We saw the cover last week, and now DC has released the solicitation for Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #3.
FLASH FACT: Bart is back, but now he must find his way home.
FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #3
Written by STERLING GATES
Art by OLIVER NOME
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale AUGUST 24 * 3 of 3, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US * RATED T
FLASH FACT: Central City’s greatest hero’s darkest secret will be exposed.
FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #3
Written by SCOTT KOLINS
Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS
On sale AUGUST 10 * 3 of 3, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US * RATED T
Thoughts: Flashpoint #1 suggests that Citizen Cold isn’t the perfect hero he claims to be, and in fact the police suspect him of murder.
Also, the Rogues on here, for those who might not be familiar with all of them, include Fallout and Tar Pit alongside more familiar faces like Trickster, Mirror Master and Weather Wizard.
In yesterday’s Newsarama interview, Geoff Johns revealed that he and Andy Kubert are almost finished with the final issue of Flashpoint, and that DC would be shipping both Flashpoint #4 and Flashpoint #5 in August. Today, DC released the solicitation for both issues on The Source, along with the cover for #4.
FLASHPOINT #4-5
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE
Covers by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE
1:25 Black and white variant covers A by ANDY KUBERT
Issue #4 Variant cover B by IVAN REIS and GEORGE PEREZ
Issue #5 Variant cover B by RAGS MORALES
FLASH FACT: The war between the Amazons and the Atlantians has arrived. The battles between Diana of Themsycira and Emperor Aquaman will tear this world apart – unless The Flash can fix it!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because of its impact on the DC Universe, FLASHPOINT #5 is the only title that DC Comics is currently soliciting to arrive in stores on August 31.
Issue #4 on sale AUGUST 3
Issue #5 on sale AUGUST 31
4 and 5 of 5, 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US RATED T
DC is really pushing the “big changes ahead” theme, aren’t they?
Keep an eye on The Source today. DC’s releasing the solicits for all of August’s Flashpoint issues, one by one.
Newsarama interviewed Geoff Johns now that Flashpoint #1 has hit the shelves.
The writer talks about the new characters, and the presence of several existing, but obscure heroes, explaining:
I didn’t want to see the same old faces we always see. This is a different world, and it needs to be more than just “whatever happened to the A- and B-list?” It’s got to be some characters that never existed before, and characters that were at the bottom of the barrel who are now at the top.
Part of the reason for all the tie-ins is to make it possible to explore those new characters outside the scope of the Flashpoint story itself.
Like just about everyone at DC, he made sure to stress that the event will have “major repercussions,” though I like the remark he made about whether the story “matters,” since a lot of readers have expressed the feeling that an alternate reality story isn’t worth reading on principle:
The story does matter. It matters to the Flash and it matters to all the other characters who are in it.
And of course he talks about that last-page reveal and its implications.
The real surprise is down near the end of the interview. Responding to concerns about production delays (which have plagued not only the last few big event comics, but the Flash since Barry Allen’s return), he assured readers that he and artist Andy Kubert were wrapping up the final issue now, so that there’s no question that the whole series will ship on time. Then he added:
And you know, we’re shipping two issues in August. Issue #4 and Issue #5 both come out in August, which is cool.
I think it’s great to have four months of “BAM!” here’s Flashpoint! Here’s the story! It’s a great ride, and then we’re on to the next thing. I think it’s great that it’s quick, fast.
Yes, indeed!
UPDATE: Geoff Johns also spoke with CBR about the issue.
Following the devastation of issue #275 and the immediate fallout in #276, Flash #277 had a lot to deliver. Iris was dead and Barry’s mind was ravaged by a massive dose of PCP. He found himself aboard the Justice League Satellite, begging his friends and teammates to bring her back to life by any means.
This type of subject matter was far beyond mainstream superhero norms of the era. A drug-addled Flash begging the JLA to bring Iris back from the dead is a shocking turn for a character who was, less than a year before, engaged in stories about Golden Age comic books. Even more notable is that the change occurred while the title maintained the same writer: Flash legend Cary Bates.
UP TO SPEED: Flash has turned on his fellow JLA members, threatening to take down the entire Satellite with him! Links to research and artwork are included throughout this post.
DC keeps reminding us that this week’s The Flash #12 is the final issue of the series. But we all know that the series is coming back, one way or another. The Flash is one of DC’s foundational* series that only ever gets canceled to pave the way for a relaunch.
So we know The Flash will be back in some form after Flashpoint. But how?
Most likely it’ll be called The Flash, and as long as Dan Didio and Geoff Johns are in charge it’s a safe bet that it’ll star Barry Allen. The question is, will it be…
For that last option, I added the series up a while back and came up with ways they could launch at #625 or #630. There’s also the Flash #351 approach some people have suggested, which is odd, because it includes both the Golden and Silver Age numbers but skips over the last 25 years of Flash comics.
If Flashpoint is a big turning point for the Flash, they might go for a new title, maybe All-Flash vol.2 #1 (Gotta keep those titles in trademark!)
Who will write it? Geoff Johns could. He’s said he can do 3 monthly books, and with Brightest Day over, he’s committed to Green Lantern and Aquaman. But he’s also busy with his job as Chief Creative Officer. Could it be time for someone else?
How about art? After the way things went with this run, it probably won’t be Francis Manapul on the next ongoing. Scott Kolins seems to found a niche as the go-to-guy for “quick draw” Flash books, so he might return full-time. Or we might see someone entirely new.
When will it start? Most likely it’ll launch right after Flashpoint (or 3 months later to keep spoilers out of solicitations), but DC might run a miniseries first.
Secret Origin. Geoff Johns has said on several occasions that he wants to do Flash: Secret Origin, and at last year’s Baltimore Comic Con it was suggested that it would follow the second story arc on The Flash. (At the time, my guess was that Secret Origin would run through the main title while Flashpoint ran in its own miniseries, though that obviously isn’t happening.) I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he and Francis Manapul started working on this behind the scenes during Flashpoint, with Flash: Secret Origin launched as a miniseries after Flashpoint concludes. If that happens, I’d guess that DC will wait until Secret Origin is finished before relaunching The Flash again.
Kid Flash. At SDCC 2009, Geoff Johns announced plans for a Kid Flash series by Sterling Gates, launching in 2010 alongside the Flash relaunch. This was eventually scrapped, though Gates is writing the Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost miniseries. If it sells well, I would not at all be surprised to see a Kid Flash ongoing spin out of the event.
Speed Force. At SDCC 2010, Geoff Johns announced plans for a second Flash series, Speed Force, featuring Wally West and Bart Allen, launching in 2011. Most likely this would be a rotating cast like JSA Classified. It’s only occasionally been mentioned since then, and unlike Kid Flash, it doesn’t have as obvious a hook from Flashpoint…that we know of.
Chances are that we’ll see Speed Force or Kid Flash spin out of Flashpoint, but not both.
Flash: Secret Origin sounds like a good bet, though, whether before the new ongoing series launches or side by side with it.
*To use Grumpy Old Fan’s term for those books that are essentially cancellation-proof, since they’ve been in publication almost continuously since 1960 or longer.