Long-time Speed Force readers may remember an April Fools’ prank I did with the Irredeemable Shag of Once Upon a Geek and Firestorm Fan, “revealing” that Geoff Johns and Ethan van Sciver’s next project after revamping the Flash would be Vibe: Rebirth.

Three years later, Vibe did indeed turn up in the background of DC’s Free Comic Book Day offering, and he’s been making appearances on the animated DC Nation.

Today, in a CBR interview with Geoff Johns & Jim Lee, there’s this bit of news that should make Scipio of The Absorbascon happy:

As for what underused character he’d like to explore next, the answer was simple.

“Vibe!” Johns replied with a laugh. “They told me you can’t make Booster Gold work, and we made it work; you can’t make Aquaman work, and we made it work. I want to find the B character who everyone says is a complete waste of time, and Vibe is — he’s recent, he’s Detroit League and I have a soft spot because I’m from Detroit, so he’s my next challenge.”

Yes, that’s right: Geoff Johns wants to revamp Vibe.

Now if he can just get Ethan van Sciver on board…

Vibe: Rebirth – For Real (sort of) is a post from Speed Force.

But you look at what the theme of Flash’s book has been for the last 200-something issues with Wally West and it’s been about a man trying to fill someone else’s boots. It doesn’t really have anything to do with speed. I mean, it has something to do with speed, but it was not totally what the book was about. The new Flash that I’m doing is all about speed.

At the time, I found it disingenuous because Geoff Johns wrote six years of that run himself, and he could have focused more heavily on speed with Wally West if he’d wanted to. And I found it worrying because he felt Wally’s defining characteristic was wanting to be like Barry Allen. Not the journey of becoming a hero, not learning to be an adult, but specifically trying to be someone he’s not.

But now I find the quote even more annoying, and here’s why:

The great over-arching Flash story from 2009-2011 might have been more appropriate for Booster Gold or Rip Hunter. (Or maybe Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, considering that it sounds a little like Emerald Twilight and Zero Hour when you break it down that far.)

Oh, well. Time to chalk it up as one more missed opportunity from that run, and Move Forward.

Geoff Johns’ Flash: All About Speed? is a post from Speed Force.

DC Comics has announced a “Flash 101″ sale on digital comics. All listed Flash titles will be only 99 cents for 48 hours starting August 13. They don’t say where, but I think it’s safe to assume it’s at ComiXology, because they’re DC’s exclusive online vendor at this point.

And they’ve added a lot more issues.

Up to this point, ComiXology has had everything from Flash: Rebirth onward. Over the last few days, readers have spotted early issues from Wally West’s series, the beginning of Impulse, and a few scattered issues from the Bronze Age. Check out the full list of titles on sale after the jump: 

FLASH Firsts:

• Flash Comics #1 (first appearance of Jay Garrick, The Golden Age Flash)
• Showcase #4 (first appearance of Barry Allen, The Flash)
• The Flash #105 (first appearance of Mirror Master)
• The Flash #106 (first appearance of Gorilla Grood)
• The Flash #110 (first appearance of Kid Flash)
• The Flash #113 (first appearance of The Trickster)
• The Flash #117 (first appearance of Captain Boomerang)
• The Flash #125 (first appearance of The Cosmic Treadmill)
• The Flash #140 (first appearance of Heat Wave)
• The Flash #155 (first appearance of The Rogues)
• The Flash #1 (1987 – first appearance of Wally West as The Flash)
• The Flash #92 (1987 – first appearance of Impulse)

The Fall of Barry Allen:

• The Flash: Trial of The Flash (series #340-350) – Cary Bates
• Crisis on Infinite Earths #1-12 – Wolfman/Perez

Wally West’s Run:

• The Return of Barry Allen (#74-70) – Mark Waid [Also, I assume that's a typo and they meant #74-79]
• Terminal Velocity (#0, 95-100) – Mark Waid
• Emergency Stop (#130-135) – Grant Morrison/Mark Millar
• Wonderland (#164-169) – Geoff Johns
• Blood Will Run (#170-176) – “
• Rogues (#177-182) – “
• Run Riot and Blitz (#192-200) – “

The Return of Barry Allen:

• Flash: Rebirth #1-6
• Blackest Night: Flash #1-3
• Dastardly Death of the Rogues (#1-7)
• Reverse Flash Spotlight (#8)
• Prelude to Flashpoint (#9-12)

Flashpoint – Everything will Change:

• Flashpoint #1

The list doesn’t include the eight pre-Rebirth issues that are already up (Flash vol.1 #209,211,212,215 and Flash vol.2 #15-18), or Impulse.

