Category Archives: Flash News

Flash & Flashpoint Sales for May

ICv2’s May sales estimates are up, including the final issue of Flash vol.3 and the first issue of Flashpoint. Flashpoint #1 sold an estimated 86,981 copies, ranked #2 for the month (right behind Marvel’s big event comic, Fear Itself #2), while The Flash #12 sold an estimated 54,914 copies to rank #15.

Sales have been steady the last three issues, and have held above the low point at issue #8, suggesting that the series found its level at around 54-55K…just in time to be canceled for DC’s September relaunch. (Or maybe it was just being propped up by people curious about Flashpoint?)

Issue	Rank	Month	Units Sold	% Change
Flash v.3 #1	2	April 2010	100,903
Flash v.3 #2	12	May 2010	76,560	(-24.1%)
Flash v.3 #3	11	June 2010	68,799	(-10.1%)
Flash v.3 #4	15	July 2010	64,832	(-5.8%)
Flash v.3 #5	14	September 2010	62,063	(-4.3%)
Flash v.3 #6	15	November 2010	57,673	(-7.1%)
Flash v.3 #7	12	December 2010	56,304	(-2.4%)
Flash v.3 #8	18	December 2010	53,975	(-4.1%)
Flash v.3 #9	9	February 2011	55,980	(+3.7%)
Flash v.3 #10	18	April 2011	54,953	(-1.8%)
Flash v.3 #11	19	April 2011	54,633	(-0.6%)
Flash v.3 #12	15	May 2011	54,914	(+0.5%)
Flashpoint #1	2	May 2011	86,981

It’s surprising that Flashpoint #1 sold fewer copies than Flash #1, though I suppose it shouldn’t be. Between event fatigue, a feeling that the Flash mythos hadn’t been built up sufficiently to support a major event, and a general sense that the event was simply an alternate universe story and not as “important” as, for instance, Blackest Night, I remember the buzz being relatively poor beforehand. Over the last month, lots of people have remarked that the book has been under-ordered. (Even the tie-ins have been. I got the last copy of Flashpoint: Grodd of War from my local shop yesterday, the day it was released.) Clearly readers are responding better to the actual comic book than retailers expected, based on the multiple sell-out issues.

It’ll be interesting to see the figures with re-orders and the second printing included…and it’ll be interesting to see the sales figures on the later issues of the miniseries.

Quick Hits: Flashpoint Sales

Release Date & More Detail on Flash #1

23 Replies

Bleeding Cool has what appears to be the full solicitation text for the 52 DC Comics titles launching in September, including The Flash.

THE FLASH #1

Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by IVAN REIS and TIM TOWNSEND
On sale SEPTEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

The Fastest Man Alive returns to his own monthly series from the writer/artist team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato! The Flash knows he can’t be everywhere at once, but what happens when he faces an all-new villain who really can! As if that’s not bad enough, this villain is a close friend!

What’s New compared to the first announcement? The release date, the variant cover credit, and the news that the new villain is a close friend. Since coming back from the dead in Flash: Rebirth, Barry doesn’t seem to have any close friends outside the super-hero community, but who knows what’s been changed in the wake of Flashpoint. Could this be a returning character or a new one?

Let the speculation begin!

Update (Monday): DC’s official solictations confirm the additional details.

Jay Garrick and Wally West MIA in the New DCU…For Now

39 Replies

DC has officially announced 48 of the 52 comics being relaunched in September. The remaining books are sure to include Action Comics and Superman, and covers have leaked featuring Superman, Supergirl and Superboy. It seems a safe bet that unless one of the younger heroes is headlining Action, that wraps up the 52 series.

Conspicuously absent from the DC Reboot (from a Flash fan’s perspective): Justice Society (of the JSA roster, only Mr. Terrific has appeared so far) and the second Flash book, Speed Force, announced by Geoff Johns last summer.

While Barry Allen headlines The Flash and Bart Allen appears as Kid Flash in Teen Titans, there appears to be nowhere in the initial wave for fans to read about Wally West or Jay Garrick.

