With a Flash resume spanning a presidential election, trips to Hell, living clothes and a cosmic death-race, Paul Ryan’s work on the title is some of the most diverse of any artist to ever pencil those pages.

Starting with issue 119, a crossover with the Final Night mini-series, Ryan was paired with Flash scribe Mark Waid. From the Presidential Race storyline through Hell to Pay, Ryan was present for the return of The Top, Wally’s temporary relocation to Santa Marta and the raging comeback of the undead Rogues.

When Waid took a break from Flash in 1997, well-known writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar took over for a year’s worth of stories. The tone of the book changed with the reintroduction of temporal challenges, mystical concepts and sci-fi elements reminiscent of the Silver Age Flash, as well as the expansion of more recent tropes like the Speed Force and Wally’s childhood.

Ryan also illustrated Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Crisis architect Marv Wolfman, which tells the story of Barry Allen’s time on Earth D.

Previously an artist over at Marvel Comics, Ryan co-created the New Universe series DP7 and spent a notable, lengthy run on Fantastic Four. Most recently, he has illustrated The Phantom comic strip.

Recently collected for the first time, Emergency Stop and The Human Race showcase much of the second half of Ryan’s run on Flash.

Ryan answered our questions via email, revealing some of the process and his favorite Flash.

Q: You got one of the first cracks at the classic Rogues Gallery during a time when they were not used as frequently (outside of Waid’s Underworld Unleashed). Did any previous Flash vs. Rogues stories or issues in particular come to mind when you started to work on those scenes? Also, what was it like having the one of the first chances to portray the Rogues as the ruthless, murdering type? Even though they were under the control of outside forces during that story, a “measured” amount of violence and murder has since become the norm for these characters.

PR: I remembered many of the stories illustrated by Carmine Infantino that featured those wonderful villains. I had those comics (until my Mother gave them away…I forgive you, Mom) and loved them all. I can’t say that I thought of any specific issue when I was working on the Underworld storyline. It was more like an overall sense of nostalgia. It was cool to be playing in the same sandbox as Carmine Infantino. My wife, Linda, and I met him a few years ago at a Boston Con. What a nice gentleman.

The Rogues were gentlemen thieves in the sixties. Transforming them into ruthless killers was not comfortable for me but we were dealing with a new time and place. A grittier, harsher world that the readers seemed drawn (no pun intended) to.

Q: When Wally West was still living in Keystone but “working” in Santa Marta, you were portraying a Midwestern city and a Pacific coast one at the same time, sometimes on the same page. What went into making the locales appear different, and what was it like executing the siege of both at the beginning of Hell to Pay?

PR: Ah, yes, the Santa Marta storyline. I had plenty of reference on California from my trips to ComiCon. The Keystone reference was already available from previous issues. An interesting thing about Wally’s house in Santa Marta. Around the time when I had to design the house, I had a visit from a British fellow, Simon Powell, who wished to purchase some of my artwork. We had already established a relationship that started on eBay and I had told him that whenever he was in the New England area he was welcome to stop by and go through my stacks of originals. During his visit he mentioned that he was moving to Grand Cayman. He showed me a photo of the house he had just purchased. It was the perfect house for Wally. I asked Simon if I could use the image of his new house in The Flash. With a laugh and a grin Simon gave me the photo reference and bingo Wally had a home in Santa Marta.

There was one scene where Wally had to save someone from a wheat harvesting combine. I took that reference from Superman III.

Q: In the first issue of Emergency Stop, #130, the story centers around a time travel mystery and Flash’s solution to his own apparent death in the future.

In issue #133, the Mirror Master story features a prism-trap resulting in a rainbow-Flash team, as well as Flash sorting out the bizarre effects of the mirror world. When it comes to portraying non-linear super-heroics and Flash’s interaction with theoretical environments, what are some of the biggest challenges?

PAUL RYAN: If the writer does his job then I can “see” his vision in my mind. I simply put that image down on paper. Sometimes, with Grant, the stories were a little confusing but I muddled through as best as I could. Flash #130 was just such a script. I had to redraw several pages because I assumed that Wally was going to end up in the alley as we saw him at the beginning of the story. I thought the script read that way. NOPE! For some strange, paradoxical, reason known only to people of Scottish descent, Wally ended up in someone’s suburban backyard.

