June 10, 2011
DC Comics is revamping their characters and entire publishing line this September after Flashpoint in what appears to be the largest-scale shake-up since Crisis on Infinite Earths ushered in a new era back in 1986. As you might imagine, here at Speed Force, we all keep an eye on DC’s output. The four regular contributors here have written up our first impressions of the new line-up. [Edit: restructured to break things down by series instead of by commenter.]
Justice League · Wonder Woman · The Flash · Green Arrow · The Fury of Firestorm · Aquaman · Justice League International · Mister Terrific · The Savage Hawkman · Captain Atom · DC Universe Presents
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April 19, 2011
On April 9, I attended the first day of the free “Fan Appreciation” show in Toronto. This is the first year it’s been held for the entire weekend, but unfortunately real life got in the way and the spouse and I were only able to go for one day.
It was a pretty good show, with some great guests (including Flash artists Francis Manapul and Ethan Van Sciver) and quite a few vendors selling comics and action figures. I managed to get a couple of Professor Zoom figures and a Flash figurine, and commissioned Red Robin artist Marcus To for a drawing of Captain Boomerang.
The woman waiting in line behind me for Marcus To got this Impulse sketch from him, which she let me photograph.
Here’s Francis Manapul working on a Wonder Woman picture for a fan. I also saw him drawing several Flash pieces, and he drew the Flash on a t-shirt which was later given away in a contest. I didn’t take any photos of the shirt, but the gentleman who won it did!
Alas, we ran out of money quickly (part of that real-life thing I mentioned earlier), and eventually left the show early. After leaving the convention, we went for lunch and wandered around some of the nearby streets before heading back to the car. And stumbled across this: the dressing rooms, washrooms, and hair/makeup trailers for the television show Flashpoint! The series is filmed in Toronto, of course. It was fun to see it given the name of DC’s imminent crossover.
And then we walked by Piper Street, so I had to take photos of that too.
All in all, it was a pretty good day for a Flash fan!
March 11, 2011
DC is announcing the remaining Flashpoint creative teams today at The Source. They describe it as the eight remaining miniseries and four one-shots, so it sounds like they expanded the line from 15 to 16 miniseries, and the two new series announced last week don’t replace anything previously announced.
Just like last week, I’ll put the Flash-related titles at the top, and update this post throughout the day. Click on the covers to jump to the original posts at the Source.
Flash-Related Titles
Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost Starring Bart Allen
Covers: Francis Manapul
Writer: Sterling Gates
Art: Oliver Nome
“Where is he? Or should we say when?”
Perfect: We’re finally getting a Kid Flash/Bart Allen story by Sterling Gates! I kind of hope the full title is just “Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost,” though, because the “starring…” part gets kind of unwieldy. (Not that it comes close to “Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Yet Another Subtitle.”)
Flashpoint: Grodd of War (one-shot)
Cover: Francis Manapul
Writer: Sean Ryan
Art: Ig Guara
“Africa belongs to him!”
Flashpoint: Reverse Flash (one-shot)
Cover: Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes
Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Joel Gomez
“He’s more powerful than ever!”
Kolins really has cemented himself as the go-to guy for Flash villains, hasn’t he?
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March 4, 2011
DC is announcing the creative teams and first covers for eight of the fifteen Flashpoint miniseries today. Each announcement comes along with yet another teaser.
DC seems to be announcing them alphabetically, but I’m moving the Flash-related ones up to the top because, well, this is a Flash site! So far we’ve got Citizen Cold, Batman: Knight of Vengeance, Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager, Deadman and the Flying Graysons, Hal Jordan (a new one), World of Flashpoint, Emperor Aquaman, and finally…Legion of Doom.
Click on the covers to read the original announcements.
Flashpoint: Citizen Cold
Covers: Scott Kolins
Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Scott Kolins
“He loves someone he shouldn’t.”
I was fully expecting Scott Kolins as the artist on this book — his style is perfect for the modern take on the Rogues. But I wasn’t expecting a one-man show. I really figured Geoff Johns would want to write the Captain Cold mini himself.
Going by the weapons and gloves, those hands look like the Weather Wizard, Tar Pit, Fallout, the Trickster and the Mirror Master…opposed to Captain Citizen Cold. Update: I have some more commentary on this one.
