DC Comics’ November solicitations are starting to come out.
THE FLASH #36
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
Lego Variant cover
On sale NOVEMBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Out of time! The Flash is trapped in a bizarre, lost land terrorized by castaways from the past, present, and future. But that leaves Central City without a hero…or does it?
SECRET ORIGINS #7
Written by PAUL LEVITZ, FRANK BARBERI, ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art by JONBOY MEYER, ROBSON ROCHA and ANDRE COELHO
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
On sale NOVEMBER 26 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
The parade of DC Universe origins continues with three favorites: Huntress, written by Paul Levitz with art by Jonboy Meyer; Superboy, written by Frank Barberi with art by Robson Rocha; and The Flash, written by Robert Venditti and Van Jensen with art by Andre Coehlo!
And beyond the New 52, there’s the second print edition of the digital-first TV-continuity Flash: Season Zero comic:
THE FLASH SEASON ZERO #2
Written by ANDREW KREISBERG
Art by PHIL HESTER and ERIC GAPSTUR
Photo cover
On sale NOVEMBER 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Barry Allen and the CCPD investigate the murder of a man who appears to have been killed by snakes! But what’s the connection to last issue’s freakishly strong bank robber? And who is the mysterious Mr. Bliss?
Plus we have an updated release date and MUCH cheaper price for next year’s Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years, originally announced with a $75 price tag.
THE FLASH: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS HC
Written by GARDNER FOX, JOHN BROOME, GEOFF JOHNS and others
Art by CARMINE INFANTINO, HARRY LAMPERT, SCOTT KOLINS and others
On sale JANUARY 14 • 400 pg, FC, $39.99 US
THE FLASH: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS collects a wide range of stories featuring the Scarlet Speedster from his seven decades as a mainstay in the DC Comics universe. From the original Flash, Jay Garrick, to his successors Barry Allen and Wally West, the mantle of this beloved hero has made him burst beyond the printed page into a pop culture symbol. This anthology collects stories by legendary writers including Gardner Fox, John Broome and Geoff Johns.
Check out the Collected Editions solicitations. The Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years hardcover will be coming out in January! No word on what stories will be included, at least not in the solicitation I read.
Nice! A week earlier and half the price of the original announcement!
I am a sucker for origins, so I really like the idea behind the “Secret Origins” series. But I am really discouraged to follow the series at nearly $5 a pop. Maybe I’ll go back at a later date to get them off Ebay or at a convention at a cheaper price, but I’ll probably pick up the Flash origin. Too bad Lee Bermejo is done with covers as I really liked his style for this.
I’ll up for Season Zero and the 75 Year HC. Given the solicits it looks like we’ll get a story by Johns/Kolins from the Wally West era but I hope we get more than just one Wally story. The two volumes of “The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told” only had one Wally story each (Flash #2 in the first volume and Flash #91 in the second). Wally was the Flash for about 20 years and had some great stand-alone (or even 2 part stories).
Could wish that they’d split it nearly three ways with at least one story from Bart’s run. Plus, make Wally’s selection stories that were not already put out in trades. I’m afraid that any Wally stories will be reprints from Geoff John’s Flash Omnibus series. That line “…and others” doesn’t make me think we’re going to see any Waid in their despite his length of time and that he’s a reknowned writer in comics.
Still, I’d love to have some of the ‘best of’ stories with Jay and Barry.
Going to wait for the story list.
You can sort of excuse the first one based on it being relatively early in the run, and hard to say what would stand the test of time. The second collection, though…they really ought to have left out the 80-page Grodd story and put in a few more Wally and Jay solo pieces. And that’s the problem: So many of Jay’s and Barry’s classic stories are 13-22 pages. Wally’s best stories are epics. In order to get stories that fit in a collection, you almost *have* to go to the second tier. Ask for a list of the best Wally West stories, and people will come up with things like Terminal Velocity, Return of Barry Allen, Dead Heat, etc. — you basically have to specify that you want the shorter ones, which implies that they’re not as good as the longer ones, which calls into question whether they should be in a greatest hits collection.
They should include Messner-Loebs and Waid as well. Just my opinion.
I would certainly hope so as well. In addition to broadening the range of stories in the book, and including some good stories, the two of them *defined* Wally as the Flash. Messner-Loebs laid a lot of the groundwork on which Waid built a solid character. It’s really too bad that Messner-Loebs is so often overlooked, and that there’s bad blood between DC and Waid.