With regard to the Mirror World storyline, some backgrounds had to be redrawn. Not because I didn’t read (“see”) the images right. Grant decided to rewrite a section of the story after I had completed all the pages, in pencil, passed them in and was working on the next issue. It was not the best working relationship of my career.

Q: Your work ranged from some more street-level stories early on in the Santa Marta arc, to a confrontation with Hell, to the Silver Age John Broome tribute of the battle with The Suit, and finally Flash racing his imaginary friend across the universe. Flash’s powers and their implications lead to a number of story possibilities. What was your favorite to illustrate: the more extreme sci-fi or the urban, or somewhere in-between?

PR: I have been a fan of Science Fiction for many years so I like to illustrate that type of story. I got a feel for drawing the real world from my time on DP7 at Marvel. I like to draw those stories as well. I think putting a superhero in a real world environment works really well. We get a contrast, that we can relate to on just how impressive the hero can be.

Q: Can you talk about some of the differences in working with Mark Waid vs. Grant Morrison & Mark Millar? These are big names in comics, but the styles seem very different and Waid in particular had been working on the title for some time when you were working on Flash. Was the transition between teams difficult?

PR: I really enjoyed working with Mark. He asked Paul Kupperberg (Flash editor) to offer me the penciling gig on the Flash. Mark did some very good people stories. No matter how cosmic the villain or catastrophic the disaster it all came down to the human experience. He, especially, did some very touching stories about Wally and Linda. And he always turned his scripts in on time. When Mark left on a one year sabbatical from the Flash he asked that I stick around until he got back. That didn’t work out.

As I have stated Grant’s stories and work habits were a bit stressful to this storyteller. I never met him. We never corresponded in any form. Everything went through Paul Kupperberg. Rumor had it that Grant wanted me replaced right from the start. Kupperberg eventually did replace me and put Pop Mhan in as penciler. He asked that I stay on as inker because “The new guy needs help!” I walked. I think Pop lasted six issues. I have no idea why he left so quickly.

Q: Were you involved in the design of the Speed Force suit Wally creates during Emergency Stop, and the uniforms of the Justice Alliance from Earth D in the Crisis: the Untold Story one-shot? If so, what goes into creating a familiar-but-new look for such recognizable characters?

PR: Grant submitted a design for Wally’s speed force costume. It involved a helmet like Jay Garrick wore. It had the scientific symbol for Mercury (the element) on his chest. Visually it didn’t work very well. So I made up my own. I used the goggles to protect his eyes (like Impulse’s costume). The lightning symbols, on chest, forearms and calves, was indicated through use of shadows and I tried to make it as sleek as possible. No air drag.

I designed all the alternate costumes for the Crisis special. It’s been quite a few years since I drew that special. I don’t remember all the reasons for my designs. Aquaman’s design borrowed a little from the Silver Age and the Bronze age with a little Marina from the Avengers/Alpha Flight. Wonder Woman was pretty much the Alex Ross look. I imagined Green Arrow as a Native American. I seem to remember giving the Atom a sturdier costume with a helmet. I figured a six inch tall guy needs more protection than spandex. I did the same for Scott Lang (AntMan) at Marvel. Little guys need armor. Lots of armor!!

Q: You mentioned the human experience and Mark Waid’s ability to maintain that no matter the storyline. As a reader, this was always the reason why Wally was such an engaging character: so many of the best stories are founded in his relationships. If something reaches you personally in a script, how does that affect your work?

