Monthly Archives: September 2017

DC’s December Solicitations

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DC has released their full list of solicitations for December 2017, and here are all the Flash-related books (there are no action figures or statues solicited this month). You can see the list in its entirety at CBR.

THE FLASH #36
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art by HOWARD PORTER
Cover by BARRY KITSON
Variant cover by HOWARD PORTER
“A Cold Day in Hell” part one! When one of The Flash’s Rogues is murdered inside Iron Heights prison, Barry Allen throws himself deep into the case, still reeling from the turmoil of his personal life! But when the clues begin to reveal an even greater conspiracy at work, The Flash soon discovers Iron Heights’ deadliest secret…
On sale DECEMBER 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

THE FLASH #37
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art by HOWARD PORTER
Cover by BARRY KITSON
Variant cover by HOWARD PORTER
“A Cold Day in Hell” part two! The new crime lord of Central City has been revealed…and it’s worse than The Flash ever imagined! Betrayed by a former friend and trapped in Iron Heights prison with no escape in sight—will The Flash be too late to save his city from disaster?
On sale DECEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

TITANS #18
Written by DAN ABNETT
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
Variant cover by DAN MORA
“The Rise of Troia”! Wally West is dead, the Titans are all but beaten and Donna Troy must go toe to toe with her worst nightmare—Troia—a twisted version of herself from the not-so-distant future, bent on destroying her friends and pushing Donna toward her own dark fate. Don’t miss the stunning issue that’s destined to change the Titans forever!
On sale DECEMBER 13 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

TEEN TITANS #15
Written by guest writer PETER J. TOMASI
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Cover by IVAN REIS
Variant cover by CHAD HARDIN
“SUPER SONS OF TOMORROW” part three! The Batman of Tomorrow reveals himself to the Teen Titans to recruit them to his cause. But the reunion gives way to the big question: is the life of an innocent child worth more than the lives of millions? It’s the Teen Titans vs. the Super Sons in the battle you’ve been waiting for!
On sale DECEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, • $3.99 US • RATED T

SUPERMAN #37
Written by PETER J. TOMASI and PATRICK GLEASON
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and JAIME MENDOZA
Cover by IVAN REIS
Variant cover by JONBOY MEYERS
“SUPER SONS OF TOMORROW” part one! The four-part crossover between Superman, the Super Sons and the Teen Titans starts here! The Batman of Tomorrow travels to the present to prevent a cataclysmic disaster before it happens, revealing that Superboy will soon be responsible for the death of millions. But Superman will do anything to protect his son…and the Batman of Tomorrow is unwavering in his resolve to take down the Boy of Steel. Don’t miss a clash of titanic proportion in the opening chapter of this game-changing story!
On sale DECEMBER 20 • 32 pg, FC, • $2.99 US • RATED T

NEW SUPER-MAN #18
Written by GENE LUEN YANG
Art by JOE LALICH and RICHARD FRIEND
Cover by BILLY TAN
Variant cover by BERNARD CHANG
“EQUILIBRIUM” finale! Kenan Kong and the Justice League of China have faced so many threats since their debut—but none so great as the forces All-Yang have unleashed! It will take all the New Super-Man of China has learned to defeat All-Yang and the demigod invasion of the west, and our young hero will face a choice: save the world, or save himself. Don’t miss this thrilling concluding chapter to see where this adventure ends—and where the next begins!
On sale DECEMBER 13 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

DARK NIGHTS: METAL #5
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION
Variant covers by TONY S. DANIEL, ANDY KUBERT and JIM LEE
The Justice League faces the final extinguishing of our world, invaded on all sides by unimaginable nightmares, fueled on to the edge of oblivion only by the belief that there must be a light in the endless darkness—somewhere. But…what if there’s not?
ADVANCE SOLICITED • On sale JANUARY 10 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • FOIL-STAMPED, EMBOSSED COVER • RATED T+

DC UNIVERSE HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2017 #1
Written by GREG RUCKA, TOM KING, DENNIS O’NEIL, JEFF LEMIRE, MAX LANDIS, CHRISTOPHER PRIEST, SHEA FONTANA, JOSHUA WILLIAMSON and others!
Art by STEVE EPTING, RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE, BILQUIS EVELY, OTTO SCHMIDT, NEIL GOOGE, FRANCIS MANAPUL and others
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
DC Comics’ finest talents have assembled to bring you a holiday special like you’ve never seen before! Join Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash as they deliver powerful messages of hope like only The Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes can! Plus: Sgt. Rock fights the Nazis on Hanukah, the Teen Titans take on the literal ghost of Christmas past, and Swamp Thing battles that creeping feeling of existential dread! And don’t miss the legendary Denny O’Neil’s return to comics with an all-new Batman story!
ONE-SHOT • On sale DECEMBER 6 • 96 pg, FC, $9.99 US • RATED T

WILDSTORM: MICHAEL CRAY #3
Written by BRYAN HILL from a story by WARREN ELLIS
Art by N. STEVEN HARRIS and DEXTER VINES
Cover by DENYS COWAN and BILL SIENKIEWICZ • Variant cover by JOHN PAUL LEON
Crime forensics expert Barry Allen has a dark secret—and a prototype suit that makes him the fastest man alive. Michael Cray wants to make him pay for his sins, but is he able to catch a man faster than justice? And what will happen when Barry Allen turns his psychosis on Cray at hyper-speed?
On sale DECEMBER 13 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+

