It looks like Flash: Rebirth #5 won’t be out next week after all. Reader Perplexio wrote in to point out that DC’s website now shows a release date of November 18.
The funny thing is, I checked it two hours ago and it still said November 11. It’s starting to feel like I should check it on an hourly basis!
No change on the release dates for Flash: Rebirth #6 or the first two issues of Blackest Night: The Flash.
The current schedule looks like this:
| Flash: Rebirth #5 | November 18, 2009 |
| Blackest Night: The Flash #1 | December 2, 2009 |
| Flash: Rebirth #6 | December 23, 2009 |
| Blackest Night: The Flash #2 | January 13, 2010 |
It’s beginning to look less and less likely that Flash: Rebirth will finish this year. With no comics shipping the week of December 30, even a one-week slip on issue #6 will push it into January.
AGAIN!?
Maybe DC should reconsider letting Geoff Johns right more than half of it’s books at this point.
I think it’s been made pretty clear that Geoff Johns isn’t the one at fault here. Ethan Van Sciver is known as a slow, meticulous artist and owned up to the delay on #4 being his fault. I haven’t heard him say much about the rest, but it seems likely to be more of the same. Geoff Johns is also writing Blackest Night: The Flash, which takes place after Rebirth and is still on schedule. I find it highly unlikely that he turned in scripts for Blackest Night: The Flash before finishing Flash: Rebirth.
I don’t think it’s clear at all. A great number of books that Geoff has worked on over the past few years have run behind schedule. It can’t be coincidence that he keeps getting teamed with slow artists. Take into account all of the outside gigs he has (Robot Chicken, Smallville, The Flash movie, Shazam movie, Metal Men movie) and his convention hopping. I think it’s pretty clear that he might be a part of the problem.
If DC were pushing Blackest Night: Flash back at the same time, or if someone else were writing it, I might be more inclined to think that Geoff Johns might be part of the scheduling problem on this book. But so far, that hasn’t happened. Since Blackest Night: Flash #1 was announced, we’ve seen Rebirth #6 pushed back once and #5 pushed back four times. Meanwhile BN:F #2 has been solicited for the following month and #1 has stayed in place…even though Rebirth is ending after BN:F starts.
It doesn’t sound like DC is waiting for the scripts for Rebirth, unless he’s been writing the two Flash miniseries out of order.
Also, Johns has mentioned getting BN: Flash pages from Scott Kolins, so I imagine Johns is probably done that series already. Barring last-minute writing changes to Rebirth (and even then), I doubt he’s still working on it.
Although I suppose it’s possible he handed in Rebirth scripts late and put EVS behind schedule. Still, I think EVS is the problem, not Johns.
I think that’s exactly what happened, he handed in late scripts to EVS, who was probably already late. This book has been in the works for over a year now. As slow as EVS can be, I don’t think he’s ever been THIS slow.
I could be wrong, however. This whole thing could be completely on Ethan’s shoulders. I’ll be curious to see what his next project is. And who publishes it.
Why am I not surprised?
Great, well at least I have something to look forward to after my birthday.
.-= Ben’s latest blog post: =-.
Damn, I thought issue 5 was in the can by now.
I’m thinking we won’t see Rebirth issue 6 until February at the earliest given the track record right now. Aim low hopes. Aim low. Can’t be disappointed that way.
.-= ElfGrove’s latest blog post: It’s the Labyrinth! –Whaddya mean, “NO” =-.
I knew people were being overly-optimistic when they happily declared that we’d be seeing #5 soon…
Ah well, just so long as BN: Flash isn’t delayed.
The Fastest Man Alive in the slowest book on Earth.
I’m starting to think they just need to let go of Ethan and find someone else! I am so sick of waiting and waiting! How in the world do they expect to keep our interest if it takes 6 months just to get an issue!
Sincerely
The Burnt Out Fan!
Somehow I doubt dropping EVS at this point would make the book come out much faster. A couple of months ago, maybe, but now?
Maybe if they got Sergio Aragonés to do it, but that would look awfully strange in the collected edition.
Agreed. Fruistrating as the delay is, at this point we have to assume EVS will finish before someone brand new to the project could.
.-= ElfGrove’s latest blog post: It’s the Labyrinth! –Whaddya mean, “NO” =-.
Scott Kollins could probably draw #6 in two weeks time. I can think of a hand full of artists who would take half the time, or even a third, it would take EVS to finish. I can see now why the original colorist dropped off the book. Probably didn’t want to be embarrassed.
yeah but Scott Kollins wouldn’t be anywhere near as good and it would look like it was drawn in 2 weeks.
I like Scott Kolins, but the contrast in styles would be like recasting an entire movie for the last 20 minutes and hoping no one noticed.
DC has to weigh whether getting it out on time now is more important than having a solid book they can sell at Barnes & Noble and keep selling for the next however-many years. Change artists now, and that hardcover isn’t going to be as good as it would be if they stuck with the same artist.
They went the other way with Final Crisis, finishing the last few issues by committee, because the story was holding up the entire DC line. With Flash: Rebirth, they’ve evidently decided that there’s no reason it should prevent them from using Barry in Blackest Night, or Bart in Blackest Night: Titans, or Barry and Wally in Blackest Night: Flash, and the ongoing series aren’t launching until next spring anyway.
That takes pressure off the schedule, so it just comes down to whether they want to focus on the short-term audience or the long-term audience.
I was simply stating that there are a number of artists that can still get #6 out on time. Wether it looks like EVS’s work was irrelevant. Tom Grummett, Ron Lim, Scott Kollins. Do they look like EVS? No, but any one of them could have #6 out by the December deadline.
Sergio Aragonés! That would be hilarious.
I re-iterate that I’m so happy that Manapul NOT Van Scriver will be doing the ongoing!
Being a collector of the Batman titles as well as the Flash titles, I went out and picked up Adventure Comics #3 (because of the Red Robin cameo appearance). I love how Manapul draws Tim Drake/Red Robin and I’m really looking forward to seeing his Barry Allen.
this is just too funny now, i have stopped caring, my birthday is jan 9, ill wager good money that #6 is post my bday. should we veto the next rebirth? probably aquaman, i might do that and just wait for the trade if reviews are good.
I’m still expecting Flash Rebirth #6 on January 27th, which is my birthday.
As Kelson said above, Flash: Rebirth isn’t really holding anything up. Technically, it could have held up Blackest Night, but now we just know that everyone survives. I think the last remaining thing was that Wally’s new costume was supposed to debut in issue 6, and not in issue 5, but when it looked like there was no way 6 could come out before Blackest Night: Flash, they bumped it up to issue 5.
And Wally is probably showing up in Blackest Night #5 as well, so a lot is riding on the next issue being done soon. Otherwise, Rebirth #5 could be the third place we see Wally’s new costume.
*sigh* This is just getting ridiculous…
Ridiculous,beyond ridiculous. I wish Scott Kolins had been the artist for the series….
I love this series but waiting and waiting for the next issue is just maddening.
They now say 18th November, so I’m starting to wonder what will the ACTUAL publishing date be… ;D
How about a spoof comic:
EVS: The Slowest Comic Artist Alive
Or maybe, is there a Bizzaro EVS out there who actually would have finished Flash Rebirth #6 before Geoff Johns even got the scripts for Rebirth #1 to him?
Based on updates on his Facebook page I think Bizarro Ethan is sightseeing in Italy right about now. No Joke.