Category Archives: Flash News

Flash News from Fan Expo: Rebirth, Series Launch & More

Between Ethan Van Sciver’s presence and the fact that Flash: Rebirth #4 had just been released two days earlier, there was a lot of Flash talk at Friday’s DC Nation panel at Fan Expo.

Newsarama’s article has a lot of Flash coverage, including this interesting statement by Flash: Rebirth artist Ethan Van Sciver:

I’m having a great time. It’s the book I pestered [Dan Didio] for over three years. I love Barry Allen. I love the Flash. The Flash is probably my favorite superhero. Barry has been gone 25 years and I though that was a pretty fair homage to pay for Crisis, but it was time to bring him back. When Geoff and I finally convinced Dan to let us do it, we built a huge gigantic story that really needed every single Flash, even some that had been missing, in order for it to work.

Flash Rebirth is Part 1 of that. It’s assembling all the pieces, putting them back together where we needed them to be, and then explain one little segment of what the speed force is. Again, Geoff is only giving you a taste of what it is. It’s so much more broad. Professor Zoom ties into it big time and it’s going to lead to a long, fruitful, and very successful ongoing series after this.

Jesse Quick

He added that Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle “has a great scene” in issue #5, and Dan Didio remarked that DC will be “exploring more about” Liberty Belle and Hourman. “They could be one of the more fun DC couples coming out right now.”

Bart Allen

CBR’s coverage includes some remarks that Ethan Van Sciver made about Kid Flash:

“How great is it to see Bart Allen again? I started on Impulse…I fed my family drawing Bart Allen as a young husband,” Sciver recalled “the look on Bart’s face in issue #4 was the look on my face when I drew it.”

Wally West

~~Joey Cavalieri~~ Ethan Van Sciver joked that, as far as Wally West’s role in the rest of the series, we should “See Blackest Night.” Nice.

Didio went on to state that, unlike with Green Lantern, “Wally was the perfect replacement. Everybody had moved on so now it’s not a story about somebody who has to fix something broken in his absence, but somebody who is coming back to see if he was relevant still. What I’m talking about actually plays into what the story is about.”

Nasty Trick?

There’s also apparently a “nasty trick” coming up, regarding which EVS said, “Keep reading, it’ll all make sense.” I’m beginning to wonder whether Cavalieri’s joke about Wally may have been hiding the truth in plain sight.

We know Blackest Night: Flash focuses on Barry and Wally and has live Rogues vs. dead Rogues. What if Wally West dies at the end of Flash: Rebirth, and Blackest Night: Flash has live Barry vs. Black Lantern Wally West? There has been speculation that at least some of the Black Lanterns will return to life by the end of Blackest Night, and Wally could be brought back by the end of the event. Kind of like the way Kyle Rayner was temporarily bonded to Parallax during Sinestro Corps War.

Ongoing Series

And now for a scoop by @liabrown1: At the DC Universe panel on Saturday, they announced that the Flash ongoing series will launch in March 2010. This lines up with the 3-issue Blackest Night: Flash miniseries starting in December. With any luck, September may be our last month without a Flash book for a long time!

She adds that DC is “not ready to announce” the artist on the Kid Flash series, which implies that they’ve at least got someone in mind.

Update: CBR’s coverage of the DCU panel is up.

Update 2: Newsarma’s DCU Editorial write-up is up too, and there’s a bit of confusion as to how many Flash books are launching when.

Flash: Rebirth #4 Preview & Variant Cover

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The Source has posted a four-page preview of Flash: Rebirth #4, due out Wednesday. DC has also posted the final version of the main cover and the variant cover.

I think this is the first time I’ve really liked both covers on this series. With issues #1 and #2 I liked the main covers much more than the variants, and then with #3 I liked the variant much more than the main cover. (I did manage to track down a copy at Comic-Con International.) This time…I may actually try to get both.

Dash over to The Source and check it out!

One Week to Flash: Rebirth #4

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It’s been a long wait since issue 3, but Flash: Rebirth #4 is not only on DC’s schedule for August 26, it’s on Diamond’s upcoming releases list for comics shipping next week. It’s very rare for a book to slip once it’s made it to that list, though it does happen from time to time. (Hey, Dabel Bros.! Where’s Robert Jordan’s New Spring #7!) *ahem!*

Here’s the current schedule:

Issue	Orig. Date	Actual Date	Gap	Delay
Flash: Rebirth #1	April 1	April 1	3 months*	On time
Flash: Rebirth #2	May 6	May 6	5 weeks	On time
Flash: Rebirth #3	June 10	June 10	5 weeks	On time
Flash: Rebirth #4	July 22	Aug. 26	11 weeks	5 weeks
Flash: Rebirth #5	Aug. 26	Oct. 14**	7 weeks	7 weeks
Flash: Rebirth #6	Sep. 30	Nov. 25**	6 weeks	8 weeks

*Since Flash v.2 #247

**Well, currently-scheduled date, anyway.

Flash Comics for November

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DC’s November 2009 Solicitations are up at Newsarama and elsewhere. There’s Blackest Night, the usual team books…and the rescheduled Flash: Rebirth conclusion.

