Category Archives: Flash News

DC: Back to Square #1

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I guess the first rule of Flashpoint has been rescinded.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

11 Replies

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

Flashpoint World Map & Grodd the Conqueror

3 Replies

Among today’s Flashpoint Friday articles at The Source are this map of the world of Flashpoint showing trouble spots, and an interview with Sean Ryan about his one-shot: Grodd of War.

It seems that in a world without a Flash, Grodd took control of Gorilla City and began expanding his empire, conquering the whole of Africa by the time Flashpoint begins. But everything’s come too easily, and he just isn’t satisfied without a challenge.

Other articles posted today include interviews about The World of Flashpoint and Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos. CBR has a good round-up of the day, including both DC’s releases and fan reactions.

Quick Hits: Flash Actors in Dallas, Help Moose Baumann & More

Flash Sales Level Off in April 2011

3 Replies

ICv2 has posted their sales estimates for April, and The Flash volume three appears to be leveling out at around 55,000 copies an issue…just in time to get canceled for Flashpoint. Both issues landed in the top 20 comics for the month.

For comparison, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive bottomed out at 46K before climbing slightly to 47K, then getting a Countdown-infused sales boost for the final issue, while the post-Countdown relaunch dropped to around 26K before it was canceled to make way for Flash: Rebirth.

So despite the delays, and despite the Flashpoint-induced “cancellation,” this seems to be the most successful Flash relaunch in 5 years by numbers alone. Looking at sales rankings, it’s been consistently in the top 20 — something that hasn’t been true of The Flash in a long time.

I think the credit can be summed up in two words: Geoff Johns. The Flash vol.2 took a big hit when Mark Waid left, dropping from 40K to below 30K when this virtually unknown writer took over, but Johns slowly built up the readership until it hit around 50K when he left. (Then DC decided to cancel the series, printed a fill-in that had been sitting on the shelf and commissioned a 4-issue “finale” that dropped rapidly to 40K, thus giving legions of fans the mistaken impression that it had been canceled for sales.)

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%)

In other speedster news, Velocity #4 sold an estimated 5,247 copies, almost exactly the number sold of issue #3. Apparently those who were reading the book were committed, regardless of delays.

Speed Force

Tracking the Flash – the Fastest Man Alive