The Main Series

As 2008 opened, the Flash was just wrapping up the six-part story “The Wild Wests,” the relaunch featuring Wally West as head of the Flash family and introducing his super-powered twins, Iris and Jai. To put it mildly, it was not received well by fans, and former fan favorite writer Mark Waid quickly left the book.

After a one-shot by Keith Champagne, Tom Peyer picked up the regular writing chores and Freddie Williams II stayed on for the 6-part “Fast Money,” which resolved the twins’ super-speed aging problem and gave us a glimpse of an adult Iris West II.

The series wrapped up with the year, as Alan Burnett, Paco Diaz, and Carlo Barberi brought us “This Was Your Life, Wally West.” The four-part story arc looked back at Wally West’s career as Kid Flash, then the Flash, and his relationship with his wife Linda and their children.

Rogues’ Revenge

The Rogues’ Gallery were off-limits to start with, as they were off-planet for Salvation Run. Early in the year, DC released the news of Flash: Rogues’ Revenge, a miniseries that would spotlight them after they returned to Earth, going after Inertia for tricking them into killing the Flash. Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins would return to the speedster mythos for six issues.

By the time the series was launched, it had become Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, and instead of six regular-sized issues it was three oversized issues.

Barry Allen Returns

In April 2008, DC Universe #0 hit the stands. The book, which set up plot threads for a number of upcoming storylines, strongly implied the return of Barry Allen to life. Articles in the mainstream press made it explicit: Barry Allen was back, and he was back for good. (Actually, they tended to just call him “The Flash,” and made it sound like DC hadn’t been printing a Flash series for the last 23 years.)

Barry made his official return in Final Crisis #2 in June, in a final splash page showing him in motion, shouting to his fellow Flashes the single word: “Run!”

Just one month later, at Comic-Con International in San Diego, DC announced the upcoming miniseries, Flash: Rebirth, by the Green Lantern: Rebirth team of Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. The series is currently scheduled to start in April 2009. See also: what we know so far about Flash: Rebirth.

Around the DCU

Jay Garrick continued to appear regularly in Justice Society of America. He also teamed up with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #13, as they battled a nearly-forgotten villain from the late Silver Age: the Samuroids.

Wally West started appearing in the newly-launched Titans series. After a conspicuous absence in Justice League of America, he shared the spotlight with Wonder Woman for issue #20, as they went up against Queen Bee — the same villain who would headline the final story arc in this volume of The Flash.

Wally also made several appearances in Brave and the Bold. While his spotlight issue was released in 2007, he appeared as one of the original Teen Titans in a flashback story in issue #10, and in the present day in #12. Speaking of flashbacks, Teen Titans: Year One looked back at the formation and early days of DC’s main teen super-team.

And then there’s the 12-part Tangent: Superman’s Reign, which started in March. Wally West shared the first cover with the Tangent Universe’s Flash, Lia Nelson, and both Flashes have continued to play a role in the story.

Just about everyone has shown up in Trinity at one point or another, and of course in Final Crisis. Outside the DCU, the Flash has appeared in Super Friends and Kid Flash in Tiny Titans.

Collections

2008 started with a second edition of Blood Will Run, the first story arc Geoff Johns wrote as the regular Flash writer (with Wonderland he’d been hired just for the one arc), which added the graphic novel, Iron Heights.

The second volume of Showcase Presents:The Flash arrived in June, reprinting more of Barry Allen’s Silver-Age adventures in a cheap, black-and-white collection.

August saw the release of The Wild Wests, the first monthly Flash story arc to be collected in hardcover. (Previously, The Life Story of the Flash and Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told had been printed in hardcover, and aside from that only the Flash Archives series had received that treatment.)

TV/Animation

In February, Barry Allen appeared in the direct-to-DVD animated film, Justice League: The New Frontier (reviewed on my other blog), based on Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier. The movie debuted at WonderCon in San Francisco the weekend before its release.

In March, the Flash appeared in the two-part series finale of The Batman, “Lost Heroes,” alongside the Justice League. Season 5 was released on DVD in July, and reviewed here earlier this week.

Teen Titans Season 5, which featured Kid Flash in several episodes, was also released on DVD in July.

