Monthly Archives: November 2008

Gaslight Flash

There’s a whole community of artists who create custom action figures, often by taking a commercially-produced figure and modifying it through sculpture and paint. Sometimes they’ll simply convert it into a character who doesn’t have an official figure yet, but the really interesting ones are those that go off on a tangent and create something new, like this set of Victorian-style Justice Leaguers by Sillof, inspired by the now-classic Gotham by Gaslight.

Setting it in the 1880s puts it a little earlier than JLA: Age of Wonder (which had its own Flash), and while it’s still too early for aviation, the artist “went for the pilot look” with the Flash, as you can see here:

On a not entirely unrelated note, I’ve been re-reading Girl Genius from the beginning. The comic’s authors, Phil and Kaja Foglio, describe it as a “gaslamp fantasy,” or as most people would call it, steampunk.

(This post is brought to you by Google Alerts, bespredell, and the letter G. Image used by permission.)

Quick Thoughts: Twitter Through 2008-11-23

  • Retweet: Blog@Newsarama contributor Carla Hoffman & her husband were injured & lost their home in this weekend’s fires
  • Read this weekend: Harley & Ivy TPB. Quite enjoyable & funny.
  • Heroes: *sigh* Eclipses do not work that way!
  • Also: Wondering how much fanfic has ALREADY filled in the gaps in the Sylar/Elle scene. Afraid to look, but I’m sure there’s megabytes of it
  • Goal for tonight: Finish enough of The Batman Season 5 writeup/review that I can send it back to Netflix tomorrow.
  • Best search-term misspelling yet: “wally the movie”
  • Tim Kring: will avoid time travel stories “at all costs.” What power would he most like to have? “Time travel.”
  • 90% done w/ Batman S5 review. 90% done w/ Lightspeed review. I think I’ll hold them for a bit & focus on the new Flash issue this week.
  • Today: Hit comic store at lunch, jot down 1st impressions, groceries after work, review new Flash, watch Pushing Daisies, dig out Flash DVDs
  • Titans readers: Does Raven still have her empathic healing powers?
  • I was a big fan of LEGION 89 back in the day, but can’t decide whether I’m interested in this new REBELS book.
  • New weirdest search term: “sumo wrestler comment blog:.org”
  • Trying to figure out how best to link site to Facebook. Yes, on Saturday night.

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Speed Reading: Letters Columns, MK vs DCU, Wanted Trades

Comic Coverage looks at an old letters column in which a fan confesses her crush on Kid Flash.

Speaking of letters colums, Clandestine Critic talks about comic shops, including one that was once co-owned by Paul Gambacinni, the radio personality and former Flash letter writer who inspired the Rogues’ tailor, Paul Gambi.

The Continuity Blog looks at Flash #231–246.

Variety reviews Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

The Dork Review suggests collecting Cary Bates’ run on The Flash in two volumes: The Murder of Iris Allen (Flash #275, #281–284, #321–326) and The Trial of the Flash (Flash #340-350). The first volume would feature Iris’ murder and Barry’s subsequent battles with Professor Zoom, including the one years later that would lead to the villain’s death.

More reviews of this week’s Flash #246 at Men in Tights and Comix 411.

Catching Up: Messner-Loebs, Guggenheim, Waid and Van Sciver

Twenty years ago, William Messner-Loebs started a four-year run on The Flash. Seven years ago, out of work, he and his wife lost their house. Michigan Live writes about how his life has turned around since then. (via The Beat).

Another former Flash scribe, Mark Waid, talks to CBR about his arrival on Spider-Man.

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive “Full Throttle” writer Marc Guggenheim’s TV show Eli Stone has not been renewed beyond the network’s current 13-episode commitment. Update: Newsarama also has an interview about Guggenheim’s “Character Assassination” arc on Amazing Spider-Man

Flash: Iron Heights and Impulse artist Ethan Van Sciver, currently working on Flash: Rebirth, has started a weekly column at Newsarama, Your Time Is Now Mine.

Update: One more: Geoff Johns talks with CBR about bringing the Legion of Super-Heroes to Smallville.

Review: Flash #246: “Infection”

We’re moving into the home stretch, with the second-to-last issue of the current Flash series. Part 3 of “This Was Your Life, Wally West” is written by Alan Burnett with art by Carlo Barberi.

The book was originally solicited with a more story-related cover by Brian Stelfreeze. Normally I prefer covers that have something to do with the story over iconic covers, but I have to say this is one seriously impressive cover by Freddie Williams II.

Carlo Barberi’s art continues to work surprisingly well with the serious tone of the book (I’d previously known his work only from Impulse), and the cast list is combined with the issue’s splash page.

The threats of the Queen Bee and power loss take a back seat to a more personal story: Wally West faces the possibility that he might lose the love of his life, Linda Park West. Much of the first half of the issue is a look back at Wally and Linda’s relationship, starting with their first meeting as reporter and story subject at the end of the “Porcupine Man” saga (Flash v.2 #24–28), working through their tumultuous courtship, interrupted wedding, all the way through to the worldwide memory wipe between Blitz and Ignition.

The flashback is well-integrated with the main line of the story, as it brings up several elements that factor into the second half of the issue as the Queen Bee case takes center stage again.

Oddly, I noticed my local comic store didn’t have any copies of this issue on the shelf. I meant to ask, but forgot, whether they had reduced their order, whether they’d sold more than usual, or whether they simply hadn’t finished putting everything on the shelf. (They were still sorting through customers’ pull lists at the point I got there.)

Spoilers after the cut: Continue reading