The 101 issued do include the entire Rebirth era, a number of classic Silver Age Barry Allen issues, the Trial of the Flash (though not the build-up, which you’ll have to get in the Showcase Presents…TPB for now), two major Wally West stories by Mark Waid, one by Grant Morrison & Mark Millar, and almost half of Geoff Johns’ Wally West run (with the curious omission of Crossfire)

Digital “Flash 101″ Sale This Weekend is a post from Speed Force.

Let me start stating that although this seems to be a non-crucial matter, bordering into the banal realm, for me is a very serious topic. For everybody who thinks otherwise, well, I guess they should be a little more respectful for what people consider important in their lives. Yeah, I feel very passionate for my comics, heck; I’m planning a career out of it. My favorite character since I was 12 (I’m 33 now) has been Wally West, the Flash, the fastest man alive. Let me assure you that this is not an anti-Barry thread. Au contraire, this is an open letter to the editors and writers of DC Comics that maybe could help clarify our feelings for this special character and why we want him back.

Granted, I didn’t get the chance to read Barry as the Flash until I was 18 and read all silver age Flash comics, and I loved it! But by then I was a teen from the 90s and grew up reading Wally! For me what I felt more passionate about was that he was just a normal guy, with his own problems in growing up. I think we all can identify with that. Barry on the other hand, had his own character flaws, like being late for instance, but he was practically the ideal superhero who just wanted to help out those in need. Remarkably yes, but I guess if we get superpowers we wouldn’t be doing that particularly. So, it is easier to identify with Wally. I remember when Wally became Kid Flash. He grew up under the tutelage of his idol, this perfect hero, and to tell a long story short, Barry Allen died, after 20 years of continuity, a hero’s death, saving the universe, the way a true hero could and would want to die. Ok, this was shocking and Wally was a great character by then, he even had his own costume as Kid Flash. It was HIS costume, not Bart’s (grandson of Barry who in the DCnU launch will be donning Kid Flash’s costume). Why do I emphasize on that? Well, I remember perfectly when he got his costume through a machine that can produce someone’s thoughts (I guess it was the 60s so bear with me). He by then had his own identity! He, as a character, has been around since Barry Allen, and I remember him growing up as a kid, as a sidekick, as a member of the Titans, and through his doubts and motivated by his love and respect for his uncle Barry who he loved as a father, he donned the costume of the Flash to HONOR him! It was the right thing to do and IT WORKED!

It had a slow start in the eighties and people weren’t accepting him as the true Flash, but you know what, neither was he. He was trying his best but he was always running under Barry’s shadow. He knew it and he was doing all that he can to help other. The superhero community treated him as a kid, and he practically was, but he had been around since he was a child. He learned a thing or two from his uncle but then he learned new stuff based on his humble experience. He was growing, and we were growing WITH him. It is also important to notice that he grew up always thinking “what would Barry do?” since he was his idol. We always had Barry as the great Flash, and that memory and love made him better. Then, it came the best era of the Flash form me and I have to give credit to the authors: Mark Waid, Brian Augustin and Greg LaRoque. The Return of Barry Allen was my most beloved arc of my Flash collection. Why? Not only because Flash 74 was my first comic that I bought (when I decided to collect them), but because this was the time he finally lived up to the mantle of the Flash. It was graduation day, and I could only imagine Barry smiling from wherever he was, after all, he was like a son to him.

