DC Comics’ EiC Bob Harras dropped a few hints yesterday about what’s in store for the DC Universe in 2012. Those wondering just what’s going on with Kid Flash — is he still from the future? — still related to Barry? — will be glad to hear that answers are on their way:
And what exactly is Kid Flash’s story? TEEN TITANS will explore that mystery early next year.
The LA Times blog Hero Complex has a four-page preview of The Flash #4, arriving in stores next week. The preview sheds more light on Manuel Lago, and begins the origin of Mob Rule.
Tip: I found that the slideshow viewer makes the pages too small to read. Fortunately, they provided direct links to the images at the end of the article.
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO; Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL; Variant cover by ERIC BASALDUA; 1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
As Central City remains dark from the recent EMP blast, The Fastest Man Alive remains in hot pursuit of the one who set it off: Mob Rule! What does Mob Rule really want? Learn the rest of his origin right here!
Johnny Wellens sent in these screen captures of the Rogues and other Flash Villains in the DCUO: Lightning Strikes game expansion.
He comments:
Here are The Rogues as they appear in DC Universe Online. I have only two issues. Why is Piper a villain again and why does Professor Zoom have Zoom’s costume? No answers from the developers on these decisions at this time. But I can tell you that it is so much fun to run around Central City, Metropolis, and Gotham looking for The Rogues.
I haven’t played the game myself, but it looks great — and like great fun!
In an interview published today, Flash writer and artist Francis Manapul spoke with Comic Vine about Captain Cold and his fellow Rogues. DC revealed Captain Cold’s redesigned duds last week, and announced that he and the Rogues would be making their return to the magazine with issue #7.
On the redesign, which generated a lot of discussion on this site, Manapul had this to say:
FM: Well I ran all my designs by the higher ups, and they all chimed in with their two cents. I didn’t get too many notes. We were split on keeping the parka as some felt it was a very iconic part of who he was, and the other half felt that it made him look dated. In the end I came up with what I felt was a good compromise to keep those that didn’t want the hoodie happy, but at the same time make him look more modern yet still staying true to his iconic look. Some of the other Rogues the changes were a bit more extreme, I allowed the story to dictate how they would look, I strongly feel that design follows function.
Check out the complete post at Comic Vine, right now!! More after the jump:
The Flash Archives vol.6, announced last month, is now available for pre-order on Amazon. $45 is still a bit steep compared to a trade paperback (funny thing, hardcovers and high-quality paper cost extra), but it’s a hefty discount off the list price.
Written by GARDNER FOX and JOHN BROOME • Art by CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE GIELLA and FRANK GIACOIA Cover by CARMINE INFANTINO and MURPHY ANDERSON Advance solicited • On sale JULY 25 • 240 pg, FC, $59.99 US
It’s a Rogues Gallery parade in these tales from THE FLASH #142-150, as the Scarlet Speedster battles The Trickster, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, Mr. Element, The Reverse Flash, Captain Boomerang and Captain Cold! Plus, a tale guest-starring Green Lantern!
Diamond has released its November sales rankings, placing The Flash #3 in the #9 spot for units sold. ICv2’s November 2011 sales estimates have it selling roughly* 90,417 comics during the month.
Three issues in, it’s still well ahead of all but the first issues of The Flash vol.3 and Flash: Rebirth. It’s the sixth-highest selling Flash comic book in over a decade, or eighth if you include Flashpoint. And it’s still a Top 10 book.
On the other hand, it’s also a 20% drop from the previous issue. That’s awfully steep for anything but the second issue of a series.
Then again, the normal patterns may not apply here. By releasing 52 first issues in one month, DC managed to get a lot of people to try out more comics than they would have otherwise. The sales boost on the early issues was probably higher than it would have been for a more traditional relaunch, so the sharper drop may be less of a concern than it would be otherwise. And it’s still way above the 55K mark that I suggested might be the ultimate test of the relaunch.
Lastly, there’s been a lot of discussion in the comics blog scene the last few weeks over whether these sales estimates are even accurate enough to be worth analyzing. If they have as little to do with reality as Ivan Brandon and Steve Wacker suggest, then neither the drop nor the comparisons to other issues mean much of anything.
| Issue | Rank | Month | Units Sold | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash vol.4 | ||||
| Flash v.4 #1 | 4 | September 2011 | 129,260 | |
| Flash v.4 #2 | 5 | October 2011 | 114,137 | -11.7% |
| Flash v.4 #3 | 9 | November 2011 | 90,417 | -20.8% |
| Top-Selling Flash Issues | ||||
| Flash v.4 #1 | 4 | September 2011 | 129,260 | |
| Flash:TFMA #1 | 7 | June 2006 | 126,741 | |
| Flash v.4 #2 | 5 | October 2011 | 114,137 | |
| Flash: Rebirth #1 | 2 | April 2009 | 102,429 | |
| Flash v.3 #1 | 2 | April 2010 | 100,903 | |
| Flashpoint #1 | 2 | May 2011 | 95,845 | |
| Flashpoint #5 | 2 | August 2011 | 94,547 | |
| Flash v.4 #3 | 9 | November 2011 | 90,417 | |
A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):
*What these numbers measure: US-only sales, wholesale from Diamond to comics retailers. They don’t count sales through bookstores, they don’t count international sales, and they don’t count how many copies were actually bought and read…but they do measure the same thing every month, which means they can be used to spot trends.