INJUSTICE 2 #16
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by MIKE S. MILLER, DANIEL SAMPERE and JUAN ALBARRAN
Cover by BRUNO REDONDO and JUAN ALBARRAN
The mission to free Wonder Woman reaches its climax as Kara discovers that the Amazons prove to not be of one mind when it comes to Princess Diana’s fate. Also: a solo story featuring The Flash.
On sale DECEMBER 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ • DIGITAL FIRST

SUPER POWERS BY JACK KIRBY TP
Written by JACK KIRBY, JOEY CAVALIERI and PAUL KUPPERBERG
Art by JACK KIRBY, MIKE ROYER, GREG THEAKSTON, MIKE THIBODEAUX and others
Cover by JACK KIRBY and MIKE THIBODEAUX
In 1984, legendary writer/artist Jack Kirby returned to DC to illustrate tales of the Justice League of America in the pages of SUPER POWERS. At last, DC collects the first two SUPER POWERS miniseries in a single collection! These tales pit the Justice League of America—Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and more—against the forces of Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips. These stories are the only time in his long career that Kirby would draw the Justice League, elevating these stories to legendary status.
Collects SUPER POWERS Vol. 1 #1-5 and SUPER POWERS Vol. 2 #1-6.
On sale JANUARY 17 • 272 pg, FC, $39.99 US • ISBN: 978-1-4012-7140-4

Return of the Supervillain Self-Help Expert

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You’ve probably seen this panel of the Rainbow Raider triumphantly shouting, “I believe in me!” (especially if you follow Lia’a Rogues blog). It’s from Brave and the Bold #194 by Mike Barr and Carmine Infantino. As a motivational therapist, Professor Andrea Wye approaches Bivolo and D-list Batman villain Dr. Double-X about their failures as super-villains, and convinces them to “Trade heroes and win.”

So Rainbow Raider goes after Batman, and Dr. Double-X goes after the Flash. The heroes aren’t used to fighting each other’s villains, and actually get captured. Of course they turn the tables before she’s able to learn what she wants from them, and overpower the villains before going after the mastermind. She escapes, but Flash figures she’ll return sooner or later. As far as I knew, she disappeared at that point.

I recently discovered that she does return, after all, in the opening two-parter of the 1985 Outsiders series — no surprise, also written by Barr. This was when the team had just split off from Batman, causing a title change, and moved from Gotham to Los Angeles.

In “Nuclear Fear,” Prof. Wye stages a fake terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant near Los Angeles to observe how the city reacts. It’s research material for her next book on the psychology of fear. (Ethics, schmethics, right?)

The Outsiders stop her team before it can make a scene, but the scientist she contacted to help plan the raid wants to go further. He wants to actually blow up Los Angeles in order to make people understand the horrors of nuclear war, and he sends a group of robots modeled after his dead family to do it. Naturally they’re called The Nuclear Family, and they’re this weird idealized 1950s family — except for the fact that they want to kill everyone. (Strange that nuclear war and twisted nostalgia for the 1950s are suddenly topical again.)

Once Wye learns about her ally’s plan, she hightails it out of town. Meanwhile the Outsiders are in a race to find the robots before they detonate themselves. In the end, the only thing they can do is destroy the robots in a normal explosion before they go critical and take out the city. The Nuclear Family is never seen again, as far as I know…and neither is Professor Wye.

I wonder if she ever finished her book?

Bloodwork! Review of THE FLASH #30

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This issue of THE FLASH gives us the origin story for a new Flash villain, one that present a serious threat to our Negative Speed Force-powered hero. The story has a bit of a Silver Age flair, tucked neatly into a story well worthy of the REBIRTH era. Just who is Bloodwork? And, what’s his connection to all those blood samples that are missing from the crime lab? Follow us after the jump to learn more!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

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A Glimpse of Barry’s Lab in the Justice League Film

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Warner Brothers has given us a peek at Barry’s lab in the Justice League film, and it perhaps tells us a bit about him. He obviously has a scientific and technical background, as he’s presumably able to understand what he’s looking at on those screens, and can split his attention or take in a lot information so he isn’t overwhelmed by all the data around him. And he’s obviously studying his powers and/or is working to build a better suit for himself, as was hinted in an earlier teaser when Bruce Wayne speaks to him about it.

Plus he admires Nikola Tesla and watches Rick and Morty while he works, which makes him something of a typical nerd of this era.

We’ve seen the lab before in some of the teasers and trailers, but I believe this is the first high-quality still image we’ve had a chance to look at. So it’s interesting and possibly illuminating for his character in the DC movieverse.

What do people think of his lab, and do you think it seems fitting for Barry Allen? Share your thoughts!

Flash Season 4 Teaser

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The fourth season of The Flash TV series begins a month from now (October 10th), and the CW has just released a new thirty-second teaser for the first episode or two. The promo is titled “Hero Reborn”, and is about Barry’s return to reality after spending an unknown amount of time in the Speed Force.

What do you think of the clip? Are you looking forward to the upcoming season and a non-speedster Big Bad? Share your thoughts of what you’d like to see!