Category Archives: Flash News

Flash #5 Cover & Solicitiation

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DC’s Justice League Group for January is up on The Source, including The Flash #5.

THE FLASH #5
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by GARY FRANK
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale JANUARY 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

Central City in chaos! Iris West captive in Iron Heights prison! And as Flash tries to deal with all of it, he must also try to save the life of his old friend Manuel Lago from Mob Rule, DC Comics’ hottest new Super Villain!

Flash Relaunch Sales Analysis

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Flash #1 Sells Estimated 129K in US, Over 150K Worldwide

ICv2’s September sales estimates are out, and The Flash #1 is ranked #4 on the charts with 129,260 units sold. Those are US-only numbers, based on sales through Diamond, and DC states that the book has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. Let’s stick with the ICv2 numbers for now, though, because they’re the ones I’ve been tracking over the last few years, which means we can compare trends over time.

The new Flash #1 does in fact beat the previous record-holder, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 (2006, starring Bart Allen), which sold an estimated 126,741 copies after reorders.

Issue Rank Month Units Sold
Flash:TFMA #1 7 June 2006 126,741
All-Flash #1 22 July 2007 78,955
Flash v.2 #231 26 August 2007 72,898
Flash: Rebirth #1 2 April 2009 102,429
Flash v.3 #1 2 April 2010 100,903
Flashpoint #1 2 May 2011 95,845
Flash v.4 #1 4 September 2011 129,260

I’m only listing the launches here, since none of the series lasted long enough to find its level and start building back up. Flash: TFMA (Bart) dropped to around 46K before experiencing a Countdown-powered uptick. The relaunched Flash vol.2 (Wally) dropped into the 20s, about half the numbers it was pulling in before Infinite Crisis, when it peaked at 50K for the final issue of Geoff Johns’ first run. Flash: vol.3 (Barry) seemed to level out around 54K over its last few issues.

It’s obvious that a lot of the success of this issue is due to the massive relaunch. But at the same time, while DC’s 52 #1s sold phenomenally well overall, they didn’t all sell over 100,000 copies. This has driven home the fact that the Flash really is one of DC’s top-tier characters. Even if half the general public thinks his name is Gordon, they at least know he’s the guy in red who runs fast. He really is cancellation-proof.

The real question now, of course, is how many of those readers who picked it up to try it out will stick around. Based on the last six years, I think if the book is still selling well over 55K a year from now, DC can count this Flash relaunch a success. If not, well…fifth time’s the charm, right?

A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):

Brian Buccellato Talks Mob Rule at CBR TV

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Brian Buccellato, co-writer and colorist of the new Flash series, is featured in a new video at Comic Book Resources. In it, creators from DC’s New 52 talk about the villains in their books, and provide some insight to their portrayal.

Buccellato, up first in the video, describes how it was important to he and co-writer Francis Manapul that Mob Rule be someone close to Barry Allen.  He also reveals that the character’s actions, not his motivations, classify him as a super-villain.

Head on over to CBR to check out the video, or click on the following image of Brian Buccellato spitting knowledge.

New 52: Flash Debuts at the #4 Comic for September

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Diamond has released its September sales charts, and The Flash #1 takes the #4 spot on the chart. DC dominated the charts with 9 of the top 10 comics, and Flash was beat only by Batman #1, Action Comics #1, and Green Lantern #1.

From what DC has said before, we know that The Flash sold somewhere between 126K and 200K copies (more links in that article to older sales figures). And if three of DC’s books sold over 200K, and Flash is #4, it’s probably at the high end of that range.

Detailed sales estimates will no doubt be available soon at Comic Chronicles & ICv2.

Update: I had an interesting thought. Is this the first time sales have gone up with the next issue after Geoff Johns has left a series? Obviously the circumstances are unusual, but still…

Art School: Step-by-Step with Francis Manapul & New Flash Artwork (via The Source)

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The Source has an interesting piece up today featuring Flash writer/artist Francis Manapul, in which he takes readers through the process of creating a teaser/ad for DC’s New 52 Art Tour.

Manapul discusses his approach, from early layouts to the element of luck.  The first few steps include previously unseen artwork from the upcoming issue #3.  Here’s one version, featuring the preview:

The artwork previews, cover solicits and teasers for Flash have all been stunning.  A post like today’s Source feature shows off some of the ways that Manapul and partner Brian Buccellato are experimenting and innovating in their approach to the design of the Scarlet Speedster.  Looking for more?  We interviewed Manapul about his work earlier this year.

Head on over to The Source to check out the finished product(s).

Michael Rosenbaum Returns as the Flash in Justice League: Doom

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TV Guide reports on the voice cast of Justice League: Doom, an upcoming direct-to-home-video animated film inspired by Mark Waid’s JLA: Tower of Babel, in which Batman’s contingency plans to take down each of his colleagues if necessary are stolen and turned against them. Based on the cast list, it appears to have been adapted to better match the current “New 52” lineup, with Hal Jordan replacing Kyle Rayner (as he replaced John Stewart in Crisis on Two Earths) and Cyborg replacing Aquaman (who is in the new comics lineup, confusing the issue a bit).

The feature will reunite Justice League/Justice League Unlimited cast members Kevin Conroy as Batman, Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Carl Lumbly as the Martian Manhunter…and Michael Rosenbaum as The Flash. Joining them will be Nathan Fillion, reprising his role as Green Lantern Hal Jordan from Emerald Knights, Tim Daly, voice of Superman from the 1990s animated series and the more recent Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and Apocalypse features, and Bumper Robinson as Cyborg.

The Green Lantern Corps forum has more information including a list of villains (via TRKA): The Royal Flush Gang, Vandal Savage, Cheetah, Bane, Metallo, Star Sapphire, and Mirror Master (Alexis Denisof).