Monthly Archives: May 2010

Flash #3 Slips Two Weeks

According to Diamond’s shipping changes and DC’s page for the issue, The Flash #3 has been rescheduled from June 9 to June 23.

No changes so far on the schedule for Flash #4 or the just-solicited Flash #5.

Update: Flash isn’t the only speedster seeing delays. Over at Top Cow, the first issue of the Velocity miniseries was supposed to ship on May 26, but will be out the first or second week of June instead. Wouldn’t it be interesting if it ended up arriving the day that Flash #3 was originally going to reach stores?

Flash Museum for Sale on eBay

eBay seller “bflash” is selling a veritable Flash Museum on eBay. In what he has dubbed the World’s Largest Flash Collection, he has for sale over 300 rare Flash items, some of which I wasn’t aware even existed. bflash breaks it down for us:

When you think about the large Superman, Batman or even Wonder Woman collections and items that are out there, then you consider how few Flash items there are, it’s pretty amazing to think that there are over 250 separate and “Flash-only” pieces here and available all at once. This collection has been amassed over 40 years. Each decade and era of the character are represented: 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and now.

Let’s take a look at this massive lot:

*Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image*

Quite the amazing haul. The Buy It Now price is $12,500.00 and the starting bid is $1,000 with a Reserve in place. When a eBay seller puts a Reserve on an auction it means that the sale item has to reach a certain amount before it can actually be called yours. bflash notes that the Buy It Now price is much less than the reserve, and well worth it:

Along with the expected toys, action figures and posters, there are several “very high value” items included: a 1942 Pinback (excellent), a 1961 Vissari Halloween costume (MIB), a 1946 Wheaties Giveaway Comic (Fine – Very Fine), a 1965 Ben Cooper Halloween Costume (MIB), a 1967 Hasbro Justice League – Flash board game (MINT) and Kenner Super Powers Prototypes and “test shot”, just to name a few. Also, in the collection are items from the 1989-91 TV show – scripts, cast and crew items and advertising pieces. These sought-after items more than justify the Buy It Now price.

Personally I have my eye on that Tiger Flash LCD Video Game from the early nineties, but unfortunately he does not sell items individually. The entire collection has to be purchased all at once and the Buy It Now price of 12k does not include shipping, although he does offer Local Pick Up. Glen Antonio had an idea about Flash collectors teaming up to purchase it and divvying up the loot accordingly. Who’s down?

There is a complete list of the items on the auction page and a rough youtube video of the collection HERE.

The auction ends in 4 days and 19 hours so that gives us a little time to have a yard sale and take out a second mortgage on the house. I would seriously have to sell every item in my Flash Collection just to afford this and that might not even be enough. If one of you guys ends up buying this, please let me know. I’m desperate for that Tiger Game.

Good Luck bidders and Keep it Flashy,

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson

eBay prices on JLU Rogues 3 Pack leveling off

For those still interested in picking up the JLU 3-Pack featuring Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang (as well as yet another Flash) the prices of the set on the secondary market are leveling off nicely. The lowest starting bid is 15.99, which isn’t rock bottom or anything, but a far cry from the 60 and 70 dollars the set was going for only a few weeks ago. Not to mention that Target raised the prices of JLU 3-Packs in September of last year to $15.99, so it’s the same price as purchasing it in the store. Of course the difference rests on the final bidding price and shipping and handling versus gas.

JLU 3 Pack feat. Cold and Boomerang

Also of equal importance to note there appears to be a lot more of these 3 packs available, which is undoubtedly contributing to the lowered prices. Punching in “captain cold boomerang” in the eBay search engine under “Action Figures” logged me 13 results. Not bad compared to the whopping “1” I got late last month putting in the same search terms. As mentioned previously the lowest price was $15.99, which is practically the same when compared to Target prices, but there are still a couple sets going for scalper prices as high as 50 and 60 dollars. Hopefully they sit on eBay for a long time.

JLU Weather Wizard

Btw good news for those still on the look out for Weather Wizard. The Livewire, Weather Wizard, and Superman 3 packs have been very plentiful on eBay lately. Unfortunately the prices are still ridiculously high, with most of the “Buy It Now” prices of the 15 results ranging between 30 and 50 dollars.

This is a good lesson in waiting. I’m just too impatient when it comes to picking these up. At the same time though with Mattel’s poor distribution it’s sad that I automatically just resort to eBay and getting it asap because I don’t know when or if it will hit this area.

In any case good luck to those still hunting.

Keep it Flashy,

Devin “The Flash” Johnson

Flash Debuts at 100K

ICv2’s April 2010 sales estimates are up. Last week’s rankings from Diamond showed that Flash #1 was ranked #2 for the month, but what does that mean in absolute numbers? How were sales in general that month? (It turns out they were down 15% compared to last year.)

As it turns out, Flash volume 3 debuted at an estimated 100,903 copies, slightly behind Flash: Rebirth #1, but solidly ahead of the numbers by the end of the miniseries…and way ahead of the Flash Secret Files book, which only sold 37,339 copies. (Even that was ahead of the last few issues of the failed 2007 relaunch of Wally West’s series.)

Meanwhile, the Flash: Rebirth hardcover sold an estimated 4,405 copies in its first month, making it the #3-ranked graphic novel.

So how does Flash vol.3 stack up to other recent relaunches?

Issue Rank Month Units Sold
Flash:TFMA #1 7 June 2006 120,404
All-Flash #1 22 July 2007 78,955
Flash v.2 #231 26 August 2007 72,898
Flash: Rebirth #1 2 April 2009 102,429
Flash v.3 #1 2 April 2010 100,903

Promotion

It’s worth remembering that 2007 was a stealth relaunch. All-Flash #1 and Flash v.2 #231 were solicited as issues #14 and #15 of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, and DC didn’t announce the relaunch until Flash:TFMA #13 came out, killing Bart Allen, whose series had dropped sharply from that 120K high to a 46K low in only 10 issues.

By comparison, DC gave a major push for both Flash: The Fastest Man Alive and Flash: Rebirth. One spun out of Infinite Crisis, the other out of Final Crisis. (Heck, even this book spins out of Blackest Night and into Brightest Day. Wally’s relaunch was linked to Countdown. Seriously, Countdown. That’s got to have hurt!) DC shut down the then-ongoing Flash series for several months ahead of each launch.

Spike

I find it very interesting that this issue sold so much better than the last issue of Flash: Rebirth, which only pulled in 70K. Here are my thoughts on what factors might be involved:

  • Readers who like the Flash but were disappointed in Flash: Rebirth (like myself) decided to give the new direction a second chance.
  • Readers who were introduced to Barry Allen through Blackest Night decided to skip Flash: Rebirth and jump straight to the ongoing series.
  • It’s got a Brightest Day logo on it.
  • Orders were linked to a Flash Ring promotion.
  • And, of course, it’s got a big #1 on the cover.

Flash #5 Solicitation & Cover

DC has released their Brightest Day solicitations for August, including…

The Flash #5

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 White Lantern Variant cover by RYAN SOOK, FERNANDO PASARIN & JOEL GOMEZ

BRIGHTEST DAY continues with a shocking connection to the White Light as Captain Boomerang and the Reverse-Flash experience a bizarre event that ties them together. Meanwhile, it’s the Rogues vs. the Renegades with The Flash caught in the middle!

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

On sale AUGUST 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Other Flash-related items: the final two parts of the Justice Society/Justice League of America crossover, featuring both Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick. Currently they’re both in the JSA, but Jesse will be moving over to the JLA at the end of this story. (Also: how did I miss the fact that Cyborg is appearing in backup stories in JLA?)