After that there have been great stories, good stories, and bad stories, as any comic series; but in my mind there was no doubt Wally West earned his role as The Flash, the fastest man alive. He has been running since the eighties until the end of 2010. That means 30 years of continuity, not even counting the time he was Kid Flash, which would mean that he’s been running for 50 years! That’s a lot! Ok, at the end there were some bad stories, but we all know by now that if a superhero character gets married, and worse, has children, it is difficult to create good stories (not impossible) and the way things got handled by then made things even worse. But wait, although Wally’s comic books were unstable, his name lived on through the animated series Justice League Animated and after that Justice League Unlimited. Kids who were not into comics loved Wally because he was impulsive (Ok, his attitude could be an amalgam between Wally and Bart), but still, that was a younger Wally in my mind and he also earned the respect of his teammates when he saved them all. It was an epic episode but I still get goose bumps when he got inside the speed force and came back. He never ran so fast and he almost died to save them all. He earned the respect from his fictional teammates, and for his new fans! Great times, but all things have to end right? Agreed! But should they be forgotten? HELL NO! Should they be erased from continuity and make as they did not happen at all! Theoretically you could, if you’re willing to break some hearts from hardcore fans! And they did!

Why did they bring Barry Allen back? I’m not sure. I really loved Geoff Johns’ long run on The Flash (Wally West). He loved continuity back then and it was one of the things I loved about his writing. He made all inconsistencies make sense. I even remember a great comic about Toyman, an enemy of Superman, who has been used too many times by many writers, and all of those characters were totally different. Well, this issue really told us what really happened and IT ALL MADE SENSE. The reason I mentioned this is because I really liked the way Johns wrote his comics, we could all see that he was truly a comic book fan and mostly a DC comic fan! There was no reset button, and it was genius the way he brought Hal Jordan back. Green Lantern Rebirth is awesome! But really, why did they have to bring Barry back? I really like Barry, but wouldn’t it have been better to modify Wally’s story? Well, I have my theories and opinions, but they are only that: writers and editors grew up reading Barry Allen, I’m sure they even played with Barry’s action figure from the Kenner Super Powers collection, I know I did and I was way younger, almost an infant. So there’s no doubt that they remember Barry as the true Flash (we didn’t forget about that since that would be ungrateful to the legacy) and due to the success of the return of Hal Jordan and the reexamination of the Green Lantern mythos, I guess they thought the same formula should be applied to the Flash!

It was worth a shot, yes! And believe me when I tell you that although I was sad to see Wally as a secondary character, I’d love the idea of the Flash family running again alongside Barry. The splash page of the Flash family was excellent and gave us hope of what was coming. But nothing happened! We never saw a hint of the Flash family. What is the reason for this? Because Barry’s comic was never any better from previous Flash comics. I don’t have the actual numbers but we can all agree that his Rebirth was not as successful as Green Lantern’s. If it had been, I’m sure we would have the promised “Speed Force” book featuring the Flash family. The Flash family is no more, and they have to focus ALL their efforts to Barry. That means that in order for him to continue as the Flash he has to be marketed as the only Flash. I don’t like to assume, but we can see proof of this anywhere in DC comics. I have seen few appearances from Wally and they all have been Barry centered. I understand, really, I do. But shouldn’t you realize that the character was NOT the problem? Even worse, like a fellow forum writer said, “this new stories from Barry Allen, and the nonexistence of Wally, had severed my link to Barry.” I loved reading old comics from Barry, and even new ones when Barry traveled through time. I thought I knew Barry, and then the writers changed his personality! WHY??? For me, I know this Barry as much as I know John Fox! So this strategy didn’t work, and then, out of a need for a LAUNCH they decided to restart the whole DC continuity. I don’t know how Flashpoint is going to be related to that, but I do know the end result and I don’t like it. Also, it is unfair to see that Green Lantern (because of his success) keeps his history, and Wally is nowhere to be seen. Ok, Francis Manapul said that we will see Wally sometime in the future. I don’t think this is going to work either, because Wally is a character not based only in his superpowers, but his HISTORY in the DCU. If he appears in the comic as a secondary character who happens to be Iris’ nephew and then becomes a different kind of Flash, well, it doesn’t work for me and I guess I speak for a lot of Wally’s fans.

