Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are featured in a new interview over at Newsarama where they discuss the title’s next steps on the road to the one-year mark of the New 52. Within, the cover for the upcoming Flash Annual, due in September, is revealed. It features the first looks at new versions of Mirror Master, Heat Wave and a re-imagined Golden Glider, alongside Captain Cold, Turbine and the new Weather Wizard, forming a Gauntlet of Super Villains for the New 52 Flash.
Check out what the duo had to say about thematic ties to Flashpoint, the new, “crispy” Heat Wave, Weather Wizard: Drug Lord and the reintroduction of the Pied Piper (and much more!) after the jump…
The interview is pretty substantial, so we’ll highlight the big moments here. Be sure to check out the full version, including more on the Speed Force and other recent developments, over at Newsarama!
On their vision of the Speed Force, versus previous incarnations:
Buccellato: First of all, we wanted it to be something coherent and something that you can actually visualize and get a grasp on. So for us, a lot of it was practical. I think in the past it had been just, like, some blurry lines and speed force lines. And that’s really nebulous and sort of confusing. So when we decided that the speed force was literally going to be the forward motion of time and space, then we needed a visual representation. And that’s what we tried to come up with.
Manapul: The mechanics of how it works, even though this is new, it’s actually a combination of the ways it’s been explained in the past. It’s been explained as outside time. And now, it’s what’s running time forward. And it’s been mentioned that Barry Allen was the engine. And now, this shows Barry Allen to be the runner. So he’s still the chosen one. So we took a lot of the elements of the past.
On the possible lessons learned from Flashpoint:
Buccellato: We’re sort of saying that Flash innately learned his lesson from Flashpoint, like, without saying it. He just knows, somehow, that if you go back in time, you can screw everything up. It’s our little way of acknowledging the New 52 and everything that happened.
Manapul: Let’s be honest. We both gave a chuckle when he says, “We can’t go back in time and mess things up!”
On the Pied Piper, Hartley Rathaway (tip of the iceberg, here):
Manapul: He’s going to be a recurring character. He’s going to become part of the supporting cast. One of the things that Brian and I are really working on doing is having Barry’s supporting cast reflect the journey that he’s experiencing.
The conversation and the conflict that David Singh and Hartley are having are reflective of Barry Allen’s journey right now. But to answer your question, yes, Hartley will be coming back as a key character in the supporting cast.
On Weather Wizard:
Manapul: Issue #10 is Barry Allen dealing with the ramifications of all the things he just learned. So the issue really deals with the burden of this responsibility.
This will take our story to Guatemala, where Weather Wizard is currently residing. He is also reimagined a little bit. He’s a Guatamalan. And he’s currently running his family’s drug cartel business. And what happens is Patty’s inquiries and investigation lead her there.
On Heat Wave and (Golden) Glider:
Nrama: Before that, you have issue #11, which introduces the new Heat Wave. What kind of guy is he?
Buccellato: He’s a crispy guy.
Manapul: And Heat Wave hates Captain Cold. He hates him. He absolutely, absolutely hates Captain Cold.
…
I don’t think we’ve announced this before, but issue #12 focuses on Lisa Snart. She’ll be the last rogue that we’ll be putting the spotlight on before the Annual.
Nrama: Ah, the Golden Glider. Can you give us any hints about her?
Buccellato: Well, she’s not Golden Glider. She’s just Glider. And she’s the most different, probably, of any of the characters.
Manapul: But she’s still very much golden.
This is definitely one of the most revelatory interviews with the duo so far! Share your thoughts on the news and redesigns in the comments section, and check out the full piece over at Newsarama.
I hadn’t really thought about it before, but this is going to be the first Flash Annual since 2000’s Flash Annual #13, which was part of the “Planet DC” theme. (Send the US-based hero to some other country to team up with their heroes.)
Mirror Master seems to have the only costume still in tune with his original. However, is it Evan or Sam is the question.
This is all incredibly exciting. These guys really seem passionate about what they are doing. I’m psyched to see how it all plays out!
I’m incredibly…nervous.
Don’t like a crispy Heatwave (although I ‘get it’, just don’t like viewing third degree burns.)
Anxious because we still haven’t seen Hartley or know whether he’s still reformed or once more a villain.
The speed force is moving ahead through time? This could get hairy unless the moveemnt is mere seconds to minutes. Otherwise he’s going to go for a jog and end up in 2412 A.D. Or am I misunderstanding that?
Anway, have a bit of a headache having just seen the cover for Earth-2 Hawkgirl, so that’s problem coloring my mood right now.
Will say that the cover for Flash is once again imaginative, lively, and beautifully executed.
Hartley appears in issue #8. How much do you want to know?
As for the speed force, the way Brian Buccellato put it to me at the FCBD signing was that the speed force isn’t moving, it’s the motion [edited]. Space moves forward through time, and that movement is the speed force.
Ah…I see. (I think.)
Are you kidding? I LIVE for spoilers. Spoilers are either a warning to stay away from a scene (Star Trek II’s ceti eels) or appetite wetters that make me scour the net for scans and the stores for copies.
When I used to go to the library, I’d read the last two pages first! Am totally into being spoiled. In fact, people say my brain is spoiled. 😛
Speed force as kinetic with a forward force that cannot retract? Sort of Doctor Who’s Time & Space Vortex without the past history movement?
(Bear with me. I don’t have a scientific background. Everything I know of science I learned via science fiction and the rare catching of The Science Channel. Mostly sf though.) 🙂
OK, then. Hartley’s a classical musician, reformed, and dating Singh, though while Hartley’s out of the closet, Singh isn’t.
