Ain’t It Cool News interviews Francis Manapul about the Flash.
What have been some of the challenges having to draw a character who is basically constantly in motion?
FM: I think the challenge comes in thinking of new ways to portray his speed. I’ve been incorporating a lot of his environment to show motion aside from the Flash himself. From Barry catching Chinese food thrown in the air to putting money in the meter as he evades the villains. Geoff has also been upping his game by having Barry do different things with his speed from dissecting a car apart in mid air to learning and building an apartment in less than minute.
He talks about working with Geoff Johns, adapting his art style to the Flash, working for DC Comics, and more in the full interview.
The artist has also posted several pages of art from today’s Flash #3.
Not the point, but…
I am reminded, once again, that Bart built a simple brick wall at superspeed and was tsp tsp tsk’ed by the veteran speedsters (and a construction worker) because they claimed that such structures can’t constructed so quickly.
Barry builds an apartment BUILDING and it’s all good.
IIRC it was specifically that the mortar in bricks takes time to set, and until it does, it can’t support the weight of an entire wall. I think Wally was rebuilding a roof in the same scene, which didn’t have the problem because it was all just lining things up and pounding in nails. Oddly, I can remember that scene from ~15 years ago, but I can’t remember the type of building Barry rebuilt last month!
Of course, I think I’ve seen several Flashes cook dinner at super-speed, which would have the same problem. Even if you can cut up veggies in the blink of an eye, your stove isn’t going to get any faster.
Hmm, it seems he replaced a brick building with a stone one — or at least a steel building with a stone facade. I know sometimes stone can be used without mortar, but I’d guess a facade would need something to hold it to the rest of the building.
I like Manapul’s style but I still think that the color of Flash’s costume doesn’t pop enough in the book.