Category Archives: Flash News

Flash Comics for January 2010

DC’s January solicitations are up at CBR and elsewhere, including the second issue of Blackest Night: The Flash.

Blackest Night: The Flash #2

Blackest Night: The Flash #2Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul

Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins continue this must-have BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in!

The Flashes find themselves more tangled into Nekron’s ultimate plan than they could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, it’s a well-known fact that Captain Cold hates running. But when the Rogues of the past rise to claim those that still survive, he has no choice!

This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Scott Kolins), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul).

On sale January 13 – 2 of 3 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: The Black Lantern Rogues appear to be, from left to right:

Three of the dead Rogues have successors (four if you include the Rainbow Raiders). Two of them — Top and Boomerang — have died and come back to life before. Four of the surviving Rogues — Captain Cold, Mirror Master (Evan McCullogh), Weather Wizard, and Heat Wave — have also died and returned to life (Underworld Unleashed and Hell To Pay).

Team books and events after the cut.

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Blackest Night: The Flash #2 Solicited (With Cover)

IGN has DC’s January Blackest Night solicitations, including the Green Lantern books, the three second-half miniseries, and eight “dead” titles resurrected for the month. Two of those titles feature Golden-Age Flash villains the Fiddler and the Shade. Full solicitations for January 2010 should be up on Monday.

Blackest Night: The Flash #2

Blackest Night: The Flash #2Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul

Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins continue this must-have BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in!

The Flashes find themselves more tangled into Nekron’s ultimate plan than they could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, it’s a well-known fact that Captain Cold hates running. But when the Rogues of the past rise to claim those that still survive, he has no choice!

This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Scott Kolins), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul).

On sale January 13 – 2 of 3 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: I’m encouraged to see this not only still scheduled for January, but also still early in January. It implies that DC doesn’t plan to delay the book even if Flash: Rebirth ends up running past November.

The Black Lantern Rogues appear to be, from left to right:

Three of the dead Rogues have successors (four if you include the Rainbow Raiders). Two of them — Top and Boomerang — have died and come back to life before. Four of the surviving Rogues — Captain Cold, Mirror Master (Evan McCullogh), Weather Wizard, and Heat Wave — have also died and returned to life (Underworld Unleashed and Hell To Pay).

Classic Villain Guest Spots

Starman #81

Written by James Robinson
Art by Fernando Dagnino & Bill Sienkiewicz
Cover by Tony Harris

James Robinson revives his beloved STARMAN series for one more issue as a Black Lantern Starman haunts Opal City. Which Starman has returned and who can stop him from wreaking havoc on the city? Well, the Shade would rather just continue his date with Hope O’Dare, but if no one else can be bothered, what choice does he have but to investigate? Just don’t dare call him a Super Hero.

As the rest of the DC Universe is learning, defeating Black Lanterns isn’t easy – is this the final curtain call for the immortal Shade? Find out in another of this month’s one-issue revivals of classic DC Universe titles!

ONE SHOT – on sale January 20 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Suicide Squad #67

Written by John Ostrander & Gail Simone
Art by J. Calafiore
Cover by Daniel LuVisi

Original SUICIDE SQUAD writer John Ostrander and Gail Simone resurrect The Suicide Squad as they take on BLACKEST NIGHT and the Secret Six! The Fiddler has risen from the dead, and he’s targeting Deadshot and anyone who stands in his way. But someone else has targeted Deadshot – the Suicide Squad! Everything is about to hit the Wall (Amanda Waller, that is) – and this Wall hits back!

Continuing this month’s one-issue revival of classic DC Universe titles, this epic story carries into January’s SECRET SIX #17!

ONE-SHOT – on sale January 6 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Secret Six #17

Written by John Ostrander & Gail Simone
Art by J. Calafiore
Cover by Daniel LuVisi

John Ostrander and Gail Simone continue their epic team-up that begins in SUICIDE SQUAD #67! Suicide Squad has taken capture of Deadshot, forcing him to rejoin their ranks. But the Secret Six doesn’t see that happening any time soon!

On sale January 13 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Geoff Johns talks Speed Force, XS, Wally’s Costume and More

CBR has posted their latest Geoff Johns Prime question and answer column. in it the Flash: Rebirth author talks about Blackest Night, Flash, Superman and a lot more.

Some Flash items that stood out:

Wally’s Costume

Back in June, Ethan Van Sciver said that Wally West’s new costume debuts in Flash: Rebirth #6, but Geoff Johns says here that it appears in #5. If that’s correct and not a typo, then I feel a lot more confident about the schedule for Blackest Night: Flash not being pushed back to avoid spoiling the costume debut.

He goes on:

And it’s very much a Flash costume. It’s tweaked, but it’s certainly not crazy. It’s not blue and white. It’s Flash. We never wanted to completely change it. We just wanted to accentuate what makes Wally’s costume, Wally’s costume. It will feel very familiar.

Hmm, hard to say, but I’m going to guess two things:

  • Barry keeps the straight-across belt and Wally keeps the V-shaped belt.
  • Wally loses the top of his cowl, making his hair visible.

XS

There are very big plans for XS in the future of the Flash universe. “The Flash” book and the “Kid Flash” book start next year

I think this is great. I haven’t read much of the DnA Legion of Super-Heroes, but I liked her appearances in Impulse during and around “Dead Heat.” Jenni and Bart really connected during that story, and I can see a lot of potential with two teenage speedsters who have spent significant amounts of time in the future. Plus it’s got to be a big change for Bart to go from having one blood relative around (Iris) to three (Iris, Barry and Jenni).

