of Doom #3 (With Previews) is a post from Speed Force.

He may have once been seen as Central City’s hero, but as the truth about Citizen Cold’s criminal past begins to trickle out, it’ll only be a matter of time before his true identity is revealed. With an entire gallery of Rogues set on killing him, Citizen Cold will have to work to not only protect himself but also to stop Iris West from losing her trust in him. But when she discovers a dark connection between them that he had kept hidden from her, does Citizen Cold stand any sort of chance defeating all of the odds stacking up against him?

Written and drawn by Scott Kolins, FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #3 arrives in stores on Wednesday.

Preview up for Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #3 is a post from Speed Force.

Central City is filled with villains cleverly trying to stay under the radar of The Flash. So then why is one of them doing everything in her power to attract his attention? And when an obsessed fan gets out of hand, Wally West must follow an unlikely trail of victims to his latest challenge: a gallery of his most notorious Rogues.

What becomes of this super-fan will shock you in an all-new story from writer William Messner-Loebs and art by Greg Larocque. DC RETROACTIVE: THE FLASH-THE 80s also includes a 22-page classic story originally published in the ’80s by Messner-Loebs, Larocque and Tim Dizon. Pick up this one-shot in stores on Wednesday.

Preview of DC Retroactive: The Flash 1980s is a post from Speed Force.