Category Archives: Flash News

Newsarama interviews new FLASH team of Manapul & Buccellato

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Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers interviews Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, the art team from Flash vol.3 who will be taking over both writing and art on September’s new series.

I’ve only had time to skim it, but the things that stand out to are:

  • Even Geoff Johns encouraged them to figure out what the Flash, Barry, and his supporting case mean to them — not to try to give us a second-rate Geoff Johns book, but a first-rate Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato book. “I think what made Geoff’s run great was that it was personal to him. Brian and I needed to find a voice and find what was personal to us. And we did.”
  • They had strong ideas about where they wanted to take the Flash, then had to figure out how that would fit within the new DCU.
  • They plan to really push the envelope in terms of visually portraying super-speed.
  • When asked about scheduling, they stressed that they weren’t the ones responsible for the delays on the previous volume. They wouldn’t talk about who or what was the cause, but added, “editorial would not put us in the position we’re in if they thought we weren’t capable of doing what we’re doing.”

Head over to Newsarama to read the full interview.

Flash Reboot Creative Team: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato (UPDATED)

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DC has announced ten of the new titles and their creative teams launching as part of their massive universe-wide revamp this September, including The Flash #1.

Rising superstar Francis Manapul, fresh off his acclaimed run on THE FLASH with Geoff Johns, makes his comics writing debut in THE FLASH #1, sharing both scripting and art duties with Brian Buccellato. The Flash knows he can’t be everywhere at once, but what happens when he faces an all-new villain who can? The cover to issue #1 is by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato on art? An all-new villain in the first issue?

DC just found a way to keep me reading!

Obviously Manapul as a writer is an unknown quantity, but I love his art on the book, and the way Buccellato colors it. And assigning him the book now seems like a clear vote of confidence from DC upper management, further supporting the idea that he wasn’t solely responsible for the delays in Flash vol.3. I’d hazard a guess that a big part of it was Geoff Johns being tied up with preparations for the universe-wide reboot. That’s got to have been time consuming.

Update: Francis Manapul, addressing concerns about the team’s writing experience, posted the following on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/FrancisManapul/statuses/76339587789766656

As far as what’s in store for the Scarlet Speedster:

https://twitter.com/#!/FrancisManapul/status/76343324516159488

Buccellato adds:

https://twitter.com/#!/BrianBooch/status/76344568219570176

Update: Here’s why I’m calling this Flash vol.4.

Update: Bob Wayne’s second letter to retailers insists: “this is the launch of the New DCU. It is not a ‘reboot.’ I think you will soon discover why that is.” My take, based on what I’ve seen in today’s announcements, is that they’re basically doing what they did after Crisis on Infinite Earths, just in a more coordinated manner. The key difference being, it seems that this isn’t going all the way back to the beginning for every character. We’ll have to see what that means for the Flash. I just hope it means we won’t be reading updated versions of old stories every few months.

(More reports & commentary: CNN, Comics Alliance, The Beat, Comics Should Be Good, Robot 6, Comics Nexus, Newsarama, Firestorm Fan.)

Redesigned Flash by Jim Lee

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The USA Today article about DC’s upcoming reboot includes a drawing of the Justice League with Jim Lee’s new costume designs…but not the entire image. Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Green Lantern are all visible, but the Flash and Batman are both off-panel, but it turns out that the article thumbnail on the newspaper’s home page shows the Flash’s mask.

I got the impression somewhere on Twitter that the full image appears in the print version of the article.

Update: I was in such a rush to post this that I forgot to comment on it. The only thing that really stands out in this picture is the chin guard (which was my least favorite element of the Walter West Dark Flash costume). The seams will get lost in the detail when drawn by most artists, and the earpieces change all the time anyway.

Update 2: SpeedsterSite found a copy of the full Jim Lee Justice League image. Here’s the Flash:

Oh, look, there’s that yellow outline around the circle, which Ethan Van Sciver so carefully added to Wally West’s costume in order to distinguish him from Barry Allen.

Update: You can see more of the costume in Francis Manapul’s cover for Flash #1.

DC: Back to Square #1

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USA Today confirms that DC is in fact relaunching everything at #1 in September, and Geoff Johns and Jim Lee are relaunching Justice League.

It looks like it’s a bit more than simply a coordinated jumping-on point like One Year Later or the post-Zero Hour #0 issues or a more thorough reboot. Jim Lee has “spearheaded the redesign of more than 50 costumes to make characters more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old,” and Dan Didio says, “This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.”