On the other hand, I hope XS will still be tied to the Legion of Super-Heroes, and I hope her Flash appearances are in addition to the “new” female speedster hinted at in San Diego and Long Beach.

Hey, wouldn’t it be weird if she ends up in the Justice League? (Okay, not going to happen, but she would be an “interesting” choice, wouldn’t she?)

The Speed Force

His longest Flash-related answer is to a question about why he changed the nature of the speed force in Flash: Rebirth. It’s several paragraphs long, but the part that stood out for me was this:

And literally if [Barry] builds up enough energy, just like anything else that builds up energy, boom, there’s a discharge somewhere or somewhen. A stray lightning bolt from the Speed Force that…strikes somebody that shares the same sense of justice that Barry Allen has.

This picks up from something suggested during William Messner-Loebs’ run on the book, in which he suggested that Barry Allen might somehow have subconsciously willed the accident that gave him super-speed to repeat itself with Wally. It explains the mysterious behavior of the speed force “noticing” people, though it doesn’t quite explain, for instance, Savitar — who certainly didn’t share Barry Allen’s sense of justice. Maybe he did before he gained his powers. Or maybe he gained them through a discharge from Thawne’s “negative speed force?”

(Personally, I think that these changes overcomplicate a plot device that was designed to simplify speedsters’ origins, but that’s just my opinion.)

Flash Movie

Geoff Johns says that he’s “working on The Flash” and Shazam but can’t say anything more at this time.

Flash: Rebirth #5 Now Due November 11

Flash: Rebirth #5Wow…this would be hilarious if it weren’t…actually, scratch that. It is hilarious.

DC’s website now shows Flash: Rebirth #5 as shipping on November 11, 2009. A week ago it was scheduled for November 4. A week before that it was October 28. Two weeks before that, it was October 14. And it was originally supposed to be out on August 26!

No change yet on the schedule for Flash: Rebirth #6 or Blackest Night: Flash #1. DC’s January solicitations should be up next Monday, though. There may be some leeway since January is a “skip month” for Blackest Night, though it’s not clear whether it’s only the primary miniseries or the side series like Blackest Night: Flash, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman and Blackest Night: JSA that are skipping. If we see BN: WW #2 and BN: JSA #2 on the schedule, but not BN: Flash #2, we’ll know something’s up.

I’m beginning to feel like I should start a betting pool for when Flash: Rebirth will actually wrap.

Update: Now it’s November 18.

Flash: Rebirth #5 Delayed Yet Again

Well, DC’s website shows that Flash: Rebirth #5 has been pushed back another week to November 4 — 10 weeks after #4. Once again, we’re faced with a month without a Flash issue.

Good thing we’ve got that spotlight in The Brave and the Bold #28 coming up, isn’t it?

So far DC hasn’t rescheduled issue #6 again, still listing it with a release date of November 25. I doubt anyone reading this page actually expects it to ship by then.

To be honest, I don’t particularly mind the delays at this point, at least as far as Rebirth itself is concerned. The story will be ready when it’s ready. What does bother me is that it will probably impact other Flash-related comics, particularly:

  • Blackest Night: The Flash (currently scheduled to start December 2)
  • Anything in which Wally West might appear in costume (in order to keep the debut of his new costume in Flash: Rebirth #6

DC hasn’t worried about showing a post-Rebirth Barry Allen while the story’s still unfinished, but then the only thing spoilery is that he survives. Not exactly a surprise for a story called Flash: Rebirth. But a high profile costume redesign? I can see DC holding back on that like they held back on Superboy’s return for Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.

(Thanks to @kukheart for alerting me.)

Update: Now it’s November 18.

Flash Film Fumbled? No, Just Old News.

Producer Charles Roven tells IGN that he’s off the long-delayed Flash movie…but we knew that already. Sites such as G4, Screen Rant, Mania, First Showing and MTV seem to think this means Warner Bros. has halted development…but I’ve been following news on this movie since it was announced 5 years ago, and I don’t think that’s the case.

Let’s look at Roven told IGN:

“I was involved at one point with The Flash,” said Roven. “And Warner Bros. came to me and said, ‘The work that you’ve been doing hasn’t yet resulted in something that any of us, including the filmmaking team, feel could be greenlit as a movie. We’re trying to accomplish something that takes into account the entire, rich DC character world, and we’d like to pull it back. That doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to be a part of it. We just want to take a different kind of approach. Do you mind if we try that?’ If we had something that was really working…”

He doesn’t say when the project was pulled back from him, or at least IGN doesn’t tell us.

And we knew a month ago that Roven had been taken off the project, when Warner Bros. announced the formation of DC Entertainment. Jeff Robinov, the architect behind last year’s Waner Bros/DC movie summit, was the one who “called [it] back” — and it was as a result of that summit that Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison and Marv Wolfman were brought in to help Warner Bros. develop DC characters for film.

I think we’re just finally hearing Charles Roven’s side of a change that happened months ago and paved the way for the Geoff Johns version of the film that DC announced in July.

Update: Screenwriter Dan Mazeau contacted IGN with a status update:

The Flash has not been hobbled. Everything is moving forward as planned….I’m still writing the script. Geoff Johns is still consulting. Flash fans have no cause for concern, and — IMO — lots to be excited about.

So, yeah, nothing new here.