Monthly Archives: June 2011

Jay Garrick and Wally West MIA in the New DCU…For Now

DC has officially announced 48 of the 52 comics being relaunched in September. The remaining books are sure to include Action Comics and Superman, and covers have leaked featuring Superman, Supergirl and Superboy. It seems a safe bet that unless one of the younger heroes is headlining Action, that wraps up the 52 series.

Conspicuously absent from the DC Reboot (from a Flash fan’s perspective): Justice Society (of the JSA roster, only Mr. Terrific has appeared so far) and the second Flash book, Speed Force, announced by Geoff Johns last summer.

While Barry Allen headlines The Flash and Bart Allen appears as Kid Flash in Teen Titans, there appears to be nowhere in the initial wave for fans to read about Wally West or Jay Garrick.

Factor in the emphasis on younger heroes, the implication that Barry Allen is still learning the ropes in the new series, and the focus on keeping things simple for new readers to figure out, and you have to wonder whether Jay and Wally even exist in the new DCU.

I asked as much on Twitter, and The Flash co-writer/artist Francis Manapul replied:

https://twitter.com/#!/FrancisManapul/statuses/78942736841060352

It’s neither a confirmation nor a denial, but at least the writer working on the new book wants to keep them around, if the higher-ups allow it.

Reportedly there are more series planned for the following months. We know, for instance, that Batman, Inc. will relaunch in 2012 after a hiatus to allow Grant Morrison to work on another project, and we know that Batman Beyond will be back, though it’s not among the 52 books announced for September.

Are there plans for Wally West and Jay Garrick in a second wave of launches? Have they been wiped from existence? Are they still around, sitting on the back burner, waiting for someone to use them? Are their fans (OK, Wally’s fans) still willing to wait after years of false starts, broken promises, and generally being jerked around?

Update: Dan Didio has this to say about the Justice Society (thanks, @SpeedsterSite):

AS for JSA, we have decided to rest this concept while we devote our attention on the launch of the three new Justice League series. As for other characters and series not part of the initial 52, there are plenty of stories to be told, and we’re just getting started.

So it sounds like the “back burner” approach, at least with Jay and the JSA.

Contest: “Where Was Wally West?” Week Eight!

2 Replies

With Flashpoint upon us, and major changes for DC Comics heroes on the horizon, Flash fans across the country have been asking the same question: “Where is Wally West?”

While we do not know where Wally is now, where he will be, or how long it will be until he is anywhere, we certainly know where he was! With that knowledge, we present the latest installment in our ongoing contest feature, “Where Was Wally West?”

On Wednesdays, we will post a panel or sequence from a classic comic featuring Wally West visiting an alternate reality, the past or a “possible future”. Every fan who can tell us the issue, writer, artist(s) and a reasonable description of the locale/era, by Friday, will be entered into a raffle for a cool Flash prize!

Just send your responses to this email address (whereswally at speedforce dot org), and we’ll announce the winner on Monday!

So check out the image below and ask yourself, “WWWW?”.

This week’s prize is a Barry Allen poster by Alex Ross! Winners must live in the continental US or Canada.

Kid Flash in New DC’s Teen Titans

32 Replies

Today, DC announced its teenage superhero titles, including the new Teen Titans series.

Tim Drake is forced to step out from behind his keyboard when an international organization seeks to capture or kill super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he must team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and a hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash in TEEN TITANS #1, by Scott Lobdell and artists Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.

Tim Drake’s actually named. That’s clearly Cassie and Connor. Not sure about the other two women, but Jim Lee mentions adding new characters. As for Kid Flash, they seem to be going out of their way not to name him. His personality sounds like Bart Allen, but the shoulder symbol is the one usually used for Wally West. Can Dan Didio shed some light on this?

All of these characters have history with the DC Universe that existed before the team is built, but it might be just slightly different. But I think in capturing the voice and the spirit of these characters, I think they’re exactly who people think they are.

Newsarama adds that it’s Bart Allen, which certainly fits with Didio’s “exactly who people think they are” statement.

