Monthly Archives: June 2009

Flash News from Wizard World and HeroesCon (Updated)

A few interesting notes from this weekend’s conventions, HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina and WizardWorld Philadelphia.

Wednesday Comics

Newsarama’s writeup of DC Nation at HeroesCon has the most direct Flash news. Ian Sattler showed of a copy of Wednesday Comics and talked about the series:

Sattler said that the Flash story features Flash Comics on the top of the page and Iris West Comics on the bottom half, but halfway through the story, the two meet and join, as the Flash literally and figuratively “runs” into Iris’ story.

I love this idea. It’s the kind of thing that only really makes sense in a comic-book format, as well. If you did it as a movie, it would just be alternating scenes with each protagonist until they meet.

Kid Flash

Newsarama also says that when a fan asked Ethan Van Sciver why Superboy gets a new series but Kid Flash doesn’t, the artist responded, “We’re going to make you so happy in Rebirth.”

From the way it was presented, it sounds like a non-sequitur. Presumably he means that Bart Allen will have a bigger role in the second half of the miniseries. I don’t really expect to turn to the last page of issue #6 and see a Kid Flash series announced, though certainly stranger things have happened.

The other item of interest comes from Wizard World Philadelpha. CBR’s writeup of Philly’s DC Nation included a segment in which Dan Didio talked about Teen Titans.

DiDio said fans will start seeing a more stable team starting with issue #75, adding that a “couple of returning characters are going to be coming back in”

Now, I’m probably reading too much into this, but Superboy and Kid Flash both returned pretty recently. How many Teen Titans readers would like to see them back on the team?

Following Through

Update: CBR’s article on HeroesCon’s DC Nation has a few details missing from the Newsarama version.

First, Ethan Van Sciver talked more about Flash: Rebirth:

“It’s the best thing to be doing right now,” Van Sciver said. “Geoff Johns and I have a very large vision for these characters.” He said they’re planting “little tentpoles” and have big plans for Bart Allen.

This puts the other remark about Bart into context…though of course, what those plans might be remain in the “wait and see” corner.

A fan also asked EVS about the fate of Rival, and he simply said, “What happens in the Speed Force stays in the Speed Force.”

Another fan wanted Barry Allen to wear bow ties in Justice League of America, but new artist Mark Bagley declined, saying he (Bagley? Barry?) “doesn’t own a single tie.”

Seriously, what is it with the bow tie?

Speed Reading — Flash: Rebirth #3 Review Roundup

It’s been a week since Flash: Rebirth #3 arrived in stores. Here’s a round-up of reviews I’ve found online.

Flash: Rebirth #3 VariantWeekly Crisis – “I don’t think this book is written for me or other readers like me. It’s clearly being aimed at long time Flash fans who would appreciate the return of Barry and could draw on emotional baggage associated with his Silver Age stories to carry an otherwise unremarkable issue.”

Ryan the Iowan at the Weekly Crisis – “a pretty issue that fails to engage me as a reader thanks to a lackluster plot, odd characterizations, and a ‘twist’ ending that feels pretty played out.”

Comic Book Revolution – “I would not recommend Flash: Rebirth to anyone outside of hard-core Flash fans. I just don’t think Johns has made it that interesting for new readers. If you want a tightly written and exciting read then Flash: Rebirth may not be for you. However, if you love the Flash family continuity and history then this is the title for you.”

Flash-Back Podcast – very much liked the issue.

The Homeworld – “So, essentially, the book is now beat for beat just like ‘Green Lantern: Rebirth’….Now, don’t get me wrong: the book is still good. I’ve always been a Flash fan, so I am enjoying Rebirth, but it certainly feels like there is something missing, some piece of polish that should be in place but is gone.”

IGN – “The mystery is heightened, the characters sharpened, and the stakes upped significantly. I can’t wait to see where the ride takes us next.”

Comic Book Resources – “for every great moment we get a few that don’t work at all. It’s certainly not a lumbering, slow comic, but its speedy pace comes at a price: we don’t know what its racing toward, or why any of it really matters.”

Major Spoilers – “It’s a puzzling issue, frought with doubt and darkness and portents of great evil, and I’m still interested in where it’s going, but so far this series just isn’t running on all cylinders for me.”

Mania – “After the sheer awesomeness of the last issue, I was really expecting this one to blow my doors down and it didn’t.”