The DVD set DC Superheroes: The Filmation Adventures was released in August, featuring (among others) the Flash and Teen Titans segments from the 1967 Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. They’re certainly a different take on the heroes.

Meanwhile, a number of DC-based cartoons and TV series including Superfriends, the live-action Flash TV series the Filmation cartoons and others have been made available as digital downloads from such services as iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, and XBox Live.

Video Games

This summer, word came out that the Flash would appear in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The game was released to mixed reviews in November.

Back at Comic-Con in July, Sony previewed the upcoming massively-multiplayer online game, DC Universe Online. At least two Flashes (Jay Garrick and either Wally West or Barry Allen) appear in the game, which is being scripted by Geoff Johns and will likely ship in late 2009 or early 2010.

Flash Companion

In July, just in time for Comic-Con, TwoMorrows released The Flash Companion. The 224-page book covers the full behind-the-scenes history of the Scarlet Speedster, from his origins in the 1940s to the present day. The biggest part of the book is dedicated to interviews with and articles about the writers, artists and editors who have brought the character to life for the past seven decades.

In addition to the interviews, there’s previously unpublished artwork, articles about unusual facts — like the time one editor ordered two covers for the same issue, or the unused Flash — and of course, Rogue Profiles.

I’m still excited about this one because I contributed several of the character profiles — specifically, the ones for Abra Kadabra, Professor Zoom, and Zoom.

So what’s coming up for the Flash in 2009? That’s the subject for another post, and I’ll have it ready for you…next year!

Thanks to the Grand Comics Database for several of the covers.

Looking Back: The Flash in 2008 is a post from Speed Force.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1 (of 5). I’ve never been a big Legion of Super-Heroes fan (the only time I read it regularly was during the early 1990s “Five Years Later” run, which is not represented in this book), but I picked this up based on the hints we’ve been getting about Bart Allen’s possible role in this mini. Not surprisingly, it read a lot like Geoff Johns’ recent “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” arc, which I dropped half-way through. This issue seemed to be 90% introductions, just making sure the reader could recognize the characters, and 10% setup. Oh, and Superman: Good luck with your plan for dealing with Superboy Prime. You’re going to need it.

Questions: (1) Does this have anything to do with Final Crisis other than the name? (2) Has SBP’s multiverse-hopping genocide in Countdown to Final Crisis been retconned out of existence already, or can we simply assume that the characters don’t know about what he did between “Sinestro Corps War” and L3W?

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #6 (of 12). This issue is a pause in the action, as we finally get the explanation of how we got from the end of Tangent 98 to the beginning of Superman’s Reign. Oddly, despide the cover showcasing the DCU and Tangent Green Lanterns (though the Tangent GL gets the origin slot in this month’s backup), this is primarily a Batman story. It looks like, after the break, things will be picking up again next issue.

True Believers #2 (of 5). The miniseries from former Flash writer Cary Bates (more info) continues. After the first issue had the team exposing a kidnapping ring with forced gladiator games, the second issue exposes a police cover-up…of what appears to be Mr. Fantastic being arrested for DUI. (Well, technically, flying under the influence.) It continues to focus on Payback as the viewpoint character, and while she’s interesting, I’m starting to wonder whether there will be room to explore the other members of the team. Despite being right in the middle of Marvel-Universe New York (Payback works for S.H.I.E.L.D. in her civilian ID, the Fantastic Four are in this issue, etc.), it’s self-contained enough for someone like me who doesn’t read much Marvel. Easily the strongest book I read this week, and defintiely recommended.

Quick Reviews: L3W, Tangent, True Believers is a post from Speed Force.

The conclusion of “Fast Money”! The Flash returns to Keystone, making some bold moves to get his life and reputation back on track – with some serious consequences for his family!

Written by Tom Peyer; Art and Cover by Freddie E. Williams II

Note: This is Tom Peyer’s and Freddie Williams II’s final issue before Alan Burnett and Paco Diaz take over for a 4-issue arc. Aftet that, the series goes on hold for Flash: Rebirth. Personally, I felt that Peyer and Williams finally “got” the book and would have made a good long-term creative team, but it’s clear from sales figures that a lot of readers either didn’t like their take, disliked the Flash Family concept, or had already dropped the book and didn’t want to pick it up again.