PR: If there is something in a script that touches me in a personal way, the assignment becomes more than an exercise in layout, form and shadow. With most scripts I can “see” the scenes in my head as I read the story. It’s just a matter of getting that down quickly in a thumbnail sketch. When a story touches me, I can feel the emotions of the characters. I felt that with Mark Waid’s scripts that dealt with Wally and Linda’s relationship. I experienced it, most recently, on The Phantom. Tony DePaul and I have been working on a multi script story arc dealing with the “death” of Diana Palmer Walker, the Phantom’s wife. Chatu, The Python, orchestrates the bombing of a UN building in Mawitaan. Many people die. All believe that Diana was one of them. The Phantom mourns her death and does a lot of soul searching about his role as Bangalla’s protector. Meanwhile we learn that Diana was spirited away before the blast and was taken to a prison in the rogue state of Rhodia. Diana suffers physically. The Phantom suffers emotionally. Finally, after months of traveling and fighting terrorists, he discovers she is alive and he breaks her out of prison. The moment when they finally meet again really touched me. I guess it must have shown in the art that day. Readers have told me that it really moved them.

Q: What is your favorite speed trick of all time?

PR: The windmill arm trick. I would add the vibrating through a wall trick but Wally seemed to have a problem with that one. Barry was my favorite Flash. He could do it all.

Interview: Paul Ryan Talks Flash is a post from Speed Force.

• Read the review at Collected Editions.
• Order the book from Amazon.

Review — Flash: The Human Race is a post from Speed Force.

Along the way, I’ll be contributing a couple of guest reviews covering the Grant Morrison/Mark Millar collections, Emergency Stop and The Human Race.

Collected Editions is a great site for news about upcoming DC Comics (and sometimes other) collections as well as reviews. The site also maintains the DC Trade Paperback Timeline. Last year they put together a Top Flash Trade Paperbacks list.

Flash Week at Collected Editions is a post from Speed Force.

Flash Features

Comics Alliance has a huge interview with Geoff Johns in which he talks about the emotional bases of the characters he’s writing, particularly the various Lantern Corps in Blackest Night. At the end he talks a bit about the Flash, and speed, and how easy it is to get caught up in wanting to do more, faster.

Crimson Lightning is running a casting poll for the Flash movie. At the moment, Neil Patrick Harris is the clear leader. Stop by Crimson Lightning and check in with your vote!

Flash writer Geoff Johns and soon-to-be Kid Flash writer Sterling Gates top this list of top five favorite comic writers right now.

A bit old, but I’ll blame the fact that I was at Comic-Con when he posted it: A Spanish Flash cover set Kaiser the Great to thinking about Flash v.1 #346 and how it sparked a drive to collect the Silver-and-Bronze Age series.

Related to the Flash helmet, @ValVictory made an interesting find at the Seattle Museum of Flight.

Wider World of Comics

Grumpy Old Fan looks at DC’s line-up and categorized its titles into three groups: “foundational” books that have been around more-or-less continuously since the Silver Age like Superman, Flash, Batman etc., “historical” books that run for a while, get canceled, then keep coming back like Teen Titans or Outsiders, and “new” books that come out of nowhere and disappear a few years later.

IO9 asks, what’s with all the undeath in superhero comics?

CSBG’s one-paragraph reviews include Flash: The Human Race.

Topless Robot has a photo of Two Dozen Awesomely Nerdy Cupcakes topped with symbols for the Flash, Ghostbusters, Autobots and Decepticons, Captain America, the Galactic Empire, etc. (via Robot6)

Indie Pulp: Mark Waid’s Irredeemable Ways.

The Weekly Crisis has launched a side project (with oddly-familiar initials ): SpiderFail.org, inspired by a mention in Amazing Spider-Man #601.

Added: Artist Cliff Chiang posted a tribute to recently-passed director John Hughes in the form of a Teen Titans homage to The Breakfast Club. (via @Robot6)

Added: The John Ostrander benefit auction at Chicago Comic-Con is tomorrow. If you’re at the con, consider checking it out. If you’re not at the con, take a look at the website: it’s got a huge gallery of artwork that’s been donated for the auction.

Speed Reading for a Friday Morning is a post from Speed Force.

Flash: Rebirth…

First, I’ve got a guest post up at The Weekly Crisis detailing 5 Possible Candidates for The Flash: Rebirth‘s Mystery Villain.