The Flash: Rebirth #6

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver

In a battle along the outskirts of time, the secrets of the Speed Force have been revealed! The new archnemesis of those who ride the lightning is coming for Iris Allen. And the Barry Allen you knew is gone forever…or is he? What change does Wally West face? What destiny will Kid Flash choose? Prepare to meet a Flash Family that’s both familiar and different…and get to the starting line for the next epic adventures of the Speed Force!

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

On sale November 25 (rescheduled) • 6 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Edit: Just to clarify, Flash: Rebirth #6 isn’t in the November solicitations. It was previously solicited with a September shipping date and rescheduled. I’ve included it here for completeness.

Team books and more after the cut.

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Flash Hints from Chicago: Bart and Wally

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There’s not a whole lot of Flash-related news coming out of Chicago Comic-Con, partly because we’re still in the middle of Flash: Rebirth and partly because they dropped the big news two weeks ago in San Diego. But there were a few items mentioned at DC Nation.

First, Newsarama’s report mentions:

Red Robin will “absolutely” be dealing with the return of Superboy and Kid Flash in the near future.

I believe DC has previously mentioned that Tim and Bart will both be showing up (beyond the cameos in the first issue) of Conner Kent/Superboy’s stories in Adventure Comics. I wonder if Tim and Conner will be showing up in Red Robin at some point?

It’s interesting to note that, with Red Robin, Adventure Comics, and Kid Flash, the three original founders of Young Justice will all have their own series for the first time in eight years. Impulse and Superboy, both launched in the mid-1990s, were canceled in 2002. There’s a great scene from Young Justice around that time in which Bart and Kon are lamenting that “my comic got canceled” (supposedly referring to their favorite series to read), and commiserate until Robin walks into the room — and they proceed to glare at him. Does anyone remember what issue this was?

Anyway, back to DC Nation. CBR’s write-up adds another note.

Asked about the further ramifications about Barry Allen’s return as the Flash, “We are not retiring Wally West,” Sattler said to applause.

As reassuring as it is to know that DC does recognize that Wally still has fans, it’s more reassuring to know that the comment got applause. Of course, the best reassurance is still Geoff Johns’ remark that “Wally’s not only going to be fine, he’s going to kick ass.”

On the other hand, @weeklycrisis pointed out that “at DC, heroes either die off or live long enough to become the bad guy.” Ray of sunshine, there…

A couple of final notes from CBR’s article:

“Wednesday Comics” will be collected into trade according to strips rather than altogether, Sattler said.

I wonder if this means 15 separate books (which would actually be more volumes than the original 12-part series!) or whether it means they’ll be combining them by tone, style, character connections, etc.

“Aquaman Reborn” by Geoff Johns? “Ah, Aquaman,” Sattler sighed. No answer, but not in a “maybe” way–more exasperated.

Aquaman? Really? Not Vibe? 😉

Speed Reading

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A whole bunch of linkblogging for the week!

Reviews and Commentary

The Comic Treadmill is doing summer reruns with a look back at Flash v.2 #206-219 from 2005.

Blog@Newsarama looks at a panel from Blackest Night #1 and concludes that Barry died sometime between 1991 and 1996 if “the internet” is new to him today…and then there’s his using the term “geek” to refer to himself and Clark Kent, and Grant Morrison’s comment that “When geeks get power, you get Hitler.” Um…yeah.

Comix 411 reviews Green Lantern #44, guest starring the Flash.

Video Store Blues shows a couple of pages from the 2000 Superman and Bugs Bunny miniseries, featuring the Flash vs. the Road Runner.

The Weekly Crisis wishes DC and Marvel would engage in more world-building dealing with the impact of superheroes on Earth, like the Flash Museum and Superhero Memorial Day.

News and Interviews

CBR interviews Karl Kerschl and editor Marc Chiarello on Wednesday Comics

CBR has their own write-up of the DC Universe panel.

The Source has pictures from Geoff Johns and Dan Didio on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

The Source announces JSA All-Stars, a spinoff of Justice Society of America, and Newsarama interviews Matt Sturges.

Art

Comics Should Be Good has a John Byrne commission showing Doctor Doom defeating various DC heroes including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash.

CBR has The Nerdy Bird’s Flight to San Diego, including pictures of her as a Red Lantern with her custom-made plush Dex-Starr, Red Lantern Kitty of Rage!

The webcomic Kidd and Geezer presents Kiddo Cosplays at SDCC [link gone] with a trio of super-heroes who all have something in common…