Weekly Comic Book Review – “Ethan Van Sciver’s art continues to be absolutely amazing….Johns needs to stop it with the filler.”

Read/Rant (1) – “This is the best issue yet. As a Barry fan, I’m happy and touched to see Barry alive and running again. I just worry about the Wally and Bart fans. Johns has tried to please them, but I’m not sure they’re sold yet.”

Read/Rant (2) – “Flash Rebirth just feels like a jumble of scenes that pander to hard core Flash fans. But even on that level, I think the book misses it’s mark. It’s a Barry Allen book featuring a character who doesn’t act very much like Barry Allen and it requires extensive knowledge of the Wally West Flash run.”

POW Comics – “it’s a comic about the Fastest Man Alive, I can’t help but feel like the plot is dragging and almost going nowhere.”

Legion of Super-Nerds Clubhouse – “I think at the end of the day the Flash legacy has become so bogged down in continuity that the character can be a turn-off to new readers.”

Bureau 42 – “a few nice moments, but if we don’t start to see more of the old, heroic Barry soon I’m going to start losing interest.”

Clever Name – “Finally this book picks up, but my main problem still hinders my enjoyment of this book….I’m just not that big of a Flash fan.”

Reilly2040 – “I’m glad to see things pick up pace over the slow first two issues, and I’m definitely feeling a bit more into the storyline this issue than last.”

T’Pull’s Weekly DC Comics Reviews – “this is a beautifully drawn book, and if you just nod and smile at their attempted explanations, the rest of it reads well.”

Comic Book Bin – “The only bothersome part for me is the way another super-speedster was killed off rather casually, just to show how ‘bad’ the supervillain is. Oh well, guess they need more Black Lanterns.”

Comix 411 – “I’m enjoying this series so far. It’s not been the best Flash storyline I’ve ever read, but its a good story by Geoff Johns and amazing artwork by Ethan Van Sciver.”

Panels on Pages – “Despite not knowing much about Barry outside of his reputation, I have become riveted by him in this mini-series thanks to Johns and Sciver.”

Dead Brain – “Van Sciver’s art adeptly portrays a body shaken by intense high velocity in the second half of the book; although, some of the fluid panels are marred with clunky flashback segments…”

Giant Killer Squid – “Johns has a gift for keeping me into the story even if it is a little worn out. The thing that stands out above the rest on this series is the art by Ethan Van Sciver.”

Comic Per Day – “what Johns has given us is a neat little story about a guy who thinks his time has passed.”

And of course there’s my own review of the issue.

This Week (June 17): Superman/Batman, Tiny Titans

It’s a light week for regular Flash appearances, but we’ve got two alternate reality versions available:

Superman/Batman #61

Superman/Batman #61Written by Michael Green & Mike Johnson
Art and cover by Francis Manapul

It’s the action-packed finale of “Mash-Up”! Superman and Batman team with the Justice Titans to take down the worst villains in Gothamopolis! But who is the hidden mastermind behind this topsy-turvy world?

On sale June 17 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Tiny Titans #17

Tiny Titans #17Written by Art Baltazar & Franco
Art and cover by Art Baltazar

It’s Robin’s birthday party, and you’re invited! See what the Tiny Titans get him for the big day. Plus, Cyborg learns what continuity is and why sometimes it works against you. And join Mrs. Atom, Dot and Crumb for a day of shopping.

On sale June 17 · 32 pg, FC, $2.50 US

Rebirth Hangs In There as Sales Drop in May

ICv2 has published their table of May 2009 sales estimates, and it doesn’t look good — for anyone. The summary notes that comic sales overall dropped 19% from April to May.

Flash: Rebirth #2 was still ranked highly at #4 (down from #2 in April), but had dropped to an estimated 86,183. At first glance that’s a staggering drop of 15.8% — but since the entire market dropped 19%, by comparison, Flash: Rebirth is actually doing pretty well!

Flash: Rebirth Sales

Issue Rank Units Sold Change
Flash: Rebirth #1 (of 6) 2 102,429 +286.6%
Flash: Rebirth #2 (of 6) 4 86,183 -15.9%

Meanwhile, down near the bottom, the chart shows another 2,681 units of Flash: Rebirth #1 — presumably these would be the second printing, which arrived in stores the very last week of April.

Flash: Rebirth #2 is also still the third-highest monthly sales a Flash book has pulled in the last decade.

