Comics Nexus picked up on an interesting comment from Dan Jurgens about his miniseries, Time Masters: Vanishing Point. In addition to telling a Rip Hunter Story and acting as the flip side to Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, his third goal is “to put a few pieces in place for Flashpoint, for which Geoff Johns is sculpting some incredibly fun stuff down the road!”
CBR has more on the miniseries, though considerably less about the Flashpoint connection.
(Hat tip to Live Pa for the link!)
Digger Harkness will be getting his second HeroClix in October when they release The Brightest Day Action Pack. Boomerang will be released alongside several other key characters from DC Comic’s white hot bi-weekly series Brightest Day, including: Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), Aquaman, Osiris, Martian Manhunter (half martian, half Black Lantern), Hawkgirl, and Deadman. I really only collect Flash-related items so I will definitely be picking up Captain Boomerang, but the rest of the characters look pretty good too. You can check out Brightest Day Captain Boomerang below:
I mentioned that this is Digger’s second HeroClix. The first being released a few years back as part of the 2007 Justice League Set. This was the washed up version of Digger from his later years (primarily Identity Crisis):
I don’t like to compare ‘Clix usually, unless I have them in hand, but the second Boomer looks a lot better than the first. Of course the older one is supposed to be the washed up version and this newer one was released 3 years later and is supposed to be Digger rejuvenated, so I guess it makes sense that it looks a lot cleaner. I am really liking the new Boomer character design too. Although I’m not usually a fan of designs with trench coats, I can make an exception with characters like Digger that carry a large amount of weapons on their person (in this case lethal boomerangs). It makes perfect sense for storage purposes. I will of course reserve final judgement until it arrives, but I like what I’m seeing so far. Which reminds me: I’ve gotten eight new Flash-related ‘Clix over the last few months and I still have yet to do a write up on them. I was waiting for Blue Lantern Barry Allen to arrive and it finally got here a couple days ago. I will definitely have to make an effort to do this asap.
A little bit of Flash HeroClix trivia before we go:
In addition to Digger Harkness, only one other Flash villain has had two different HeroClix releases in two different sets; Who is it?
Batman: The Brave and the Bold’s Facebook page reports that new episodes return to Cartoon Network in “late July.” Presumably this means that US fans will finally be able to (legally) see “Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster” (featuring three generations of Flashes) and “Siege of Starro,” which have already been shown in Australia and the UK.
In related news, IGN has posted some new screenshots from the upcoming Batman: TBATB video game…including one featuring Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, and Heat Wave! (via The Rogues Kick Ass)
Among DC’s September solicitations are announcements of upcoming action figures and collectibles, including a Jesse Quick statue.
Well, sort of.
AME-COMI HEROINE SERIES: JESSE QUICK AS THE FLASH PVC FIGURE
Sculpted by Jack Mathews
Faster Than Lightning!
Super-speedster and member of the Flash family of zoomers, Jesse Quick invokes the mysterious 3×2(9y2)4A formula, tapping into the power of the Speed Force.
Fleet of foot, Jesse sizzles with swiftness!
Packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook, this non-articulated PVC statue stands approximately 9” high and includes a display base.
On sale February 9, 2011 * Statue * $70 US
Thoughts: This is part of a series of statuettes that have taken DC heroines and redesigned them with looks inspired by anime. This one’s a bit odd, as is another one announced today (Duela Dent as the Joker) in that they’re double mash-ups. Instead of just anime-inspired Jesse Quick, it’s anime-inspired Jesse Quick as the Flash.
OK, the Flash has the name recognition. And while they could have just given us a female Flash, it’s nice that they actually used one of DC’s few female speedsters (most of them are alternate-reality, past or future characters). And, let’s face it, Jesse Quick doesn’t exactly have an iconic look to start from. She’s gone through at least half a dozen costumes since her first appearance.
Side Note: Speaking of Jesse Quick and anime, about ten years ago I watched a science-fiction sports epic called Battle Athletes Victory. There’s an athlete named Jessie with long blonde hair whose last name I could never remember, so I always thought of her as Jesse Quick!
DC’s Brightest Day solicitations for September are up, including…
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 Variant cover by ALE GARZA & SANDRA HOPE
BRIGHTEST DAY dashes on with the stunning conclusion of “The Dastardly Deaths of the Rogues!” With Barry caught between the Rogues and the Renegades, the resurrected Captain Boomerang’s role in the adventure is revealed! You won’t believe how this leads to the upcoming FLASHPOINT…
On sale SEPTEMBER 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
So if “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” wraps up in #6, but the collection covers #1 through #7, presumably we’ve got a done-in-one story coming up in October.
And they’re already starting to plug Flashpoint.
In related news, DC has rescheduled The Flash from the beginning of each month to the end. Flash #3 is now June 30, Flash #4 has been moved from July 14 to July 28, and Flash #5 is now August 25 (previously August 18) — all in keeping with the September 22 date they just gave for #6.
Diamond has posted their top 100 comics for May, and The Flash #2 takes the #12 spot. The top 10 are full of Siege, Brightest Day and Batman–related comics.
Sales estimates should be available in the next few days.