Monthly Archives: October 2008

Sales Slide in September

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ICV2’s sales estimates for September show yet another drop in Flash sales.

02/2008: Flash #237     —  37,719 (-  9.0%)
03/2008: Flash #238     —  35,606 (-  5.6%)
04/2008: Flash #239     —  33,741 (-  5.2%)
05/2008: Flash #240     —  31,944 (-  5.3%)
06/2008: Flash #241     —  30,810 (-  3.6%)
07/2008: Flash #242     —  30,325 (-  1.5%)
08/2008: Flash #243     —  29,647 (-  2.2%)
09/2008: Flash #244     —  29,180 (-  1.6%)

A couple of things worth noting: 1. Most regular super-hero series do drop slowly from month to month, with occasional jumps back up as big events bring new readers in to replace those who have left. (See “standard attrition.”) By that measure, the last couple of months don’t look so bad… but the series dropped horrifically from #230-237, leaving it at the dismal position of #82 on the rankings. 2. Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge has been outselling the regular series by roughly 2:1, though there was no issue in September.

Impulse: Mercury Falling to be Traded

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Collected Editions has obtained DC’s advance TPB solicitations for Fall 2009, including a big surprise in speedster collections:

The Flash (featuring Impulse): Mercury Falling

It’s been years since any of Impulse was collected (Impulse: Reckless Youth
), and that was only the first few issues. Mercury Falling, which ran from Impulse #62-66, was the major epic from the Todd Dezago/Ethan Van Sciver run on the book, and featured Inertia’s master plan, Max Mercury facing almost certain death, and Bart being forced to confront the fact that his mentor and guardian might not be around much longer, while desperately trying to find a way to save him.

It actually ties in quite well thematically with the recent stories in Flash and Rogues’ Revenge.

The title is a bit odd, considering that the Flash doesn’t appear in the story at all (that I remember), but it follows the same pattern as other recent collections of lesser-known characters, like JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Get the main franchise with the recognized name out there first, then add the original title of the book.

Update: Amazon now lists this as being released on May 12, 2009.

Flash Comics for January 2009

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Actually, there aren’t any Flash comics for January 2009, since the current series ends with #247 and Flash: Rebirth isn’t starting until March. But DC’s January Solicitations do list team books and events which will probably feature one Flash or another, and include the official announcement of The Flash Archives Vol.5, to be released in March 2009. Plus there are several collections that include Flash stories, and even an appearance by Impulse! Continue reading →

How I Would Open Final Crisis #4

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After weeks of waiting, Final Crisis #4 is only two days away. I meant to post this last month, but pushed it off to look up some numbers, and never got around to it. So, before it gets Jossed, here’s how I would open the post-skip-month Final Crisis based on what we saw at the end of issue #3.

(Spoilers for Final Crisis #1-3. I haven’t read Final Crisis: Revelations, so this may contradict or retread a bit.) Continue reading →

“No Momentum” on Flash Movie

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Today’s no-news story is so short that the trail of links will be longer. On Saturday, ShockTillYouDrop reported that WB producer Charles Roven “told us that there is “no momentum” on the comic book adaptation The Flash at Warner Bros. Pictures.”

Not a big surprise, frankly, given the last few bits of non-news about the film. (via SuperHeroHype, in turn via The Beat)

Flash Ending With #247

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With Barry Allen back, sales slipping, and a recent history of backtracks and revamps that makes a drowning victims’s flailing look stately, it was clear months ago that change was coming. Once Flash: Rebirth was announced, the only question was: when would the axe fall?

At the time the current storyline, “This Was Your Life, Wally West,” was announced, the story’s conclusion seemed a likely candidate. But #247 was solicited without any indication that it would be the final issue. Speculation started again, that there might be a single Faces of Evil issue spotlighting a Rogue, or that it might end with a blow-out issue #250, or might stop at #249, with the new, relaunched series combining numbers and relaunching with #600.

Today, DC Message Board member adohall posted that he received a letter from DC as a subscriber that Flash would be ending with #247, and he would need to choose another book to replace it on his subscription. Update: Comic Bloc’s Mark MacMillan confirms that he received the same letter.

It seems that Monday’s solicitations for January will have a distinct lack of Flashiness.