What really disappointed me (to say the least) is that he got erased because he didn’t fit anymore to DC plans. That’s even worse than dying a heroic death. That is going to Morrison’s graveyard and this character does not deserve that. Now Bart is Kid Flash, using Wally’s costume! Nightwing is still there, but what about his best friend Wally? As of today he’s nowhere to be found, he is totally erased. I don’t want to jump into conclusions, but without a comment from Geoff Johns I just feel uneasy with Wally’s fate. Please, reconsider! I know that if someone can is Johns, and I hope he still cares for Wally West.

This is not an anti-Barry Allen post; this is a pro Wally one. It is not intended to create a division, but rather to express my love for the character. For people who don’t feel as strongly, I guess this post is not for you then. I don’t feel ashamed to feel passionate for a character. I have been reading him every month for at least 20 years. I think because of this loyalty I’m entitled to express my opinion and therefore spend a couple of hours writing this entry. Maybe nothing will be done about it and I know in comics anything is possible, and in some future there will be a writer or an artist (or both) who will push Wally West into reappearing again and that will be a good day. Support the industry! Keep paying for good stories. I love comics and I hope we will get our money’s worth from this new direction of comics, but to have a Frankenstein comic and not a Wally West one, it just does not make sense. I can be sure that Wally has a great number of fans, don’t disappoint us and try to fix this. It is just a sincere request from a loyal DC comic book fan.

Godspeed,

José Luis

José Luis’ blog can be seen at Mastering Art.

An Open Letter to Flash Editorial Re: Wally West is a post from Speed Force.

I’m still waiting…

Geoff Johns on the Future of Wally West, 2009 is a post from Speed Force.

There are two things that bug me about this.

First: it doesn’t make sense. The speed force was introduced to do two things: provide a hand-wave explanation for the impossible physics of super-speed, and tie all speedsters’ origins together. Where do Flashes get their energy? The speed force. Simple, end of story. But now the speed force gets its energy from Barry Allen. So we’re right back where we started: Where does Barry get his energy?

Second: it elevates Barry Allen above all other Flashes permanently.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it were simply a matter of: Barry’s back, and here’s why he’s important now. That would be the same kind of thing Mark Waid did when he had Wally West become the first Flash to mainline the speed force and gain new powers, or that Bilson & DeMeo did when they had Bart Allen absorb the speed force. In those cases, it was still a progression, and you could imagine that whoever came next would follow in their footsteps and become the most important Flash now.

What bothers me is that they didn’t want to take that route. They instead wanted to take the route that Barry Allen was not only the most important Flash now, but that he has always been and always will be the most important Flash ever. It flat out tells us that we’ve been reading about a second-rate Flash for the last 25 years. I know there are people who hold that opinion, but it’s galling for it to be declared canon.

It’s like two kids trying to one-up each other in a bidding war, and one pulls out, “well, I bid infinity!” — and because it’s the author of the series, not to mention the Chief Creative Officer of the company, it sticks instead of getting laughed off.

Adapted from a comment made last year. I was reminded of it by this recent Reddit discussion: What’s your least favorite retcon?

Why I Don’t Like Barry Allen Generating the Speed Force is a post from Speed Force.

Comic-book futures are constantly changing. We’ve seen four* major versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes, many different “true” versions of the near future, and a half-dozen variations on the eras that brought us villains like Abra Kadabra and the Reverse-Flash. Given the latter’s newfound obsession with changing history in Flash: Rebirth, it seems highly appropriate that his origin tale rewrites itself repeatedly over the course of the issue. It’s fascinating to watch the twists and turns as his life starts down one path, then stops, backs up, and takes another.

Strangely enough, the creepiest history rewrite is the one in which he doesn’t actually kill anyone.

The story makes him into a truly scary threat, far beyond anyone else in the Flash’s stable of enemies, because he can (and does) literally defeat anyone he wants before actually fighting them. (Well, anyone except Barry Allen.) That makes him more interesting than the simple obsessive stalker he’s often portrayed as, but it also makes him incredibly overpowered. It also downplays his role as a speedster in favor of his role as a time traveler. Super-speed is really unnecessary for the power that makes him most dangerous.

