Category Archives: Flash News

Changes Coming to the Flash Comics

Van Jensen, half of the current Flash comic book writing team, has announced that he’s leaving the book after Flash #51.

As for the future, a bigger change is in the works. DC has teased some sort of “Rebirth”. Those original New 52 series are almost to issue 52. And another long-running creative team, Snyder and Capullo, are leaving Batman the same month.

There are rumors of a relaunch refocusing DC’s comics line to emphasize those characters who have the most media presence: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad in this year’s movies, Flash, Arrow and presumably Supergirl in TV. This of course has led to speculation of a return to previous continuity, though that seems more like wishful thinking to me than anything solid.

That said, superhero comics are wrapped in an ever-tightening circle of nostalgia, with new ideas jettisoned for old ones on a regular basis. Whether you consider this a return to form or a step backwards depends on whether you liked the particular changes involved.

Flash & Supergirl TV Shows to Cross Over in March!

Long-rumored, finally confirmed! Grant Gustin will be guest-starring on Supergirl as the Flash in the March 28 episode of the show!

Flash and Supergirl are much closer in tone than Flash and Arrow, so a crossover is natural. And of course, there’s a long history of Flashes racing against Superman — here’s hoping we see a race between the Scarlet Speedster and the Maid of Might!

“We are so incredibly excited to announce something that we have dreamed of happening since we starting making Supergirl—The Flash and Supergirl are teaming up!,” said The Flashand Supergirl Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg. “We want to thank Grant Gustin for making the time to come visit (on top of his already immense workload) and all of the folks at CBS, The CW, Warner Bros. and DC for working this out. And finally thanks to the fans and journalists who have kept asking for this to happen. It is our pleasure and hope to create an episode worthy of everyone’s enthusiasm and support.”

Early episodes of Supergirl pointed out that Superman was the world’s only public superhero at the time, and had been operating for over a decade before Kara went public. Early episodes of the Flash made it clear that the world wasn’t aware of anyone with super powers, with metahumans only appearing after the particle accelerator explosion, so Superman and Supergirl presumably aren’t part of the Arrowverse.

But there’s that multiverse, and this season of the Flash is built on interdimensional travel…

Flash by Mark Waid Collection Finally in the Works

Flash #62: Born to Run Part 1DC Comics has been releasing collections of the Geoff Johns and Morrison/Millar runs on the Wally West Flash series, but the classic stories by Mark Waid have been out of print for years. (They are available digitally, though.) That will FINALLY change toward the end of the year. Lee Hiley spotted an Amazon listing for a paperback collection of Flash by Mark Waid Book One, scheduled for September 13, 2016.

It’s clearly just a placeholder — there’s no cover, description, or page count, so we can only speculate as to what might be included. The recent Flash By Geoff Johns Book One covered 13 regular issues plus three longer specials, so let’s figure on around 15-16 issues’ worth.

Flash #62-65: “Born to Run,” the four-part retelling of Wally West’s origin and his first summer as Kid Flash, is a safe bet.

Flash #66 is an Aquaman quest spot.

Flash #67-68 feature a new take on Abra Kadabra’s origin, as the Flash follows him to his home era.

Flash #69-70 and Green Lantern #30-31 have Wally West and Hal Jordan teaming up against Hector Hammond and Gorilla Grodd for “Gorilla Warfare.”

Flash #71-72 are a Dr. Alchemy story, looking at what happens when a new villain gets his hands on the Philosopher’s Stone.

Flash #73 features Jay Garrick’s return to the recurring cast, after the Justice Society was brought back from an editorially-imposed limbo. There’s also a Christmas get-together with a surprising guest at the very end of the issue as a cliffhanger.

That’s twelve issues (not counting the Green Lantern half of “Gorilla Warfare”), and #74 starts off the epic “Return of Barry Allen” (Flash #74-79). They might add six more issues, but I think it’s more likely that they’ll stop at #72 or #73 and fit in two annuals:

Flash Annual 4 (1991) is a tie-in to “Armageddon 2001” and looks at a possible future in which Wally West has spent years retired in the Witness Protection Program. When one of his old enemies finds him, they kidnap his son, forcing him out into the open.

Flash Annual 5 (1992) ties into “Eclipso: The Darkness Within.” Golden Glider recruits three other Rogues to rob a museum and they all double-cross each other. The gem she wants to steal drags them into the larger story running through that summer’s annuals.

The Riddler trades Gotham for Central City in Flash #51

Flash #51

From DC’s April 2016 solicitations:

THE FLASH #51
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art by JESUS MERINO
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
Variant cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR. and DANNY MIKI
On sale APRIL 27 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

The Flash’s world is in utter chaos: he’s wanted by the police, headed by his adoptive father. His enemies, The Rogues, have been deputized to take him in. And it couldn’t be a worse time for The Riddler to stake his claim as the most dangerous man in Central City!

The Past/Future of Prof. Zoom in the Flash #47 Preview

Flash 47 FinalNewsarama has a preview of Flash #47, out in stores this week. Newsarama indicates there’s a “shocking change to the Flash’s origin” in the preview, but I didn’t notice anything major that hasn’t been around since Flash: Rebirth back in 2009. It does look like we’ll finally see what’s going on with this version of Professor Zoom, though, which is good, because this concludes the current storyline.

THE FLASH #47
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
Variant covers by TERRY DODSON
On sale DECEMBER 30 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

Professor Zoom’s endgame goes into effect as we learn the dark truth behind Nora Allen’s murder!

Morrison/Millar Flash Complete, but not Hardcover

There’s been some concern as to whether the upcoming collection features the entire Grant Morrison/Mark Millar run including “The Black Flash,” which only credits Mark Millar as writer, or only those issues that were co-written by both. DC’s March 2016 solicitations at Newsarama clear it up:

THE FLASH BY GRANT MORRISON AND MARK MILLAR TP
Written by GRANT MORRISON and MARK MILLAR
Art by PAUL RYAN, JOHN NYBERG and RON WAGNER
Cover by STEVE LIGHTLE
On sale APRIL 13 • 336 pg, FC, $19.99 US

Writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar put their distinctive mark on the Scarlet Speedster in this run on THE FLASH from issues #130-141, plus the crossover issues GREEN ARROW #130 and GREEN LANTERN #96! Confined to a wheelchair after a run-in with the mystery villain known only as The Suit, how can The Flash protect Keystone City from evil run amok? Plus, The Flash is forced to represent Earth in an cosmos-spanning race against an alien being called Krakkl!

On the plus side: It’s not only the full run, but also the two crossover issues of “Three of a Kind,” which were left out of the previous collection a few years back. Nice!

Then again, it’s being released as a paperback now, rather than a hardcover as originally announced.

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