Flashpoint: Legion of Doom
Covers: Miguel Sepulveda
Writer: Adam Glass
Art: Rodeny Buchemi & Jose Marzan
“Whatever Happened to the World’s Greatest Super Villains?”
You know, I thought it was odd that Heat Wave wasn’t on that Citizen Cold cover…
Also, this makes one more book that I’m going to have to check out. Not because of Super Friends nostalgia, but because of Heat Wave.
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February 4, 2011
And the Flashpoint news keeps coming! In addition to the character teaser and the cover, DC announced a line of Flashpoint action figures.
Today, we’re unveiling FLASHPOINT action figures based on DC Comics’ superhero publishing event of the summer. DC Direct’s Jim Fletcher, Shawn Knapp, Evan Metcalf, John Santagada, Brian Walters and Bryon Webster have worked closely with FLASHPOINT writer Geoff Johns’ concepts and artist Andy Kubert’s designs to bring you four awesome figures based on characters central to the FLASHPOINT story.
Sculptors Derek Miller (Wonder Woman), Karen Palinko (Batman and Flash) and Jonathan Matthews (Cyborg) have captured the energy and excitement that drives FLASHPOINT.
Head over to The Source or…
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July 25, 2010
Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash, originally uploaded by Kelson.
I spotted this trio in the crowd on Saturday, but was too dazed to even try to ask for a photo (not that there would have been any room for them to pose). Luckily, I ran into them again in the lobby on Sunday.
I’m almost done uploading my Comic-Con photos to Flickr, though it’ll be a while before they’re all properly labeled.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
» More Comic-Con photos
July 7, 2010
Some links from the past week:
Update:
June 29, 2010
Today, DC released some major Wonder Woman news: a new costume designed by Jim Lee and a new direction for the series as J. Michael Straczynski takes over.
To sum up: Persons unknown have altered Wonder Woman’s history so that Paradise Island was wiped out 20 years ago. Diana has no memory of the original timeline, doesn’t have her full powers yet, and needs to survive, help other refugee Amazons, find out who destroyed Paradise Island and find out whether the timeline can be restored.
All-New, All-Different!
I’m always apprehensive when a new writer picks up an established character and the first thing he does is to remove some key element of the character. Like the Flash’s speed (Geoff Johns’ first Flash story, “Wonderland”). Or Superman’s flight (JMS’ first Superman arc, “Grounded”). I understand it might help the writer get inside the character’s head: what is he or she like without the powers? But it always feels like shoehorning some other idea onto the character. Why did you want to write the Flash if you didn’t want to write about a guy who runs fast?
That said, for all that DC is pushing this as a “new direction,” to me this description reads more like a major story arc. I mean, there’s an end point right there in the description: find out who did it and see if it’s possible to change things back. Given the timing of the comics themselves and the time-travel elements to the story, I suspect this is going to be linked to Flashpoint. [Update: Comics Alliance asked JMS about this and he said it's not related.]
Retcon Fever
It’s worth comparing to Flash: Rebirth, actually. In both cases, someone within the fictional universe has gone back in time and altered the main character’s history. With Diana, we know before the first issue is out. With Barry Allen, only long-term readers knew anything had been changed to begin with. It wasn’t clear that there was an in-story explanation for it until the miniseries was almost over. Even then, the prospect of undoing the changes was only floated long enough to be dismissed as impossible.
Most importantly: changing Diana’s history drastically alters who she is today. That’s a story. Once you get past the doom-and-gloom Barry of Flash: Rebirth #1-3, the changes to his history don’t seem to have made much difference in the present.
April 24, 2010
In case anyone wasn’t aware, one of Mattel’s exclusives for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con or SDCC is going to be Starro The Conqueror. How does this relate to The Flash? Many of you should be aware that Starro, the alien conqueror with the ability to enslave his enemies using starfish-shaped spores, debuted with the Justice League of America in the Silver Age classic, Brave and the Bold #28. As a special bonus to commemorate DC Comics’ 75th Anniversary, Mattel will be releasing Starro with all five members of the original Justice League. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and of course, our favorite scarlet speedster, The Flash. Take a gander.
