Category Archives: Flash News

Full Details on Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns Vol.3

DC’s full June 2012 solicitations are out, including full details on The Flash by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol.3

THE FLASH OMNIBUS BY GEOFF JOHNS VOL. 3 HC

GEOFF JOHNS and GREG RUCKA
Art by HOWARD PORTER, ALBERTO DOSE and OTHERS
Cover by MICHAEL TURNER
On sale AUGUST 29 • 640 pg, FC, $75.00 US

  • A third massive FLASH HC from superstar writer GEOFF JOHNS!
  • THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE clashes with his Rogues Gallery, including CAPTAIN COLD, THE PIED PIPER, TRICKSTER and MIRROR MASTER!
  • Collects THE FLASH #201-225 and WONDER WOMAN #214!

As predicted, it ships the final week in August and wraps up the entire Geoff Johns run on the Wally West Flash series. One question is answered: it does include both halves of that Flash/Wonder Woman/Villains United crossover. Another remains: What about The Flash #1/2, the short story leading into Rogue War that provided a little depth to the second Trickster?

Volume 2 runs through Flash #200 and collects what I think is the best of Geoff Johns’ run on the character. Volume 3 collects Ignition and runs through the Identity Crisis-to-Infinite Crisis era, finishing with Rogue War.

I still think we’re likely to get a fourth volume next year that collects Johns’ Barry Allen run, starting with Flash: Rebirth and running at least through The Road to Flashpoint, if not all the way through Flashpoint itself, though I imagine DC would like to put that off a while to give the current collections a bit more shelf life. Flashpoint only came out in paperback last week, after all.

Pre-order at Amazon:
»Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns vol.2 ships in April.
»Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns vol.3 ships in August/September.

(Thanks to Collected Editions for the tip!)

Flash Holding Steady as the #8 Comic, Three Months Running

Diamond has released its sales rankings for February, and The Flash #6 comes in at #8 for units sold.*

This marks the third month in a row that the Flash has been ranked #8, and the sixth in a row that it’s been in the top 10. In fact, every issue of the series since the relaunch has been in the top 10. It’s been a long time since the Flash was ranked that highly. Even the high-profile relaunch of Flash: Rebirth dipped below #10 in the middle of its run, and the Geoff Johns/Francis Manapul series spent most of its time in the 11-20 bracket.

Of course the streak will probably break next month when Marvel launches Avengers vs. X-Men, but during the time between giant events, with the series competing mainly against other regular series, it looks solid.

If DC is nervous about this book, the rankings suggest they shouldn’t be.

*Usual note: These are US print sales only.

Jay Garrick Cameo Pulled from The Shade

Bleeding Cool posts a page of original art from The Shade #4 found on Albert Moy. The page didn’t appear in the book, though, because it featured the Golden Age Flash and Starman.

As I understand it, James Robinson and the various artists have been working on this series since before the relaunch, and have had to make a few changes along the way in order to fit into the New 52.

Wally West Spotlighted in Young Justice: Coldhearted

The upcoming Young Justice episode “Coldhearted” looks to be adapted from or inspired by Wally West’s first solo Flash issue. It features Wally West’s birthday, a cross-country run to deliver a heart for a transplant, and Vandal Savage.

Wally West comes oh-so-close to fulfilling his birthday wish to finally fight alongside the Justice League. Instead, a massively disappointed Kid Flash is taken off the mission and tasked with a simple delivery job. But a few deadly surprises await the birthday boy along the way….

Comic Book Resources has two clips and some stills from the episode. (Thanks to @CraigRMacDonald for the tip!)

News Flash! Jay Garrick’s Earth-2 Redesign Revealed!

Newsarama has revealed the new Jay Garrick design with the Earth 2 #2 cover in this interview with James Robinson.

As the book unfolds, Jay Garrick is very much our point of entry to the world. He’s the “everyman” character that we all like, that we all want to be, want to hang out with. That’s kind of the role he was in the original Earth-2, and I think it suits him well. He’s the likable guy, the one you care about.

The description of Jay himself sounds okay, but I think the costume is a horrible move. Over on Twitter, Greg paraphrased Barry Allen in The Dark Knight Strikes Again: “folks don’t know the difference between ‘old’ and ‘classic’.” The rest of the interview doesn’t do anything to help the concerns I raised yesterday about this this book and alternate reality being his only home in the New 52.

So what do you think? Is this a great redesign? A terrible one? Good for some Flash, but bad for Jay Garrick?

Move Forward: New 52 Flash HC Available for Pre-Order

The Flash: Move Forward, the first hardcover collection from the “New 52” run by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, is up for pre-order on Amazon with a November 13 release date. That means it should hit comic stores the previous Wednesday, November 7.

The listing states that it collects Flash #1-6, but that seems unlikely, given that Flash #6 is the first part of a two-parter. The most recent statement from DC said it would feature The Flash #1-8, which will cover the opening 5-part “Mob Rule,” the two-parter with Captain Cold, and the story featuring Turbine and the speed force. Contents, descriptions and covers do of course change quite a bit up until the point that a book is finalized, but I’d expect to see this volume run through either #7 or #8 by the time it’s released.