Literary Thoughts

Two of the themes Geoff Johns has woven through this relaunch are very much present here: First, the speed of modern life, in which everyone is trying to do five things at once, is already exaggerated in present-day Central City, but taken to an extreme in the future shown here, where the worst thing anyone can do is waste your time. Today people keep in constant touch with each other and the internet with mobile phones and smartphones, but in the future, everyone constantly has a floating screen near his or her head. Some people, like Thawne, have several, showing how many ways their attention is split. Multitasking isn’t simply a feature on your computer. It’s a critical life skill.

Second: a character explicitly states the admonition against dwelling on the past and to move forward instead. The key symbol here is Barry’s inability to let go of his mother’s murder case, and the theme was excellently described by Bizarro98 on Comic Bloc. (The message is kind of undermined by the fact that the series has been focused on re-establishing old versions of various characters and dynamics at the expense of newer versions, though.)

Long-Term Reader Thoughts

It seems like the Thawne/Allen feud should have come into play in a story about Eobard Thawne studying the historical Barry Allen. Its absence, and the fact that the Flash legacy apparently stopped sometime before the 25th century, make me wonder if Chain Lightning is being removed from canon (though Thawne did refer to it briefly during Flash: Rebirth. On the other hand, the conclusion of the main section of the story connects very nicely with The Return of Barry Allen.

The Flash #8: “Reverse-Flash: Rebirth”
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Scott Kolins
Colors by Brian Buccellato

*I’m counting the Five-Years-Later Legion separately from the classic version, since I get the impression that the current series ignores the FYL run.

Review: The Flash #8 – “Reverse-Flash: Rebirth” is a post from Speed Force.

Perhaps it’s because Geoff Johns has done such a brilliant job writing Green Lantern, or maybe it’s that he did such an excellent job writing Wally after Mark Waid had passed the torch and moved on that many fans are still reserving their judgment on how Geoff has been writing The Flash since Barry’s resurrection.

I’ll be honest I’ve found some of what Johns has done with the Flash title since Barry’s resurrection to be inspired. However, some of the things he’s written have left me scratching my head in bewilderment or nodding my head in chagrined disbelief.

One of the areas where Johns has been absolutely inspired is how he has written and resurrected Professor Zoom. Having read some of the old Flash comics with Zoom, he often came across as rather two-dimensional. He really wasn’t that interesting. Granted, he was a product of the era in which he was written and originated—but that doesn’t fully explain it. After all, the Batman’s rogues, the Joker and Two-Face in particular, were very well and richly developed despite the era in which they were written. Professor Zoom in the Silver Age came across as flat. He was evil for the sake of being evil. Then, starting with Mark Waid’s Return of Barry Allen storyline that started to change. Waid started to make Eobard Thawne a little more interesting. Now, over fifteen years after Waid injected some personality and dimension into Professor Zoom, Geoff Johns has given his personality a shot of adrenaline. If anything Johns is writing Professor Zoom much better than he’s writing Barry Allen. I don’t believe I was the only one who came away from Flash:Rebirth feeling like the story maybe should have been Professor Zoom: Rebirth as Eobard Thawne totally stole the show from Barry throughout much of that series.

Another interesting and fun twist Geoff has thrown our way is making Wally’s daughter, Irey, the new Impulse and stripping his son, Jai, of all his powers. This opens up the door for some interesting family tension and conflicts in Wally’s future once DC eventually gets around to developing the rest of the Flash family again. Jesse Quick becoming Irey’s mentor could raise some interesting conflicts between Wally & Linda and Jesse in the future as well.

The one area I’m sitting on the fence is Boomerang/Captain Boomerang. I thought it was cool that Digger was resurrected in Blackest Night but it shouldn’t have been at the expense of his son, Owen. From the moment Geoff revealed that Meloni Thawne was Owen’s mom, thus making Bart Allen his half brother, he opened up a lot of tremendous story and character development material for that character. If Owen’s death was/ is meant to be permanent—a convenient way to dispose of a character that Johns no longer had any inclination to further develop he’s made a terrible mistake. If, however, Owen’s death is a mere plot device to align Captain Boomerang and Professor Zoom in a Faustian-esque deal that involves Professor Zoom changing the past and un-doing Owen’s death… It’s a stroke of genius on Johns part. Since this hasn’t yet played out and I’m not sure how it’s going to play out, I’m reserving judgment.

