Monthly Archives: October 2009

Flash: Rebirth to Conclude December 23

Flash: Rebirth #6 (thumb) Once Flash: Rebirth #5 was pushed back to November 11, I don’t think anyone really expected the final issue to come out just two weeks later. Now DC has made it official, rescheduling Flash: Rebirth #6 for December 23. Merry Christmas, Flash fans! 😐

Dates for Blackest Night: The Flash have not changed.

Some interesting facts:

That’s 6 weeks after issue #5’s current release date.
It’s 12 weeks after the issue’s original release date (September 30).
Oddly enough, it’s 3 weeks after Blackest Night: The Flash #1 is scheduled to ship. (Thank you, DC, for not postponing it!)
It makes the miniseries 38 weeks, or almost 9 months, from start to end.
That makes it an average of 7.6 weeks between issues. The first three issues, which shipped on time, were 5 weeks apart.
Last year, the final issue of Wally West’s solo series, The Flash #247 was released on December 24. If this sticks, that means that two years in a row, a Flash series will have ended the Wednesday before Christmas.

Thanks to @kukheart for spotting this change. I’ve been checking daily, but he got there first today!

Baltimore Impulse Sighting

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Last week at the Baltimore Comic-Con, this eight-year-old Impulse fan was among the attendees:

Impulse Costume Impulse Costume Kid Meets Mark Waid

Caleb’s father wrote in to say that he’s been a big fan of the Flash ever since seeing him on the Justice League cartoon, and that they’ve read all of The Flash and Impulse together. They met several writers and artists who have worked on the series, including Mark Waid (pictured), Todd Dezago, Craig Rousseau, and Pop Mhan. Caleb/Impulse also made an appearance on Todd Dezago’s Perhapablog last week in his con write-up.

Update: Caleb returns to Baltimore Comic-Con in 2010…as Kid Flash.

This Week (Oct 21): Brave and the Bold, Halloween, Lo3W, Tiny Titans

This week the Flash guest-stars in Brave and the Bold with the Blackhawks. It looks like at least Kid Flash will be involved in the DCU Halloween Special. The hardcover of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds comes out, and Kid Flash appears frequently in Tiny Titans.

The Brave and the Bold #28

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art and cover by Jesus Saiz

J. Michael Straczynski (Amazing Spider-Man) and Jesus Saiz (OMAC PROJECT) continue their series of unlikely pairings with a match that spans the decades! When an experiment meant to alter the speed of light goes awry, Barry Allen finds himself face-to-face with some surprising allies — World War II’s legendary Blackhawks! But Barry isn’t the Flash they know, and he’s not even the kind of hero they need to help fight history’s most grueling war! What must Barry sacrifice to serve his country — and his world?

On sale October 21 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

DCU Halloween Special 2009

Written by Joe Harris, Billy Tucci, Jake Black, Franco, Adam Schlagman, Mandy McMurray and others
Art by Rags Morales, Joe Prado and others Cover by Gene Ha

Darkness falls across the land as the DC Universe faces its greatest horror in this Halloween special filled with all-new stories! Watch as Guy Gardner continues his quest to share Halloween with the cosmos and his fellow alien Green Lantern Corps members. In another tale, Red Robin finds the true, deadly meaning of the sinister holiday while overseas on his quest to find Bruce Wayne. Meanwhile, Bizarro receives neither trick nor treat in his own backwards celebration of the spookiest night of the year on his home world. Plus, 10 other ghoulish tales to fill you with fright this Halloween!

On sale October 21 · 80 pg, one-shot, FC, $5.99 US

Update: This special includes a Kid Flash vs. Mirror Master story.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds HC

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by George Pérez & Scott Koblish
Cover by George Pérez

Superstar writer Geoff Johns and legendary artist George Pérez deliver the Crisis of the 31st century as the Legion of Super-Heroes reaches out for help against a powerful foe they can’t beat alone. From the moment Superman landed on Earth until the end of time, the Time Trapper has sought to erase Superman’s impact on the universe. But the Legion of Super-Heroes have always been there to stop the relentless villain. Now, one Legion isn’t enough as the Time Trapper taps a twisted mirror image of The Boy of Steel from a parallel Earth long dead: Superboy-Prime! Who will answer the Legion’s call for help?

With ties to Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis and the history of the DCU, this tremendous hardcover collects the entire 5-issue miniseries and is not to be missed!
On sale October 21 · 168 pg, FC, $19.99 US

Notes: Not to mention the return of Bart Allen as Kid Flash…

Tiny Titans #21

Written by Art Baltazar & Franco
Art and cover by Art Baltazar

The first rule of the All Pet Club issue is: Please tell everyone you see today about the All Pet Club issue! The second rule of the All Pet Club issue is: Please tell everyone you see tomorrow about the All Pet Club issue! After all, it’s not just Pet Club — it’s Pet Club in space!

