Old news, but I missed it with all the Christmas/New Year/catching up with family from out of town/etc.:
Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato posted in a couple of forums last week that the Captain Cold arc originally scheduled for issue #7 has been moved up to #6, replacing the stand-alone CSI mystery originally solicited.
From the CBR thread:
Speaking of Captain Cold…
I wanted to give you all a heads up that we’ve moved the Captain Cold storyline up to ISSUE #6. Rumor has it that the folks REALLY wanna see the Snart. Done and done. 🙂
Jingle Bells!
In response to questions, he adds:
Hey guys… as it stand now, the Captain Cold arc is gonna be 3 issues. As far as the original #6 with the mystery… not sure when we are gonna get to that one. We still want to do it, though. 🙂
Personally, I’m kind of disappointed, since I was really looking forward to reading about the history of Central and Keystone Cities, and a straight CSI story would really take advantage of the fact that DC chose Barry Allen for this universe’s Flash. (To be honest, I was more intrigued by the 150-year-old cold case than by the Captain Cold story.)
Still, I can understand the decision. If there’s anything DC learned from “The Wild Wests” and “Lightning in a Bottle,” it’s that the Flash audience wants to see Rogues. And then there’s the “Eh, it’s just filler” attitude that many readers have toward done-in-ones. I can imagine DC might be afraid of losing momentum on the book.
Here’s hoping that they’ll be able to fit in the cold case story sometime soon!
I wouldn’t mind it if the series had a arc/one-shot/arc schedule. One of the things, in my opinion, that hurt the previous series was the two one-shot issues in between the two arcs, especially with the second arc being heavily promoted. The wait gave it a higher anticipation than what “Hot Pursuit/Road to Flashpoint” deserved. Of course, the delays didn’t help any either.
Damn. I was more interested in the CSI, myself. Never was a fan of villains (no, not even The Rogues, but at least they had the charm of being pig-headed normal types.)
Captain Cold will now have a personal vendetta against The Flash. Um…doubly not interested. This also runs against the grain for me. Just totally destroys the one Silver Age thing I liked about the Flash…villains who were in it for the ‘game’…sort of blue-collar Moriarty(s) without the outrageous I.Q.
So…metas, revenge…all so cookie cutter comics to me.
Oops, I guess I should have posted this here last week, sorry. I need to take my Speed Force password with me when I go out of town!
What a sad comment on the state of comic readers that readers see a one-shot issue as “filler.” Time was, one-and-done issues were the RULE in comics. And they were better for it.
Besides, have comic readers read the Geoff Johns run on Flash post-206? Entirely filler. Every issue of every arc.
I had been looking forward to the original #6. Too bad DC is so determined not to tell any real stories.
Seems to ignore a facet of Barry Allen that Wally NEVER had. The crime forensic aspect is something I think DC should be taking advantage of.
It opens up avenues of storytelling that you can’t naturally slot Wally West into.
Ever since his return to the DCU, I am yet to read a story that couldn’t have been told using the Wally West Flash character.
It seems a little odd to revive a character out of circulation for 20 years and then ignore everything that makes him different from the bloke who they originally replaced him with!!
The last story I read that really took advantage of Barry Allen’s day job was “Dark Matters” in Legends of the DC Universe.
Partly it’s that DC insists on doing long stories, and partly it’s that there were so many delays: Between Final Crisis and Rebirth, during Rebirth, during the regular series. After Rebirth, and not counting Blackest Night, we’ve only had a few Barry Allen Flash stories:
“Dastardly Deaths…” reads a little better with a protagonist who’s also a cop, but would have still worked.
“Flashpoint” could easily have been a Wally West story with a different framing sequence and a different reason for him to try changing history. Imagine Wally waking up in a nightmare world where there was never a Flash, but Barry Allen is still alive. (Oh, wait, I don’t have to imagine that story. Remember “Wonderland?”)
The superheroics in “The Road to Flashpoint” are pretty light, and the police stuff is more about Patty than Barry’s job, but the Hot Pursuit/Zoom part could have been very much the same with Wally instead of Barry In fact, it might have been better with Hot Pursuit being an alternate Barry, setting up a more complex dynamic where Wally really wants to trust him, but increasingly suspects him of the murders…but he still can’t be sure the way he was in “The Return of Barry Allen.” Come to think of it, that could be the alternate road to Flashpoint: Wally tries to undo Barry’s death, and the attempt screws up history. The rest of the story is basically the same, except that Wally would actually try to bring Barry in on the repair efforts.
Wally tried to save Barry in the Cobalt Blue storyline and messed things up… Crisis bombed and Barry sacrificed himself anyways.
I’m sorry, I didn’t have a whole thought there. Wow.
Oh thank goodness. I was afraid to bring stuff like “Everything so far a possible Wally story” up as I’m sure I’m already pegged as a Wally fanatic (can’t imagine *why* lol and a Barry hater. The last being totally untrue despite DC’s unknowing attempts to turn me into one.)
Anyway, yes, the CSI story cover looked interesting. I was actually looking forward to the day when I’d allow myself to buy the trade just to read it. It reminded me of that JL-animated story where they went through different time periods pursuing a bad guy whose name escapes me.
The sleeveless style on Cold just annoys. He looks like a street punk employed by Mr. Freeze. (Yes, I’m aware that those could be taken as fighting words by The Rogue fans, but I’m being honest here and not trying to inflame. I don’t like wife-beater look. The rest of it is arguably an improvement, but not the sleeveless.