There’s a rumor that there’s a story in the works that will turn Iris into Barry’s greatest foe. If this is true, this is a terrible misstep. Don’t mess with Barry & Iris – they’ve already been put through far too much. Instead, Johns has at his disposal an untapped resource—the jilted almost Mrs. Allen II, Fiona Webb; the very same Fiona Webb whose life was saved when Barry snapped the neck of Professor Zoom. Who better to turn into one of Barry’s greatest rogues than a jilted former fiancée? Fiona was as much as “written off into the sunset” during the trial of The Flash never to be heard from again. If Johns is so intent on mining Barry’s past for story fodder, methinks Fiona has greater potential as a Flash rogue (not to mention a considerably more believable rogue) than Iris.

What say you, fellow Flash Fans? What’s your take on Geoff’s treatment of Barry Allen (and his rogues for that matter) thus far? What would you like to see in Barry’s future?

Armchair Quarterbacking the Flash is a post from Speed Force.

The Professor Zoom spotlight in The Flash #8 (review coming soon) reminded me of something that’s been bugging me about the current version of the character. In Flash: Rebirth, it’s pointed out that while Eobard Thawne can change history to make Barry Allen’s life a living hell, he can’t prevent Barry from becoming the Flash. Without a Flash, there’s no Reverse-Flash, and without the positive speed force that Barry Allen generates, there’s no negative speed force for Thawne.

Somewhere along the line, it turned into the idea (stated in The Flash Secret Files 2010) that Thawne can’t kill Barry Allen because he needs Barry’s speed force to power his own.

Why?

They made a big point that the speed force, once generated, stretches out and touches all times, past and present. That’s why Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick and Max Mercury could have super-speed before Barry was even born. That’s why John Fox and Eobard Thawne could have super-speed centuries after Barry’s death. That’s why Wally West, Bart Allen, Jesse Quick, and the surviving older speedsters could all have super speed while Barry was gone.

Thawne can’t erase Barry Allen from history, but he can still kill Barry anytime he wants…after Barry becomes the Flash!

Reverse-Flash Immunity is a post from Speed Force.

Less than a week in, CSBG’s 75 Most Memorable Moments in DC History has already cited two Flash moments: The discovery of Earth-2 (“Flash of Two Worlds”) made day four, and Barry Allen’s lab-accident origin made day five.

Once Upon a Geek has been featuring DC Comics ads from shortly after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Today’s spotlight includes a 1987 ad for the then-new Flash series.

The Hooded Utilitarian really disliked Flash: Rebirth. (To be honest, I pretty much agree with this review — and yet I’m really enjoying the ongoing Flash series. It’s as if the two stories are being written by two different writers, both of them named Geoff Johns.)

Yesterday, artist Greg LaRocque dropped by to shed some light on the Flash Jam Sketch posted last month.

Adidas has winged shoes going on sale August 10.

Yahoo News posts a photo of three JSA cosplayers from last year’s Comic-Con International, dressed as the Golden Age Hourman, Atom and Flash (with Dr. Mid-Nite barely visible behind them). I think this is the group I ran into on the day that I was dressed as Jay Garrick, and one of them said, “I was you yesterday!”

Comics Alliance presents today’s comic book covers reimagined in the Silver Age

Firestorm Fan spotlights an Old West Firestorm and Sillof’s Gaslight Justice League.

The Weekly Crisis has analyzed the Brightest Day teaser image.

Marc Guggenheim talks to Newsarama about his upcoming TV series No Ordinary Family, about a family who gains super-powers but aren’t super-heroes. Early reports had the mother (Julie Benz) gaining super-speed, but this interview makes no mention of what anyone’s powers are.

Speed Reading: Moments, Covers, Shoes, Rebirth, Brightest Day and No Ordinary Family is a post from Speed Force.