Category Archives: Flash News

Kid Flash in New DC’s Teen Titans

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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)

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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.

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.