Top Flash Books since 2000

Month Issue Units Sold Change W/Reorders
06/2006 Flash: FMA #1 120,404 (+196.8%) [126,741]
04/2009 Flash: Rebirth #1 102,429 (+286.6%) [105,110]
05/2009 Flash: Rebirth #2 86,183 (-15.9%)
07/2006 Flash: FMA #2 77,487 (- 35.6%) [ 82,501]
07/2007 All Flash #1 78,955 (+ 2.7%)
06/2007 Flash: FMA #13 76,860 (+ 60.8%) [ 82,767]
08/2007 Flash #231 72,898 (- 7.7%)

These are Flash issues that sold more than 70,000 units over the past few years. (Even Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge maxed out around 62K.) Interestingly, these top issues are all the first and second issues of a relaunch, with one exception: Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, the final issue of that series, in which Bart Allen was killed.

Speeding for a Year

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a year since I launched Speed Force!

Flash in Limbo

June 2008 was a very uncertain time for Flash fans.

Over the previous two years, DC had changed Flashes twice and creative teams four times. Sharp sales spikes with each relaunch were followed by sharp drops as readers rejected each new direction. Bart Allen was dead. Wally West‘s revived series, already on its second writer and artist, continued to shed readers at an alarming rate.

It had become clear that the Infinite Crisis relaunch had completely derailed the book.

And then there was Barry Allen. DC had announced his return in April when they released DC Universe #0 (which very heavily hints that it’s narrated by Barry Allen)…but after mearly two months, he hadn’t actually appeared on-panel anywhere. Fans weren’t even sure they believed DC when they said he was back for good.

Still, with sales continuing to drop and the apparent return of an earlier Flash, DC was obviously planning another relaunch. It was just a question of when the hammer would fall, and who would wield it.

There were two bright spots:

  • Barry Allen’s fans knew he was returning…sometime.
  • Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge was coming up, reuniting the fan-favorite team of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins.

Jumping Into the Deep End

So what on Earth-Prime made me think that was a good time to launch a blog about the Flash?

Well, the idea had been kicking around in my head for a few months, just as a better place to post news. If I’d been on Twitter at the time, I might have just stuck with that. I had the domain already. I’d picked it up the previous year when I noticed it was available, and hadn’t figured out what to do with it yet.

The trigger was reading about the plans to release a Morrison/Millar Flash collection (or, rather, collections as it’s turned out). I installed a new copy of WordPress on a Sunday afternoon, picked a theme, wrote an intro post and then posted the news.

Running Commentary

Over the past year I’ve made more than 500 posts here. I’ve collected news (and on occasion broken it), reviewed more than a dozen comics, written opinion pieces and the occasional rant, promoted a book, reported on two conventions, done a couple of guest posts and participated in a group April Fool’s joke. I’ve gotten to know (virtually) a bunch of commenters and bloggers, some of whom I’d read or corresponded with before, many of them new. I’ve expanded the site onto Twitter and Facebook.

Meanwhile, as DC announced a new focus on the Flash in Flash: Rebirth, other people started launching Flash websites: Crimson Lightning returned from hiatus. Speedster Site launched a dedicated Flash forum. Tom vs. JLA transformed itself into Tom vs. the Flash, reviewing old Silver-Age Flash comics. The Flash-Back Podcast launched with an eye toward covering Flash: Rebirth, and there’s even a set of Flash: Rebirth Annotations.

It’s been a heck of a year, even if it has kept me really busy, between writing here and keeping up with everyone else. Thanks to all the readers, commenters, linkers, and fellow bloggers out there!

Flash Comics for September 2009

DC’s full solicitations for September are up at CBR and elsewhere, and it’s a slightly lighter month for the Flash. (Quitting the Justice League will do that.) Though it does have the conclusions of both The Flash: Rebirth and the Flash feature in Wednesday Comics.

The Flash: Rebirth #6

Flash: Rebirth #6Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver

In a battle along the outskirts of time, the secrets of the Speed Force have been revealed! The new archnemesis of those who ride the lightning is coming for Iris Allen. And the Barry Allen you knew is gone forever…or is he? What change does Wally West face? What destiny will Kid Flash choose? Prepare to meet a Flash Family that’s both familiar and different…and get to the starting line for the next epic adventures of the Speed Force!

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). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

On sale September 30 • 6 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Wednesday Comics, team books, and events after the cut. Continue reading