Hahahahah! (I bet Singh is in the closet because he’s trying to drown out Hartley’s music. Possibly with all the clothing wrapped around his ears. Maybe not a classical lover. Or Hartley hasn’t *quite* mastered his instrument yet.) 😛
I don’t think a “crispy Heatwave” is going to look all that graphic. Given Manapul’s art style, which swerves towards a slightly cartoony look, I bet you’ll get the idea without your stomach churning.
Francis Manapul has posted the art process for the cover.
Beautiful even in draft form. Everything is so dynamic.
Dropped the current Flash series after issue #3, but with the revamped Rogues coming in I might start picking it up again. Interested to see what they do with Glider and Piper. Not sure about Weather Wizard being the boss of a drug cartel though. That sounds dumb.
Telling my shop tomorrow to take the book off my pull.
That’s got to hurt. I remember how hard it was to drop Teen Titans after years and years as a Titans fan. But in the end, the book wasn’t what I liked anymore, and I was better off reading other things instead.
It does hurt, a lot. But I truly hate what’s being done with this book, and am doing myself no favours by continuing to purchase it.
Maybe one day it’ll be more to my tastes and I’ll start buying it again. Something to hope for, at least.
((hugs)) It does hurt to feel forced into dropping a love.
Check the Previews over at CBR try to find…well, not so much a substitute (I hate when people tell me that) as a distraction for the loss.
Thank you, I appreciate the support 🙂 So far I haven’t thought of another book to pick up, and I feel bad for my comic shop because they’re losing a sale :\
I’m planning to write a letter or email to DC to tell them I’ve dropped the book and explain why, but don’t know who/where to send it to. Anyone have any ideas?
Hmm, there’s a contact form on the website, but I don’t know how much attention that’ll get. You could always write a letter to someone at/near the top (Dan Didio, Jim Lee, or Diane Nelson) and send it to DC’s New York offices. Still no guarantee it’ll make it all the way up the chain, but if the conventional wisdom that businesses pay more attention to snail mail than email still holds, just getting the piece of paper in there might be worth it.
I know what you mean about feeling bad for the comic shop. That’s part of why I didn’t actually drop Justice League Dark while waiting for Jeff Lemire to come on board, though I really should have, and why it took me so long to switch to a new shop in a new town in the first place. (Though given how much time I usually have on weeknights, I might as well still buy the books on Saturday anyway.)
I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE the new Heat Wave already.
Such a dumb idea…”fire guy who is covered in burns”. If your thing is fire shouldn’t not getting burnt also be your thing? I’ve actually been relatively happy with the new series so far, but this and the new feel of Gorilla City/Grodd have me a little worried.
Thank God they haven’t messed with my boy Mirror Master too much. (Crossing my fingers they don’t completely mess with his powerset/backstory and make me eat my foot.)
I think they are probably going with that he got burnt and the experience made him insane to where he worships the flames? At least that was my thought.
If the burns aren’t graphic, I can tolerate. Just really tired of running into gore and zombies this past decade. Makes searching for acceptable comics and movies a dubious ‘entertainment’.
Mirror Master. It would be interesting if Mirror Master could ONLY function from reflections. Don’t know if that is the case. Just imagining.
So..this is hit, heh?
I dunno..something’s missing…
Captain Cold’s gun.
(It’s weird how I miss his gun while at the same time really dislike Kendra’s using guns in Earth-2. Oh Familiarity, thou art a harsh mistress.)
Damn itchy trigger finger.
Also missing *The Top* (the real one)and Piper with his rats. (I want him to have his rat pack back.)
Let me see if I understand this correctly, Barry stops running, time stops and the world ends??
For Wally fans it was more like Barry *starts* running and the world ends. -_-;;
Yeah, pretty much.
A different take but that means Barry is still symbolic/important to the Speed Force.
Before, he generated it, now he keeps it going. Really don’t like that close a connection between the both. It re-enforces the ‘needed’ importance of Barry in today’s Flash mythos.
I was perfectly content with the Speed Force being the source of speedster’s powers and their Vahalla.
Amen to that. The speedsters should be dependent on the Speed Force….not the other way around. In the same way that we are dependent on the air and earth…not the elements being dependent on us.
I dunno. I still want to get the trades other than the Wally ones for at least The Flash…someday when DC isn’t ticking me off so much. Still, I’m discovering these things called webcomics to help tide me over though it’s not quite the same depth of loyalty I’m feeling there. Thank you, Thrillbent/Mark Waid for ousting me out of self pity and dependency on the Big Two enough to check out what is on the net.
Nope. If Barry stops running then the Speed Force will build up too much energy and intermittently create portaly/worm hole things, like the one that got Turbine.
By running, The Flash burns off the Speed Force’s excess energy and keeps it stable.
0.0
Then, by Golly, let’s hogtie Barry so that speed force gateways into other dimensions brimeth and spit out Wally, Donna, and Garth from the evil clutches of Limbo! 😀
Not a big fan of how the Rouges are meta’s now…
The new Heat Wave is bit drab for my tastes. I’m interested in seeing the context for it though.
Glider looks lovely. A huge improvement from the previous incarnation.
I was expecting Mirror Master to get the biggest overhaul, but he’s had the most conservative redesign of all. Even the gun is still there!
Maybe the gun is a reflective distortion brought on by the meta mirrors Mirror Master manufactured for mayhem?
Or the mirrors also show pictures of the past as some sort of time mangling? That would be a neat excuse to show some really old Silver Aged characters in the glass.
(I’m joking. But if someone wants to run with that…go for it.)
I almost didn’t realize that Golden Glider was the fly gas woman. I have to wonder what she can do this go around and if she is stuck in that form.