Category Archives: Flash News

Release Date & More Detail on Flash #1

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

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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

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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.)