Further details about individual series and characters will follow on The Source over the next week.

I guess the first rule of Flashpoint has been rescinded.

More importantly: DC will begin releasing comics digitally on the same day as the print editions go on sale.

As for what this means for the Flash franchise…I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but I’m beginning to suspect that one of my worst-case scenarios for Flashpoint is actually going to happen.

Update: Newsarama posts a letter DC sent to retailers about the revamps, including the following explanation:

We have taken great care in maintaining continuity where most important, but fans will see a new approach to our storytelling. Some of the characters will have new origins, while others will undergo minor changes. Our characters are always being updated; however, this is the first time all of our characters will be presented in a new way all at once.

More details will be announced over the next month, with full September solicitations on June 13.

Updates: CBR has a round up of what we know so far. USA Today has an interview with Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and Dan Didio. More breakdowns at Weekly Crisis, Comics Alliance. The Beat has a round-up of creator & retailer reactions.

Geoff Johns Leaving The Flash after Flashpoint (UPDATED with commentary)

While DC still isn’t saying much about what happens after Flashpoint (“The first rule…”), they’ve just made an announcement about the Flash:

But like issue #12 was the final issue of THE FLASH by Johns, the final issue of FLASHPOINT will conclude Johns’ run on FLASH titles for the foreseeable future.

Geoff Johns wrote a long run on The Flash (vol.2) starring Wally West in the early half of the last decade, then returned in 2009 for the miniseries Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night: The Flash, and the short-lived series The Flash (vol.3) starring Barry Allen, culminating in the Barry Allen-centered Flashpoint.

So what is coming up for The Flash after Flashpoint?. We don’t know much (see that first rule again), but DC’s subscription service says The Flash #1 is coming in September (thanks to Deron Morgan for asking them!). This may fit in with the rumors of a line-wide post-Flashpoint renumbering, or it may simply be the logical choice to launch The Flash (vol.4).

UPDATE: Some Thoughts

I’m of mixed feelings on this. On one hand, I’ve been disappointed with the relaunched series. There’s quite a bit about the Rebirth-era Flash that I haven’t liked, and my favorite aspect, in fact, was the fantastic art by Francis Manapul. So bringing in someone new — perhaps someone more interested in telling stories about a speedster than telling me how wonderful this particular speedster is — is probably something I’d welcome.

Plus with his job as Chief Creative Officer, chances are that Geoff Johns has been awfully busy, which may have contributed to the now-infamous delays.

That said, what stands out the most for me about The Flash vol.3 are the missed opportunities. I wanted to read “Murder in Gorilla City.” I wanted to read those backup stories featuring Wally West (I’m still waiting to see him “kick ass,” as Geoff Johns promised a year and a half ago) and those Kid Flash solo stories by Sterling Gates. I wanted to read about Abra Kadabra’s other enemies scattered across the centuries. I thought “Mara Thawne” was a cool name for a villain. Presumably, we won’t even see The Flash: Secret Origin, which Geoff Johns has said on several occasions that he wants to do.

Most of all, I wanted to believe (wasn’t convinced, but wanted to believe) that everything I didn’t like about Geoff Johns’ take on The Flash was part of a long-term plan that would have some sort of payoff. For that to happen, he had to be committed to the character long-term.

Now we know that Flashpoint is the endgame. That’s a lot for the next four issues to live up to.

Exclusive Flash Converse Available for Preorder

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Converse has FINALLY gotten around to making an official pair of DC Comics licensed Flash Chuck Taylors. Chuck Taylors were a style of shoe first created in 1915, with the current incarnation being popularized in the 70s. Converse has released several different kinds of shoes over the years featuring DC Comics characters including Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. To my knowledge the closest we got to having a pair of Flash Chucks before was if we made them ourselves:

 

Now Flash and Converse fans finally have an official pair of shoes to rock:

Available exclusively through popular online shoe website, Journeys. The shoes are currently available for pre-order to ship in June, although I think they have gone through their initial stock because my order is back-ordered until July. I’m crossing my fingers that the order goes through, there is no telling how many of these shoes are available. They are pretty affordable at $59.99 so if you plan on ordering them I would do it asap.

Anyone else plan on ordering a pair of these? How many of you would actually wear them?

Thanks for reading,

–Devin “Flash” Johnson