I wonder if he’ll still be a time-traveler? If he’ll still be Barry’s grandson? He could be a distant descendant (the way the Tornado Twins originally were in the Silver Age), which would remove one of the problematic aspects of Barry Allen’s return (namely that he’s supposed to be ~30 and has a teenage grandson, and even though he’s capable of traveling through time, he doesn’t use the ability to actually raise his kids).

13 titles left. Barry and Bart Allen are confirmed. Is there a place in the new DCU for Jay Garrick or Wally West?

Update: Several people, including Craig MacDonald and Scott Mateo, pointed me to this second image, which appears to be the actual cover for Teen Titans #1.

Update 2: Live Pa pointed out that there’s some more info in the discussion on Brett Booth’s blog.

Heat Wave and the Legion of Doom (Flashpoint)

2 Replies

Comic Book Resources interviews Adam Glass, writer of the miniseries Flashpoint: Legion of Doom, about the miniseries and the key role of long-time Flash villain Heat Wave, who in the Flashpoint reality is “Cyborg’s greatest threat.”

I guess the best way to explain it is, this is basically Heat Wave’s story, and it’s a classic revenge story. Cyborg, who is the Superman of this world, is his target because he stopped Heat Wave from doing something he really wanted. In the process, Heat Wave received burns over 60 percent of his body and he loses his sense of smell and taste. So he can’t smell or feel fire, which sets him off even more.

The series starts out in a supermax prison, and follows Heat Wave and other villains as he plans his escape and revenge. Glass promises a “ton of action” balanced with psychological depth as he explores Heat Wave’s obsessions with fire and revenge.

Head over to CBR to read the full interview. Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #1 arrives in stores next week.

This Week: Flashpoint: Citizen Cold & Impulse (UPDATED w/Preview)

Two Flash-related books are out this week: The first issue of Flashpoint tie-in Citizen Cold, featuring a heroic (or is he?) version of Captain Cold as Central City’s resident hero, and a collection of the Impulse comics that introduced Inertia, Bart Allen’s dark twin.

Flashpoint: Citizen Cold

Covers: Scott Kolins
Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Scott Kolins

FLASH FACT! He loves someone he should not!

1 of 3, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US – RATED T

UPDATE: Newsarama has a 5-page preview of the issue.

DC Comics Presents Impulse #1

Written by TODD DEZAGO
Art by ETHAN VAN SCIVER, WALTER SIMONSON, ANGEL UNZUETA and others
Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER and WAYNE FAUCHER

It’s Batman vs. The Joker — with Impulse caught in the middle! Plus, Impulse battles Kalibak, son of Darkseid — and meets Inertia, the Reverse-Impulse! Featuring art by Ethan Van Sciver, from IMPULSE #50-53!

96 pg, FC, $7.99 US

A Brief Timeline of Flash Launches

5 Replies

1940: Flash Comics #1 introduces Jay Garrick. The series runs until 1949.
1941: All-Flash #1 launches, a second title featuring the Flash, running until 1948.
1956: Showcase #4 introduces Barry Allen, ushering in the Silver Age of comics.
1959: The Flash vol.1 #105 launches, featuring Barry, and runs until 1985.
1987: Flash vol.2 #1 launches featuring Wally West in the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths universe. The series runs until 2006.
2006: Flash: The Fastest Man Alive launches featuring Bart Allen. The series runs one year.
2007: Flash vol.2 #231 picks up where the previous Wally West series left off, and lasts another year and a half.
2009: Flash: Rebirth (miniseries) re-introduces Barry Allen.
2010: Flash vol.3 #1 launches, featuring Barry Allen, and lasts one year.
2011: Flash vol.4 #1 launches, reintroducing the post-Flashpoint version of Barry Allen.

Three major launches from 1940-2005 (four if you count Showcase #4 and Flash #105 separately, which I suppose I should if I’m counting Flash: Rebirth separately from Flash vol.3), with remarkably consistent creative teams. Five relaunches from 2006-2011.

Things have changed a bit…