Coming next week DC Direct’s vinyl designer action figure series, UNI-FORMZ will be releasing their fourth wave featuring The Fastest Man Alive. The Flash’s Classic Look featuring the iconic red and yellow costume with Barry’s straight across belt will be joined by two variants; Professor Zoom (Eobard Thawne) and the Black Flash. These variants will be produced in far lower quantities than the classic Flash look:
Solicits after the jump
DC’s August Solicitiations are out, and as usual they include advance news on upcoming collections as well. The Flash Chronicles Volume 2, informally announced back in February, now has an official release date of September 29.
Written by JOHN BROOME • Art by CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE GIELLA, FRANK GIACOIA & MURPHY ANDERSON
Cover by CARMINE INFANTINO & MURPHY ANDERSON
In this second volume, Barry Allen’s rogues gallery expands with the addition of Gorilla Grodd, the Mirror Master and the Weather Wizard, plus the debuts of Kid Flash and the Elongated Man! Collecting THE FLASH #107-112.
On sale SEPTEMBER 29 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US
According to the solicitation, this is not the final cover.
Back to August, in addition to Flash #5 and the usual Justice League (now with Jesse Quick), Justice Society (Jay Garrick) and Teen Titans (Bart Allen) books, DC Universe: Legacies catches up to the original Teen Titans (Wally West).
According to Diamond’s shipping changes and DC’s page for the issue, The Flash #3 has been rescheduled from June 9 to June 23.
No changes so far on the schedule for Flash #4 or the just-solicited Flash #5.
Update: Flash isn’t the only speedster seeing delays. Over at Top Cow, the first issue of the Velocity miniseries was supposed to ship on May 26, but will be out the first or second week of June instead. Wouldn’t it be interesting if it ended up arriving the day that Flash #3 was originally going to reach stores?
ICv2’s April 2010 sales estimates are up. Last week’s rankings from Diamond showed that Flash #1 was ranked #2 for the month, but what does that mean in absolute numbers? How were sales in general that month? (It turns out they were down 15% compared to last year.)
As it turns out, Flash volume 3 debuted at an estimated 100,903 copies, slightly behind Flash: Rebirth #1, but solidly ahead of the numbers by the end of the miniseries…and way ahead of the Flash Secret Files book, which only sold 37,339 copies. (Even that was ahead of the last few issues of the failed 2007 relaunch of Wally West’s series.)
Meanwhile, the Flash: Rebirth hardcover sold an estimated 4,405 copies in its first month, making it the #3-ranked graphic novel.
So how does Flash vol.3 stack up to other recent relaunches?
| Issue | Rank | Month | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash:TFMA #1 | 7 | June 2006 | 120,404 |
| All-Flash #1 | 22 | July 2007 | 78,955 |
| Flash v.2 #231 | 26 | August 2007 | 72,898 |
| Flash: Rebirth #1 | 2 | April 2009 | 102,429 |
| Flash v.3 #1 | 2 | April 2010 | 100,903 |
It’s worth remembering that 2007 was a stealth relaunch. All-Flash #1 and Flash v.2 #231 were solicited as issues #14 and #15 of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, and DC didn’t announce the relaunch until Flash:TFMA #13 came out, killing Bart Allen, whose series had dropped sharply from that 120K high to a 46K low in only 10 issues.
By comparison, DC gave a major push for both Flash: The Fastest Man Alive and Flash: Rebirth. One spun out of Infinite Crisis, the other out of Final Crisis. (Heck, even this book spins out of Blackest Night and into Brightest Day. Wally’s relaunch was linked to Countdown. Seriously, Countdown. That’s got to have hurt!) DC shut down the then-ongoing Flash series for several months ahead of each launch.
I find it very interesting that this issue sold so much better than the last issue of Flash: Rebirth, which only pulled in 70K. Here are my thoughts on what factors might be involved:
DC has released their Brightest Day solicitations for August, including…
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 White Lantern Variant cover by RYAN SOOK, FERNANDO PASARIN & JOEL GOMEZ
BRIGHTEST DAY continues with a shocking connection to the White Light as Captain Boomerang and the Reverse-Flash experience a bizarre event that ties them together. Meanwhile, it’s the Rogues vs. the Renegades with The Flash caught in the middle!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale AUGUST 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Other Flash-related items: the final two parts of the Justice Society/Justice League of America crossover, featuring both Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick. Currently they’re both in the JSA, but Jesse will be moving over to the JLA at the end of this story. (Also: how did I miss the fact that Cyborg is appearing in backup stories in JLA?)
Diamond has posted their top 100 comics for April 2010, and the new Flash relaunch takes the #2 spot…right after Brightest Day #0 and before Green Lantern #53.
Just one year ago, Flash: Rebirth #1 also started in the #2 spot for April.
Meanwhile, Flash Secret Files and Origins 2010 is way down the list at rank #43 by units sold. Clearly, a lot fewer people were interested in the background material than in the relaunch itself. Of course, Flash Secret Files also didn’t have the words “Brightest Day” above the title.
Sales estimates will probably be out in another week or so. It’ll be interesting to compare the number of actual copies sold to Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night: The Flash. For now, here are the sales and rankings for the past year.