At The Source, DC has posted the first page of the Flash strip from Wednesday Comics by Brenden Fletcher and Kerl Kerschl! The story stars Barry Allen, Iris West and Gorilla Grodd.
As you can see by the layout, each page is basically the size of four standard comic book pages.
Wednesday Comics starts tomorrow and will run weekly for the next 12 weeks.
DC has quietly rescheduled Flash: Rebirth #4 from July 22 to August 5 — a two-week delay for a book that was already scheduled at six weeks after the previous issue. No indication why, but DC did change the book from a 5-issue miniseries to a 6-issue miniseries. Even if Johns and Van Sciver were aiming for 6 issues from the start, it wouldn’t surprise me if they had some restructuring to do on #4.
So far, the schedules for issues #5 and #6 haven’t changed, so we could still see the series wrap by the end of September.
On a personal note, there’s a bit of a silver lining for me, since the original date was the zeroth day of Comic-Con International. I’d been trying to figure out the best way to buy the book, read it twice, and write up a full review on the same day that I’d be driving down to San Diego and attending Preview Night.
Update July 15: DC’s website now shows Flash: Rebirth #4 with a release date of August 12. That’s a full 3 weeks after the original release date, and a full 2 months after the previous issue. At this point it seems likely that issues 5 and 6 will be pushed back as well.
Update August 24: It’s coming out this week.
From the latest 20 Questions with Dan Didio:
12. Is there word on a creative team for Flash post Rebirth? Obviously, it’s assumed that Geoff [Johns] will be writing it…
DD: Yes it is, it is assumed. (laughs)
NRAMA: What are the chances that Ethan will join him?
DD: Right now, we’ve got Ethan [Van Sciver] and Geoff pushing pretty hard on Flash: Rebirth, and once we get a little closer, we’ll be announcing the team on the Flash monthly comic. It’s all part of a bigger announcement, because it’s not just about one Flash book. [emphasis added]
Reeeeeallly…?
The obvious implication here is that there will be more than one Flash-related series spinning out of Flash: Rebirth. We can probably safely assume that one will be The Flash, starring Barry Allen, written by Geoff Johns. As for the other(s), Didio may simply be referring to the 3-issue miniseries, Blackest Night: The Flash, which starts in November. DC hasn’t announced the creative team for that book, either, so they could be planning to announce the mini and the ongoing together.
But what if he is talking about something more ambitious? What might a second Flash-related book be?
What else would you like to see? What else would you expect to see?
(via @collecteditions)
A few interesting notes from this weekend’s conventions, HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina and WizardWorld Philadelphia.
Newsarama’s writeup of DC Nation at HeroesCon has the most direct Flash news. Ian Sattler showed of a copy of Wednesday Comics and talked about the series:
Sattler said that the Flash story features Flash Comics on the top of the page and Iris West Comics on the bottom half, but halfway through the story, the two meet and join, as the Flash literally and figuratively “runs” into Iris’ story.
I love this idea. It’s the kind of thing that only really makes sense in a comic-book format, as well. If you did it as a movie, it would just be alternating scenes with each protagonist until they meet.
Newsarama also says that when a fan asked Ethan Van Sciver why Superboy gets a new series but Kid Flash doesn’t, the artist responded, “We’re going to make you so happy in Rebirth.”
From the way it was presented, it sounds like a non-sequitur. Presumably he means that Bart Allen will have a bigger role in the second half of the miniseries. I don’t really expect to turn to the last page of issue #6 and see a Kid Flash series announced, though certainly stranger things have happened.
The other item of interest comes from Wizard World Philadelpha. CBR’s writeup of Philly’s DC Nation included a segment in which Dan Didio talked about Teen Titans.
DiDio said fans will start seeing a more stable team starting with issue #75, adding that a “couple of returning characters are going to be coming back in”
Now, I’m probably reading too much into this, but Superboy and Kid Flash both returned pretty recently. How many Teen Titans readers would like to see them back on the team?
Update: CBR’s article on HeroesCon’s DC Nation has a few details missing from the Newsarama version.
First, Ethan Van Sciver talked more about Flash: Rebirth:
“It’s the best thing to be doing right now,” Van Sciver said. “Geoff Johns and I have a very large vision for these characters.” He said they’re planting “little tentpoles” and have big plans for Bart Allen.
This puts the other remark about Bart into context…though of course, what those plans might be remain in the “wait and see” corner.
A fan also asked EVS about the fate of Rival, and he simply said, “What happens in the Speed Force stays in the Speed Force.”
Another fan wanted Barry Allen to wear bow ties in Justice League of America, but new artist Mark Bagley declined, saying he (Bagley? Barry?) “doesn’t own a single tie.”
Seriously, what is it with the bow tie?
ICv2 has published their table of May 2009 sales estimates, and it doesn’t look good — for anyone. The summary notes that comic sales overall dropped 19% from April to May.
Flash: Rebirth #2 was still ranked highly at #4 (down from #2 in April), but had dropped to an estimated 86,183. At first glance that’s a staggering drop of 15.8% — but since the entire market dropped 19%, by comparison, Flash: Rebirth is actually doing pretty well!
| Issue | Rank | Units Sold | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash: Rebirth #1 (of 6) | 2 | 102,429 | +286.6% |
| Flash: Rebirth #2 (of 6) | 4 | 86,183 | -15.9% |
Meanwhile, down near the bottom, the chart shows another 2,681 units of Flash: Rebirth #1 — presumably these would be the second printing, which arrived in stores the very last week of April.
Flash: Rebirth #2 is also still the third-highest monthly sales a Flash book has pulled in the last decade.
| Month | Issue | Units Sold | Change | W/Reorders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/2006 | Flash: FMA #1 | 120,404 | (+196.8%) | [126,741] |
| 04/2009 | Flash: Rebirth #1 | 102,429 | (+286.6%) | [105,110] |
| 05/2009 | Flash: Rebirth #2 | 86,183 | (-15.9%) | |
| 07/2006 | Flash: FMA #2 | 77,487 | (- 35.6%) | [ 82,501] |
| 07/2007 | All Flash #1 | 78,955 | (+ 2.7%) | |
| 06/2007 | Flash: FMA #13 | 76,860 | (+ 60.8%) | [ 82,767] |
| 08/2007 | Flash #231 | 72,898 | (- 7.7%) |
These are Flash issues that sold more than 70,000 units over the past few years. (Even Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge maxed out around 62K.) Interestingly, these top issues are all the first and second issues of a relaunch, with one exception: Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, the final issue of that series, in which Bart Allen was killed.
DC’s full solicitations for September are up at CBR and elsewhere, and it’s a slightly lighter month for the Flash. (Quitting the Justice League will do that.) Though it does have the conclusions of both The Flash: Rebirth and the Flash feature in Wednesday Comics.
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 September 30 • 6 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
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