Monthly Archives: July 2008

Flash Companion Preview: Mike Baron Interview

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The following is a 1-page excerpt from the new book, The Flash Companion. The full interview appears in the second section of the book. It is printed here with permission of the book’s main author, Keith Dallas.

The Flash Companion will be available at the TwoMorrows booth at Comic-Con International this week, and should arrive in stores either next week or the week after. Orders through Amazon are shipping now.

Mike Baron: Wally West’s Fast Living (excerpt)

By Keith Dallas

DALLAS: It seemed pretty obvious that during your run on Flash you were avoiding the classic Flash Rogues. No Captain Cold, no Captain Boomerang, no Mirror Master. Instead you introduced some completely new villains… with the exception of Vandal Savage. What particular reason did you have for starting this Flash re-launch with Savage as the villain?

BARON: I can’t exactly recall, but for starters, he’s a great villain. It may also have been that I wanted to have some continuity in that first issue between Barry Allen and Wally West.

I would like to do a lot more with Kilg%re. That’s my main character that I created for Flash. He and the Chunk.

DALLAS: What was it about Kilg%re that you liked?

BARON: He encapsulates a number of science fiction ideas that lend themselves to exciting story-telling. Dark Horse took a stab at it with a movie called Virus, which is very similar in idea to Kilg%re. It wasn’t the greatest movie in the world. It starred Jamie Lee Curtis.

DALLAS: I remember that movie.

Now what was it about Chunk that you liked?

BARON: He was kind of a projection of me. The ultimate nerd.

DALLAS: [laughs] It didn’t take you long to show that Chunk wasn’t a true villain.

BARON: No, he was just an outsider who wanted to belong.

DALLAS: Is that a sentiment that you felt perhaps the readers could connect to?

BARON: Oh, yeah!

DALLAS: The other two villains you introduced during your run on Flash were Speed Demon — the steroid monster gone crazy — and Blue Trinity — the Russian Soviet speedsters. Continue reading →

On Naming Devices

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When I first read Freshmen, I thought the name of the Ax-Cell-Erator — the device which gave the main characters their powers — was kind of cheesy. Recently, while washing dishes, I happened to look in the sink at the rim of the garbage disposer, clearly labeled In-Sink-Erator.

Okay, maybe it’s not that far-fetched a name…

This Week (July 23): Flash Companion & Alternate Realities

The Flash Companion debuts at Comic-Con International in San Diego this week. Also, the trade for Countdown to Adventure is out with a couple of alternate-reality Flashes.

The Flash Companion

The Flash Companion details the publication histories of the four heroes who have individually earned the right to be declared DC Comics’ “Fastest Man Alive”: Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen.

With articles about legendary creators Shelly Mayer, Gardner Fox, E.E. Hibbard, Julius Schwartz, Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Ross Andru, Irv Novick and all new interviews of Harry Lampert, Carmine Infantino, Cary Bates, Alex Saviuk, Mike W. Barr, Marv Wolfman, Mike Baron, Jackson Guice, Mark Waid,  Kolins, among others, The Flash Companion recounts the scarlet speedster’s evolution from the Golden Age to the 21st century.

Also featured are “lost covers,” never before published commission pieces by Flash artists throughout the decades, a Rogues Gallery detailing The Flash’s most famous foes, a tribute to late artist Mike Wieringo by Mark Waid, a look at the speedster’s 1990s TV show, and “Flash facts” detailing pivotal moments in Flash history.

[Note: check out this blog’s Flash Companion coverage for previews, podcasts and more.]

Written by Keith Dallas, with a cover by Don Kramer (Detective Comics, JSA) with colors by Moose Baumann (Green Lantern).

Countdown to Adventure TPB

Collecting the 8-issue miniseries spinning out of 52, featuring the adventures of Animal Man, Starfire, Adam Strange, the mysterious new character Forerunner and more! Can they prevent San Diego from being wiped out by the enigmatic Healers?

[Note: This book features several alternate-reality Flashes, including Lady Flash of the Conjurers of Earth-33, and the Nazi speedster of Earth-10.]

Written by Adam Beechen; Art by Eddy Barrows and Julio Ferreiro and others; Cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Justice League of America #23

It’s all-out Amazon fury against Amazo! Wonder Woman is the last Leaguer standing against the souped-up android — and the prize is Red Tornado’s body!

Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art and cover by Ed Benes

Rogues’ Revenge Gets Second Printing (Updated)

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DC’s Direct Channel newsletter reports that Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1 and Final Crisis: Requiem have sold out at the publisher. Both will be going back for second printings to be released on August 13 — a week before issue Rogues’ Revenge #2 arrives.

According to the release, the reprint will have “a recolored version of the issue’s cover by Scott Kolins.” Since the same artist did both covers (warning to low-bandwidth users: image-intensive page), it’s not clear which cover will be used for the reprint.

Update (Wednesday): ComicNewsi has the cover designs. They’re using the Captain Cold art with the sliver design.

Linkage: Rogues, True Believers, and More

1. Lying in the Gutters comments on Rogues’ Revenge:

If “Captain Britain” is the “Secret Invasion” spinoff that’s more entertaining than the series it spins off from, then “Rogue’s Revenge” is the “Final Crisis” spinoff that you can actually understand and enjoy, even if you have no idea of the continuity and characters it refers to?

2. CBR has an article on True Believers, the Marvel mini-series by 1970s Flash writer Cary Bates, including 6 pages of preview art. The first issue comes out next week.

3. Flash Companion author Keith Dallas has posted his San Diego schedule:

On Thursday from 3-4PM I’ll be a panelist on “TwoMorrows Publishing Today” in Room 10.

I’ll also be at the TwoMorrows booth (#1215) autographing The Flash Companion during these dates and times:

Thursday, 4-5pm
Friday, 3-4pm
Saturday, 11-12pm