On sale October 21 · 32 pg, FC, $2.50 US

Flash Comics for January 2010

Blackest Night: The Flash #2

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul

Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins continue this must-have BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in!

The Flashes find themselves more tangled into Nekron’s ultimate plan than they could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, it’s a well-known fact that Captain Cold hates running. But when the Rogues of the past rise to claim those that still survive, he has no choice!

This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Scott Kolins), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul).

On sale January 13 – 2 of 3 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: The Black Lantern Rogues appear to be, from left to right:

Three of the dead Rogues have successors (four if you include the Rainbow Raiders). Two of them — Top and Boomerang — have died and come back to life before. Four of the surviving Rogues — Captain Cold, Mirror Master (Evan McCullogh), Weather Wizard, and Heat Wave — have also died and returned to life (Underworld Unleashed and Hell To Pay).

Team books and events after the cut.

Continue reading →

If You Could Only Buy Three Comics…

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A few weeks ago I talked about decluttering the pull list. Over the weekend, noscans_daily took things it a bit further, asking people to consider how they’d cut down to three titles. I didn’t properly do the suitcase test last time, since I approached it from the “What can I drop?” perspective instead of “What do I have to keep?” but a specific number — however harsh — really puts things into perspective.

If I had to cut it to three, I think I’d go for:

The Unwritten – My favorite new series of the year. I’m always a sucker for stories about stories, and this one’s holding up well.
Madame Xanadu – My favorite new series of last year. I never had any interest in the character before, but casting her as a magical detective/troubleshooter rather than simply fortune teller, and making it possible to tell stories anywhere from Arthurian times to the present, has made this
The Unknown – Mystery, a protagonist whose key feature is intelligence, and exploring the boundary between science and the supernatural — or at least what seems to be supernatural to us. This is currently on its second 4-issue miniseries, and Mark Waid said at Long Beach Comic-Con that he could see it going for 3 or 4 minis depending on how long they can keep the artist.

The other more-or-less regular books, not counting miniseries with only one issue left:

Flash: Rebirth – At this point I’d be perfectly willing to wait until they launch the ongoing next year, by which time The Unknown should be finished. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I’m looking forward to Blackest Night: The Flash, which will overlap. But just based on what’s in progress now, I’d drop it if I had to. (Of course, since I run a Flash fan site, that’s not really an option!)
Fallen Angel – This would be the hardest one to cut. If I were choosing my top 4 instead of top 3, it would definitely be in there.
Astro City – I can wait for the trade on this one.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – I’m pretty far behind on this, which should tell me something.
Dynamo 5 – It’s the best superhero book I’ve read in a while, but I’ve also been losing interest in superheroes.
Farscape – I’m waiting until each mini finishes to read it anyway, so I may as well trade-wait.
Wheel of Time – I half-suspect this is on hold anyway.

The surprise for me was finding that neither Flash nor Fallen Angel — two books which have been my #1 favorites at various times in the last few years — quite made the cut. I hope this will change once the ongoing Flash and Kid Flash series launch.

So…If you had to buy only three comics a month, what would you choose?

Quick Thoughts: Weekly Twitter for 2009-10-18

Still no plans to change Wally’s name…just like the last 500 times the question’s been asked. (via @SpeedsterSite)
Weird: A collected edition of Man-Eating Cow and Chainsaw Vigilante (from The Tick) is coming out this week.
Spam on a list of comics shipping one week: “For the most part I agree with what you are stating here.” What, you agree that they shipped?
I know I should be angry or disappointed about this [yet another delay], but it’s gotten to the point where it’s so ridiculous that it’s amusing.
I think I’ve fixed the plugin conflict w/ the URL shortener. Please let me know if this link breaks: https://speedforce.org/6129 Thanks!
RT @lol_spam: Spam subject of the day here! “Teh internets wait”
Useful: Mozilla Plugin Check. It solved a problem I had with the other kind of Flash.
Comics fans worth reading: @SpeedsterSite @liabrown1 @ComicBookLegacy @tftlongbox #FollowFriday
I used to check monthly for schedule changes. Then weekly. Now I’m looking daily. Sometimes I forget I’ve already looked & check twice a day
RT @lol_spam: I think I read that in Scott Pilgrim… RT @absweetmarie: Spam subject line du jour: “Vegan attack in Manhattan.”
Is it just me, or is Wizard World acting self-destructive? RT @Robot6: NYCC staffers kicked out of Big Apple Comic Con
Watching Conan the Destroyer. I’ve decided the crystal castle should be Kryptonian.

Speed Force

Tracking the Flash – the Fastest Man Alive