Williams is returning to Robin, while Peyer moves on to Galveston and Marvel Apes.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1 of 5

From the moment Kal-El landed on earth until the end of time, the Time Trapper has sought to erase Superman’s impact on the universe. But the Legion of Super-Heroes have always been there to stop him. This time, though, even the Legion won’t be enough. The Time Trapper has found the ultimate weapon to carry out his plan – a twisted mirror image of the boy of steel from a parallel Earth long dead: Superboy-Prime! Who will answer the Legion’s call for help? Find out here as the Crisis of the 31st century begins!

Written by Geoff Johns; Art by George Pérez and Scott Koblish; Covers by George Pérez

Notes: Barry’s granddaughter, XS has been confirmed as having a “major role” in the series. It’s also been very strongly implied that this mini will feature the return of Bart Allen.

Justice League of America #24

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Vixen’s power issues come to the forefront as Vixen, Black Canary, Zatanna, Hal and The Flash pay a visit to Animal Man. The team must team up with Animal Man to battle a new Justice League villain – and at stake is control of the Tantu Totem!

Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art and Cover by Ed Benes

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #6 of 12

The secret protector of the Tangent Earth’s band of freedom fighters is revealed! And when the Tangent Superman learns the secret to traveling between worlds, the battle between the Supermen of two worlds begins!

Written by Dan Jurgens ; Art by Jamal Igle and Robin Riggs; Cover by Matt Haley

Notes: I’ve been having fun reading this series. Admittedly, it’s in part because I have fond memories of the original Tangent books from 1997 and 1998, but simple nostalgia isn’t enough — witness the Captain Carrot mini from last year and several incarnations of the Titans. It has to be good, and this series has been. I’d definitely recommend it, or the three volumes that collect the original stories. More info: Flash (Earth-Tangent).

This Week (Aug 20): Flash #243 is a post from Speed Force.

But there were also a lot of very good comics being published at the time, and everyone was trying new things. Sure, some of them didn’t work (like Bloodlines or Fate), but some of them did (like Starman). This list is going to be heavily DC, since that’s what I was reading at the time, but this is the decade that brought us:

And much more. I’m sure people who were reading Marvel, Image, etc. books at the time can come up with a list of gems from those companies.

Thanks to the Grand Comic Book Database for the cover scans!

(Cross-posted at scans_daily, which got a lot more traffic and a lot more comments.)

Salute to 1990s Comics is a post from Speed Force.

Meet Japan’s number one pop culture heroes, the Super Young Team and their languid leader, Most Excellent Superbat! Join legendary wrestler Sonny Sumo and super escape artist Mister Miracle as they team to face the offspring of the Anti-Life Equation! See Earth’s superheroes mourn one of their oldest allies! Witness costumed criminals sinking to new depths of cowardice and depravity as Libra takes things too far! Uncover the doomsday secrets of the poisoned city of Blüdhaven! Learn the shocking identity of the prime suspect in the murder of a god! And read on if you dare as Batman becomes the first of Earth’s champions to face the Fallen of Apokolips. All this and a spectacular return from the dead… Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones’ multiverse-spanning epic continues with bombshell after bombshell in Final Crisis #2 — “Ticket to Blüdhaven”! June 25, 2008. Written by Grant Morrison. Art and covers by J.G. Jones

Also Related

Tangent Comics vol. 3

Collecting more of DC’s Tangent titles, including Tangent Comics: Superman, Wonder Woman, Joker’s Wild, JLA, Tales of the Green Lantern, Powergirl, Nightwing: Nightforce and Trials of the Flash. June 25, 2008. Written by Mark Millar, Peter David, Ron Marz, Dan Jurgens and others; Art by Darryl Banks, J.H. Williams III, Ryan Sook and others; Cover by Jurgens.

The Tangent Flash

What If…This Was The Fantastic Four?: A Tribute to Mike Wieringo

This Week (June 25): Final Crisis #2 and More is a post from Speed Force.