Starro Packaging
Starro and the Silver Age Justice League of America
Starro Spores that can only be acquired at the Con.
Unfortunately these guys aren’t going to be released in the DC Universe Classics(or DCUC) line. The exclusive for that line has been revealed to be Plastic Man.
These are instead done in the Infinite Heroes style which is Mattel’s 3.75-inch line of figures. Think DC Universe Classics shrunken down to the size of G.I. Joes. I don’t think the line has been as popular as Mattel had hoped. A lot of this having to do with the quality of the initial figures. Limited Articulation (Which I actually liked for the most part), poor sculpts and sloppy paint apps have plagued this line from the very beginning. The figures have been more plentiful and easier to find at retail than DCUC, but I can’t say how much of this is because of collectors not really wanting them.
These guys don’t look too bad though. Mattel went back to the drawing board a little while ago and the results weren’t terrible. Not perfect by any means but they are heading in the right direction. I have been waiting for a regular version of the Flash released in the Matty Exclusive Crisis on Infinite Earths Infinite Heroes 4-Pack for a while and while I’m not ecstatic that I have to pay 50 bucks for him I’m still happy to have him. Honestly I’m sure they are going to release him as a single card later on, I really just want it now. 
The packaging is probably the coolest part of this set. Well besides the Starro Spores. But you can only get those if you go to the actual con or purchase them after the fact on eBay for what I’m sure will be ridiculous prices. You can’t see it in the pictures but the packaging is set up exactly like the cover of Brave and the Bold #28. Attack of the Show had an exclusive preview of all the Mattel items coming to SDCC, including this set. The awesome set up of the cover is shown in the first video which can be seen HERE. The segment on the Starro set is about 2 minutes and 18 seconds in. This looks so cool, that it may be the one item that I keep MOC (or Mint On Card, meaning unopened and in pristine condition for the uninitiated).
Can’t wait to order these guys. I may go the extra mile for the Starro Spores as they look too freaking cool to pass up. I already have a Starro-possessed Flash Heroclix so it would be kind of cool to have a large scale version of it too. Do any of you guys plan on picking the set up? At SDCC or from Matty later on?
-Devin “The Flash” Johnson
March 26, 2010
DC Direct‘s solicitations for November give us some definite dates on two great Flash collectibles. Blue Lantern Flash as part of the sixth series of Blackest Night figures and a DC Chronicles Flash statue.
BLACKEST NIGHT: SERIES 6: BLUE LANTERN FLASH Action Figure
The hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT action figure line continues with four awesome new characters!
Included in this sixth installment of the series are Hal Jordan, the personification of the Green Lantern Corps; Wonder Woman, who finds the power of love and joins the ranks of the Star Sapphires; Hawkgirl, who was one of the first heroes to lose her life to the dark power of the Black Lanterns; and The Flash, who couples the power of the blue ring with his trademark speed to carry the message of hope to all.
All four figures feature multiple points of articulation and include a display base. Character-appropriate accessories are also included.
4-color clamshell blister card packaging.
On Sale November 3, 2010
And
DC CHRONICLES: THE FLASH Statue
SCULPTED BY TIM BRUCKNER
The Fastest Man Alive kicks up a dust cloud as he slides into the DC Chronicles statue series!
This statue features The Flash of the Silver Age, Barry Allen, in his classic costume.
The DC Chronicles statue line has a consistent base, and the retro-style logo on the base further gives the piece a sense of the period from which it originated.
This limited-edition, hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain statue measures approximately 6.75″ high x 5″ wide x 3.5″ deep and is packaged in a 4-color box with a 4-color Certificate
of Authenticity.
Manufactured to order.
$ 99.99 US | On Sale November 24, 2010
I’m really looking forward to Blue Lantern Flash as it will look great poking out of the field of red and yellow in my display. I’m also loving the sculpt. Reminds me of Wally West from the first series of JLA action figures they released a few years ago. Perfect build, great sculpt and a slick paint job.
I’m not really a statue guy. I do own a few but rarely if ever will you find me anticipating the release of one. This one is no exception unfortunately. I’m not really in the market for Barry Allen statues these days anyway. And I would need a Wally in new costume as an action figure first. Hint hint.
—Devin “The Flash” Johnson
