Monthly Archives: September 2009

Quick Thoughts: Weekly Twitter for 2009-09-27

RT @karlkerschl: Posted page 9 inks from my Flash story! It was fun to play with all of the different styles on this one.
Interesting. Now it’s “Wizard World Big Apple Comic Con.” RT @WizardWorld: New Logo.
Can’t choose between Stan Lee and Jim Lee? Meet both at the same time at Long Beach Comic-Con!
One of the Flash’s Rogues must be on vacation in SoCal. Not sure I believe 103 degrees, but it is seriously warm.
Bought this week: Wednesday Comics, Madame Xanadu, Farscape, Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance. Of the 4, I’m only caught up on Madame Xanadu. I’ve got some reading to do tonight!
Funny Firefox easter egg: type “about:robots” into the location bar (via @Aeire & @IsobelWren)
Has Marvel ever called a Spider-Man story “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” or “Last Dance with Mary Jane”? If not, how have they missed it?
FlashForward: Sulu and Shakespeare team up to investigate a time-travel incident.
Huh. I have 1,234 posts on Comic Bloc.
Let’s just say I’m glad I only paid $1.75 to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. How do you make giant robots & explosions tedious?
Apparently, you can now buy Squee! in a tube.
4 of the 6 whenever-it-comes-out comics I’m reading are just 1 issue from the conclusion. 5/7 if you include Ignition City.

Speed Reading: JLA, Drinks, Ridiculous Villains & More

Some weekend linkblogging…

News

Incoming Justice League writer James Robinson will include a speedster on the roster.

Yes. I’m talking to Geoff [Johns] about which one it will be. I just have to make sure that everyone at DC is happy with the choice. But there’s a definitely one I have in mind, and I think you’ll all find it an interesting choice.

Blackest Night editor Eddie Berganza contrasts Black Lanterns against Zombies.

The Flash: Rebirth team of Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver are both on the WonderCon 2010 Guest List.

Apparently Mark Waid isn’t evil anymore, judging by the new website www.markwaidwasevil.com.

Fan Commentary

High Five! Comics has invented the world’s fastest drink: the Scarlet Speedster. In true Flash fashion, though, it’s not the first drink to ride the lightning! They’ve also put together a list of the top 10 “Most Ridiculous Villains We Could Think Of”. Two Flash villains — the Turtle and Double Down — make the cut alongside such classics as Starro the Conqueror, Polka Dot Man, and Turner D. Century. (I am not making this up.)

Titans Tower Monitor Room has put together a list of Top 20 Iconic Titans Covers.

Comics and Geeks is tempted by the Uni-Formz Flash action figures.

Fanboy Power Hour looks back at DC Comics Presents #1, the first half of one of the classic Superman-Flash races.

Update: Crimson lightning ponders Wally West’s Last Stand.

Update: Today’s random flashback post on my other blog is a scan of a rather hilarious public service announcement from the 1960s, BEM: Ladies’ Man.

Flash Smash Crash!

Is There Demand for More Flash Archives?

Note: The discussion is from 2007, and while the Silver Age material has gotten a fifth archive volume, three Showcase books and the start of a Chronicles line, the situation for the Golden Age Flash books has not changed.

Newsarama reports that during the Q&A part of the DC Nation panel at this weekend’s Baltimore Comic-Con, a fan asked:

Are there more Legion, Flash or Justice League Archives coming? [VP of Sales Bob] Wayne said that when you get up to the issues that can be affordably bought by collectors the demand for the Archive Editions goes down.

Okay, this might apply to the Silver-Age material. The four Flash Archives books so far are up to Flash #132 (1962). When I was tracking down back-issues in the #133–140 range (the contents of a hypothetical book 5) around 2000 or so, I seem to remember finding reasonably good copies in the $5-15 range. (Better copies, of course, run into triple digits.) Note: Since this was originaly posted, volume 5 has been released.

But there’s still 8 years of Golden-Age material to cover, from 1942–1949: more than 75% of Jay Garrick’s solo run. And those books are much harder to find, with battered readers’ copies often selling for $40–150.

Moreover, those 8 years include the first appearances of every major Golden-Age Flash villain. Continue reading →

Flash Football

Flash: Rebirth Ranked #14 for August

11 Replies

IcV2 has posted their top 300 comics for August list with estimated sales figures. With no issue in July, Flash: Rebirth #4 still pulled a top-20 spot on the chart for August, coming in ranked #14. Sales estimates dropped below 80K to 78,107 copies.

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%
Flash: Rebirth #3 (of 6)	10	83,086	-3.6%
Flash: Rebirth #4 (of 6)	14	78,107	-6.0%

Most comics do drop in sales from month to month, miniseries especially, but my understanding is that they usually level out. Flash: Rebirth actually dropped more from #3 to #4 than it did from #2 to #3…despite the fact that, according to ICv2, overall sales rose in August, buoyed by Blackest Night and Dark Reign.

So why the drop?

Did the delay cause readers to lose interest?
Did casual readers drop it at the half-way point? Is that typical? (I’ve found I usually give a miniseries 2 issues if I’m on the fence.)
Did the slow pacing of the first few issues frustrate readers?
Is it because it’s the first issue to be solicited after Flash: Rebirth #1 hit the stores? I’d expect that to have helped sales, given how well #1 has done.
Did budget crunches force readers to choose between Blackest Night and Flash: Rebirth?
Is it actually typical, and I’m just reading too much into it?

I’m puzzled.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the matter?

Update October 2: The Beat thinks that these are “solid figures for a Flash title…especially considering that the property has gone through two failed major relaunches since 2006.”

Speed Force

Tracking the Flash – the Fastest Man Alive