‘Twas the Night Before Wednesday’s J. Caleb Mozzocco (Blog@Newsarama) is more enthused about the collected edition of Flash: The Human Race with “Huge Silver Age cosmic action and huge stakes” than about Flash: Rebirth #3, “in which your dad’s Flash races Superman.”

Can’t Wait for Wednesday’s JK Parkin (Robot 6), on the other hand, is solidly on board. “I wasn’t wild about the first issue, but the second one really sucked me in. This issue features the return of a classic: Superman racing The Flash.”

Update: I noticed a post from 2007 on my other blog is getting more attention than usual, probably because it links Barry Allen and the Black Flash.

…And Beyond

You will soon be able to read Perhapanauts and Tellos on the iPhone. The two creator-owned series have strong Impulse connections. Tellos is a fantasy adventure story created by Impulse writer Todd Dezago and Flash artist Mike Wieringo — Bart Allen’s co-creator. Perhapanauts an action/horror/comedy created by Dezago and Impulse artist Craig Rousseau. I highly recommend both series.

DC Collector posts a sketch of a Jay Garrick figurine from the Eaglemoss DC Super-Hero Collection. It makes me wish I lived in the UK.

Silver Age Comics profiles Julius Schwartz, legendary editor of DC’s Silver Age who oversaw the 1956 revamp of the Flash.

Cartoon Flophouse doesn’t shy away from strong opinions in 5 DC Comics Characters Which Would Translate Better to Film Than Wonder Woman or The Flash.

A bit off-topic, Watch This Space wants to know which of several serialized stories on the blog should not return.

Speed Reading: Mystery Villain, Anticipation, iPhone Comics, and More is a post from Speed Force.

The Flash: Rebirth #3

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver

At last, the answer to the question that’s plagued DC fans for decades: Who’s faster, Superman or The Flash? Call your bookie and bet the farm, because you’ve never seen a run like this — and if speedsters keep dying at the pace they’re going, you might never see another one again!

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver). 5-page preview.

3 of 5 6 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: I’ve mentioned before that the question of who’s faster has been answered many times over. It’s always close, and if there’s a winner, it’s always the Flash.

Flash: The Human Race TP

Written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar
Art by Mike Parobeck, Paul Ryan, Pop Mhan, Steve Lightle and others
Cover by Steve Lightle

Grant Morrison and Mark Millar’s run with the Fastest Man Alive continues here! Collects The Flash #136-141 as well as a story from Secret Origins #50.

160 pg, FC, $14.99 US

Note: The story from Secret Origins #50 is almost certainly Grant Morrison’s retelling of “Flash of Two Worlds.” Pre-order from Amazon or read about it here.

Team books and more after the cut:

Titans #14

Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Mike Shoyket
Cover by Angel Unzueta(?)

Starting this issue, we begin one-shot “Day in the Life” stories. And this issue stars Cyborg! In the grueling aftermath of the “Deathtrap” arc, Vic Stone must face the very teammates he feels he let down big-time. How he deals with it will shock you!

32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Note: DC has a 4-page preview of this book.

JSA vs. Kobra: Engines of Faith #1

Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Don Kramer & Michael Babinski
Cover by Gene Ha

The new lord of Kobra has shown his true face of evil, and now the JSA stands ready to face Kobra. But the old tactics may not work against this new terrorist network. Conspiracy mastermind Eric Trautmann (Checkmate, Final Crisis: Resist) and artist Don Kramer (Detective Comics, Nightwing) take you inside the mind of Jason Burr, the diabolically clever Kobra leader whose goal is nothing less than bringing the world into the age of Kali Yuga. Set throughout the major cities of the DC Universe and wrapped in the gorgeous covers of Gene Ha (Top 10), this 6-issue miniseries sets the stakes higher than ever before for the Justice Society!

1 of 6 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Final Crisis HC

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Marco Rudy, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Cover by J.G. Jones

The year’s most mind-blowing event is collected in this spectacular new hardcover featuring Final Crisis #1-7! What happens when evil wins? That’s the devastating question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every other super being in the DC Universe must face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of followers actually win the war between light and dark. Written by superstar creator Grant Morrison (JLA, Batman) with stellar art from J.G. Jones (52 covers), Carlos Pacheco (Superman) and Doug Mahnke (Black Adam), this event defined the DCU and the New Gods for the 21st century and beyond!

