Wow, wow, wow! Some great stuff coming out of Toy Fair this year for the Flash. Mattel had quite a few new Flash related items to show off while DC Direct really had nothing new that we hadn’t already seen. The following pics below are courtesy of Toynewsi.com.
I was most looking forward to the Young Justice and JLU news because of the rumored upcoming releases and they didn’t disappoint. Well almost didn’t but we will get to that later.
Two items on Flashpoint from the last few days:
First, DC has announced Flashpoint edition Flash rings will ship with Flashpoint #2. DC previously shipped Flash rings with Flash #1 last year (pictured), and released a whole series of multi-colored lantern rings with Blackest Night tie-ins.
Second, Bleeding Cool has what appears to be a preliminary list of Flashpoint one-shots, and suggests that DC may be announcing the final list within the next week.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, well for toy fans anyway. Toy Fair weekend 2011 is upon us but don’t be alarmed because we haven’t seen any Mattel offerings yet:
Toy Fans,
Like San Diego Comic-Con, New York Toy Fair is one of the most hotly anticipated toy events of the year. Why? Because even though it isn’t open to the public, we unveil some of the biggest toys of the year!
This year, the Mattel Collector Night is on Sunday, February 13th, from 3 PM to 6 PM ET. Of course, I can’t show you images yet, but I promise we’ll have TONS of reveals from all your favorite lines, including a DCU Classics wave, figures from JLU, DCU vs MOTU, DCU Action League®, Ghostbusters™, Masters of the Universe®, and Green Lantern.
There will also be reveals and product on display from Batman, Young Justice™, CARS, WWE®, and even some Barbie® Collector items I know you’re gonna want. A lot of your favorite fan sites will be in attendance, so be on the lookout for updates from those sites −− but for the official scoop, be back here on Monday, February 14th, for our special post-Mattel Collector Night coverage!
— Matty
DC has started their monthly preview of solicitations for upcoming books with Flashpoint #1, coming May 11.
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by ANDY KUBERT
1:25 Variant cover A by ANDY KUBERT
Variant cover B by IVAN REIS and GEORGE PEREZ
Everything You Know Will Change in a Flash!
Not a dream, not an imaginary story, not an elseworld. This is a Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it? It’s a place where America’s last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of the Outsider, the Secret 7, S!H!A!M!Z!A!M! [Edit: I assume they meant to type “S!H!A!Z!A!M!”], Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces.
It’s a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can’t find the villain who altered the time line!
Welcome to FLASHPOINT!
On sale MAY 11 = 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US = Rated T
The five issues of the core FLASHPOINT series are oversized, 40 page books priced at $3.99 each, while the other mini series and the one shots will be priced at $2.99.
Last week, Dan Didio stated that only two ongoing DC series would tie into Flashpoint directly. The Flash is obvious, and given Booster Gold’s mission and the connections in Time Masters: Vanishing Point, his series seemed a good bet for the second one. DC confirmed it this morning: Booster Gold #44 will be a Flashpoint prelude written by Dan Jurgens. Newsarama has more.
Speed Force is keeping a running tally of the Flashpoint creative teams as information comes out.
Nothing really new in this interview at SciFiNow, though the writer does talk about the athleticism inherent in a film about a hero who runs really fast, and the approach to the character.
The Flash – to me – is about pure expression. Flash is untethered to the limitations of time and space – he can be everywhere at once and with that, I think, comes a certain freedom. Who hasn’t wanted to be faster? To get someplace quicker?
Interestingly, that reminds me of something Mark Waid has said about the appeal of the Flash. “No one gets up in the moming and says, ‘Gee, I wish I could throw power blasts out of my hands.’ However, everybody in the world knows what it’s like to miss the bus.”
As for getting people to look past “He runs fast,” Guggenheim explains:
Well, it’s all about who the character – in this case, Barry Allen – is before he gets his powers. We spent a lot of time talking about who Barry is and, specifically, why he’s the kind of guy we want to see get these powers bestowed on him. What’s missing in his life? What problems does he have? What personal foibles? And how are all those things impacted by the ability to run fast?
I’ll admit, this sounds a lot more appropriate for the Flash than taking inspiration from Se7en and Silence of the Lambs.
Head over to SciFiNow to read the whole interview.