I’ve been resisting the urge to chime in on this Captain Cold revamp because I’ve been trying to stay out of New 52 Flash until I felt better about the Wally situation.
I still don’t feel that much better about the situation but wow, can we say random Rogues 90’s revamp all over again? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Really I actually would have no problem if they would have just updated the suit a bit, but kept the sleeves in all aspects. I don’t really remember a time when sleeveless hoodies were ever cool to wear.
Why are there so many things that I just don’t like about this revamp? I really want to try this out when it hits the trades but they are making it really hard for me to care. The only thing that really appeals to me right now is the art and that is only because Francis Manapul cannot only draw his ass off but his designs are just so conceptually off the wall that I can’t help but support the man in some way. The preview pages have had me drooling at times, but then stuff like this shows up and I’m just scratching my head. Why does everything have to be changed so radically?
I’m guessing this won’t even be in the first trade so I won’t have to worry about dealing with it if I choose to check it out. But then what if I like it?
In any case the design in my opinion could use a lot of work, some sleeves and a cold gun. And no ice rhino.
You pretty much sum up how I feel, Devin.
Ditto!
The Ice Rhino is…yeah. Now, a rampaging snowman would have been hilarious. Frosty gone bad! Sort of like that Crazed Christmas Tree in the first story featuring David Tennant as Dr. Who. Make it a spoof of Ghostbusters and the Staypuffed Marshmallow monster and that would have had me rolling on the floor. jk ;P
I’m gonna say it…I’m gonna say it and you can’t stop me…
Len is too cool for a snowman.
The Captain is so cool he lives in a cooler (because Flash keeps putting him there.) 😛
I wish I could recall which Christmas time animation it was I saw years ago where evil snowmen were wrecking havoc. ha! Bet Len would have gotten a kick out of it.
Your other post got me thinking….
Is there anybody here who regularly posts and *actually is part of DC’s target audience*? I mean honestly? Everyone I know is either a woman or ‘an old fart’ (their words), or closer towards the golden years than the playpen.
IIRC, the primary target is now 18-34-year-old males, in which case I aged out of the demographic a couple of months before they announced the New 52.
That would make for an interesting poll, actually.
It’s too bad that they’re afraid to do one off issues that might focus on developing character or setting. I was interested in the plot of the “suspended” issue more than the inevitable return of the Rogues (no offense Lia).
I do think that there is one element of recent stories that was inherent and more fitting for Barry’s character than Wally – the creative and fun use of superspeed like deconstructing a car in mid-air. Of course, they probably would have been used with Wally by virtue of the more recent writing approach anyway.
There was an issue with Wally superspeeding enough to do something to the same affect of putting a car together… i just can’t recall where/when it was… i think when he used Quicks formula maybe?
I have no doubt there have been issues with Wally using superspeed to the same affect (creation of new powers aside) – but when I look at the distinct Flash portrayals I typically associate that this characteristic with Barry.
I was slightly leery of the story’s concept because I don’t think the Twin Cities need a new backstory to make them into the Gem Cities…but I’m leery of the changes to the Rogues too, so it all evens out in the end.
It’s true, I don’t especially like change (it’s the Aspie and continuity nerd in me), but a lot of aspects of the reboot seem like change purely for the sake of it, and that doesn’t sit well with me. It may be that I’m no longer part of DC’s target audience (well, as a woman I never was, but you know what I mean) and perhaps I’ll have to come to terms with that.
I think there is endless potential for world building when it comes to the setting so long as the title maintains thematic focus. The Simpsons has extended its run a thousand-fold exploring adventures and characters of Springfield. Gotham and Metropolis are almost characters unto themselves. Jay Garrick had an amazing one off (135?) during Wally’s run that showcased a day “on the town” for the Flash.
As far as change aversion, I can appreciate that but I’m less afraid of change than I am of market driven strategy on building a title. If the change is setting the foundation for a theme then I can let it ride but when major decisions are made then switched 90 times in the course of only a few years it gets tiresome.
I’m less concerned with the specifics of the story (although I have my own rant about procedurals and comics) than if this is a result of editorial interference. From all accounts Flash is one of the more critically acclaimed and commercially successful New 52 titles and if editorial is already meddling that might be worrisome. For all the ups and downs of the last few years of Flash, one of the biggest was DC’s refusal to allow any creative team build up steam. If we cut Johns off at Wonderland or Waid at Year One we wouldn’t have got the great parts of their runs. I hope editorial is providing useful guidance and not accelerating plans to oust Francis and Brian.
It may be that a focus on solid superheroics is better for the book right now than a half-baked single-shot procedural mystery… Brian’s remarks tend to make it sound like it is more high concept than actually executed awaiting green-light. A character piece, a mystery, something exploring Barry’s out-of-costume identity and occupation, and a one-and-done all sound wonderful in theory, but the actual execution of something like that is a real writers high-wire act without the safety-net of splashy art (great “acting” will still be admired, but ultimately you’re talking about a densely written story filled with talking heads crammed into 20-ish pages!). I’m not saying they can’t do it, but I’d rather have a really polished clever script for something that turns so heavily on writing than rushed execution of something that sounds good merely in concept.
I’m not posting on here to get in this “debate” if it can be called that. I’m only posting to respond to Kyer & Co and say that I am a Caucasian American male, age 21. However I’m still outside of DC’s target audience as I am also married. (bc apparently unless you’re Animal Man or maybe Aquaman, ppl just don’t get married…)
Oh and papazero? If you read StormWatch #3 you’ll see that cities like Gotham & Metropolis are indeed characters in the DCU. 😉