240 pg, FC, $24.99 US

Super Friends #16

Written by Sholly Fisch
Art by Dario Brizuela
Cover by J. Bone

School’s out! But unfortunately, an ice pack of villains has frozen the city and stolen the summer! Will the Super Friends be able to stop this avalanche of crime — or will they slip up due to cold feet?

32 pg, FC, $2.50 US

This Week (June 10): Rebirth, Human Race, and More! is a post from Speed Force.

May 2009: Flash Presents: Mercury Falling (Todd Dezago, Ethan Van Sciver) will collect Impulse #62-67. That covers the 5-issue story arc itself as well as the one-issue epilogue guest-starring the Justice League, Justice Society and Young Justice.

June 2009: Flash: The Human Race (Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Paul Ryan, Pop Mhan) will collect Flash v.2 #136-141 and a story from Secret Origins #50. The Flash issues cover both “The Human Race” and “The Black Flash.”

The Secret Origins story is undoubtedly the retelling of the classic “Flash of Two Worlds,” (Flash v.1 #123) in which Grant Morrison figured out how to incorporate the parallel-world story into a single-world setting. Unless I’ve forgotten something, this volume and Flash: Emergency Stop will cover all of Grant Morrison’s Flash solo work.

It also lists the Final Crisis hardcover coming out in June, along with the Final Crisis Companion trade paperback, which includes all the FC one-shots (including Superman: Beyond, which started as a one-shot that just got too long.) No word yet on when Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge will be collected, but there are supposed to be more summer 2009 announcements later this week.

Trade Contents Confirmed: Mercury Falling and The Human Race is a post from Speed Force.

Frankly, I’m surprised they went with “The Human Race” as the title. I think “The Black Flash” is a more well-remembered (and well-regarded) story, particularly given the character’s recent appearances in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive — Full Throttle.

Now if DC will just start filling in some of the missing stories from the Mark Waid/Brian Augustyn run…

Update: Amazon now shows a release date of June 9, 2009.

“The Human Race” Finishes Collecting the Morrison/Millar Run is a post from Speed Force.

The stories had a much more sci-fi take on the character than had been seen since the Silver Age, and included:

Emergency Stop (#130-132): The Flash finds his own dead body, sent back in time from the future, and has to solve his own murder.  Introduced The Suit, the ultimate super-villain costume that came to life, draining those who wore it.

Flash Through the Looking Glass (#133), battling the Mirror Master.

Still Life in the Fast Lane (#134): A spotlight on Jay Garrick, the original Flash, as he fills in for an injured Wally West.

Three of a Kind (#135): Part of a crossover with Green Lantern and Green Arrow, in which the youngest members of the Justice League try to take a vacation…only to find a trio of super-villains is on the same cruise.

The Human Race (#136-138): Wally must compete in a galactic race against his childhood imaginary friend, Krakkl of the planet Kwyzz.  If he loses, Earth is destroyed.  If he wins, Krakkl’s homeworld is destroyed.

The Black Flash (#139-141): Death comes to everyone, even speedsters… but this time, Death takes the wrong target.  Introduced the Black Flash, who featured prominently on the cover of last year’s cover for Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (remember those Dead Flash Covers?).

Now, eagle-eyed Comic Bloc poster Lee H has spotted The Flash: Emergency Stop on Amazon, coming in January 2009.  There’s no official word yet, and the Amazon listing doesn’t include a page count, so it’s not clear how many of the issues will appear.  We may find out soon, however: tomorrow DC will announce solicitations for September, and they usually include upcoming collected works as well.

Update (June 20): Collected Editions reports that the book does include “The Black Flash.” Whether that means the entire run is included, or just the first and last arcs, remains to be seen.

Update: It turns out that the 12-issue run is being split across two trades, Emergency Stop and The Human Race. “The Black Flash” appears in the latter.

Morrison/Millar Run on Flash to be Collected is a post from Speed Force.