J. Michael Straczynski announced at Comic-Con that he’ll be writing The Flash: Earth One graphic novel. As CBR reports:
Straczynski told a packed room of around 300 fans at Comic-Con International in San Diego that “Flash: Earth One” will focus on the Barry Allen version of the speedster. The graphic novel, he said, should be on shelves in 2016, and will feature the fourth franchise to make the leap to the OGN line which JMS helped launch with “Superman: Earth One.”
“It’s a very different take on the character,” he promised. To convince the audience of his enthusiasm for the character, he described how when he was a kid he repeatedly used to practice catching a falling glass of water because he saw the Flash do it in a comic.
No artist has been announced yet.
The “Earth One” series is built around original graphic novel series instead of monthly comics. The current DC You books are mostly set on Earth-Zero (with a few obvious exceptions like Earth-2: Society, Prez and the recently-announced Superman: Lois and Clark series. Two volumes of Superman and one each of Batman and Teen Titans are available now, with Wonder Woman and now Flash on the way.
Update: Also announced at SDCC: Francis Manapul will be writing and drawing Earth One: Aquaman!
Oh dear, what horrors will JMS wreak on poor Barry?
Barry’s also the Flash in the Multiversity Flash book. I like Barry, but there are other Flashes out there. Must Barry be the Flash in every project? Why not Jay? Wally? Red Racer? The Batman Beyond Flash? Someone else? Enough already, DC!
I’m guessing that it’s because he’s the marque character. The old Wally won’t be coming back. And I don’t think that a book would really sell with this new version. Ditto for Jay.
I have the SM earth one books it’s okay, far better than Johns Batman Earth One version. I expect that JMS will be featuring a young newly minted CSI and empowered Flash. As long as he doesn’t turn him into the man-child from the tv show I’m fine with it.
I’m not talking about “the old Wally” last seen in Convergence. (None of those Convergence, pre-reboot characters are coming back, it seems.) But with the Multiverse, there are other iterations of the Flash out there. Dozens. The new Wally has done little so far and hasn’t appeared much. And Bart? Poor Bart..
Wally and Bart are on Earth 16 with a bunch of other speedsters. I guess Earth One might make sense with Barry. I just wish they’d remember the other Flashes. It feels like overkill.
This is why I’m staying with the TV projects and not the comics. Aside from Wally coming next season, of course. The TV projects seem to embrace the history of the comics. And perhaps if the TV series boosts the profile of Jay and Wally, the comics will follow suit.
You really think that the TV version is embracing the history of the Flash? Because watching the show, I feel as if I am watching a re-tread of the Spider-man films except that Peter has Flash’s powers.
Barry isn’t a wisecracker like Peter Parker. He’s more somber than Peter or Wally. The show is bringing in aspects of the Flash mythology (time travel, the Speed Force, different Flashes, Rogues). Most of these things are pretty much absent in the current Flash book, which looks like something out ’90s Marvel/Image now.