Factor in the emphasis on younger heroes, the implication that Barry Allen is still learning the ropes in the new series, and the focus on keeping things simple for new readers to figure out, and you have to wonder whether Jay and Wally even exist in the new DCU.

I asked as much on Twitter, and The Flash co-writer/artist Francis Manapul replied:

https://twitter.com/#!/FrancisManapul/statuses/78942736841060352

It’s neither a confirmation nor a denial, but at least the writer working on the new book wants to keep them around, if the higher-ups allow it.

Reportedly there are more series planned for the following months. We know, for instance, that Batman, Inc. will relaunch in 2012 after a hiatus to allow Grant Morrison to work on another project, and we know that Batman Beyond will be back, though it’s not among the 52 books announced for September.

Are there plans for Wally West and Jay Garrick in a second wave of launches? Have they been wiped from existence? Are they still around, sitting on the back burner, waiting for someone to use them? Are their fans (OK, Wally’s fans) still willing to wait after years of false starts, broken promises, and generally being jerked around?

Update: Dan Didio has this to say about the Justice Society (thanks, @SpeedsterSite):

AS for JSA, we have decided to rest this concept while we devote our attention on the launch of the three new Justice League series. As for other characters and series not part of the initial 52, there are plenty of stories to be told, and we’re just getting started.

So it sounds like the “back burner” approach, at least with Jay and the JSA.

Kid Flash in New DC’s Teen Titans

32 Replies

Today, DC announced its teenage superhero titles, including the new Teen Titans series.

Tim Drake is forced to step out from behind his keyboard when an international organization seeks to capture or kill super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he must team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and a hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash in TEEN TITANS #1, by Scott Lobdell and artists Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.

Tim Drake’s actually named. That’s clearly Cassie and Connor. Not sure about the other two women, but Jim Lee mentions adding new characters. As for Kid Flash, they seem to be going out of their way not to name him. His personality sounds like Bart Allen, but the shoulder symbol is the one usually used for Wally West. Can Dan Didio shed some light on this?

All of these characters have history with the DC Universe that existed before the team is built, but it might be just slightly different. But I think in capturing the voice and the spirit of these characters, I think they’re exactly who people think they are.

Newsarama adds that it’s Bart Allen, which certainly fits with Didio’s “exactly who people think they are” statement.

I wonder if he’ll still be a time-traveler? If he’ll still be Barry’s grandson? He could be a distant descendant (the way the Tornado Twins originally were in the Silver Age), which would remove one of the problematic aspects of Barry Allen’s return (namely that he’s supposed to be ~30 and has a teenage grandson, and even though he’s capable of traveling through time, he doesn’t use the ability to actually raise his kids).

13 titles left. Barry and Bart Allen are confirmed. Is there a place in the new DCU for Jay Garrick or Wally West?

Update: Several people, including Craig MacDonald and Scott Mateo, pointed me to this second image, which appears to be the actual cover for Teen Titans #1.

Update 2: Live Pa pointed out that there’s some more info in the discussion on Brett Booth’s blog.

Heat Wave and the Legion of Doom (Flashpoint)

2 Replies

Comic Book Resources interviews Adam Glass, writer of the miniseries Flashpoint: Legion of Doom, about the miniseries and the key role of long-time Flash villain Heat Wave, who in the Flashpoint reality is “Cyborg’s greatest threat.”

I guess the best way to explain it is, this is basically Heat Wave’s story, and it’s a classic revenge story. Cyborg, who is the Superman of this world, is his target because he stopped Heat Wave from doing something he really wanted. In the process, Heat Wave received burns over 60 percent of his body and he loses his sense of smell and taste. So he can’t smell or feel fire, which sets him off even more.

The series starts out in a supermax prison, and follows Heat Wave and other villains as he plans his escape and revenge. Glass promises a “ton of action” balanced with psychological depth as he explores Heat Wave’s obsessions with fire and revenge.

Head over to CBR to read the full interview. Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #1 arrives in stores next week.