Category Archives: Flash News

Flash #40 and Flash Season Zero #6 coming in March (covers & summaries)

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Flash #40

DC has been unveiling their March 2015 solicitations (CBR), including…

THE FLASH #40
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
MOVIE POSTER Variant cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
On sale MARCH 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US RATED T

Barry Allen finds a way to escape the Speed Force – but can the Fastest Man Alive return home and stop Future Flash’s murderous plans?

After this issue, the New 52 line will go on hiatus for two months for Convergence, during which we’ll see two issues focusing on a 1980s-era Barry Allen and two focusing on Wally West and his children. A lot of titles are ending, but since this isn’t marked as such, it looks like the New 52 Flash will be back in June with #41.

And beyond the New 52…

Flash Season Zero #6

THE FLASH SEASON ZERO
Written by ANDREW KREISBERG
Art by PHIL HESTER and ERIC GAPSTUR
Photo cover
On sale MARCH 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST

A new story arc begins here! When peculiar homicides start to occur in Central City, Barry and Joe recruit the S.T.A.R. Labs team to help with the investigation. It isn’t long before the gang discovers something even more shocking when reports indicate that the wounds on the deceased appear to have been caused by…a great white shark!

Mark Hamill Returns as the Trickster!

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Mark Hamill as the 1990s TricskterMark Hamill, known worldwide as Luke Skywalker but to Flash fans as the live-action Trickster from the 1990s Flash TV show, will be back to reprise the role in the 17th episode of the new Flash TV series, as reported by HitFix.

Hamill joins John Wesley Shipp, the original series’ Barry Allen, who plays Barry’s father on the new show, and Amanda Pays, who returns as Dr. Tina McGee. Like Pays, he’ll be playing a different version of the character this time around:

In this new iteration, The Trickster is an anarchist terrorist con man serving a life sentence in Iron Heights who helps Barry (Grant Gustin) and Det. West (Jesse L. Martin) to foil the city-wide attacks of a wannabe Trickster eagerly following in the original’s deadly footsteps. The episode will reunite him with John Wesley Shipp who went up against him as the original ‘Flash’ on the CBS version.

It sounds like they’re bringing in both James Jesse and Axel Walker, which I think is a great move. The New 52 Trickster lost something when they tried to make Axel the original rather than someone who stole the identity and gadgets. I like that they’re incorporating the con man aspect as well, since that’s one of my favorites versions of the character.

So what do you think of bringing back Mark Hamill as the Trickster? Great idea, or best idea?

Pre-Crisis JSA in Convergence Week Four, plus Earth-3 and…Scribbly?!?

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DC has revealed the fourth week of Convergence miniseries, focusing on the pre-Crisis versions of characters from Earth-2, Earth-3, Earth-4, Earth-S and Earth-X. Yep, that means classic Justice Society of America (featuring Jay Garrick) and Infinity, Inc., a Marvel Family book where Captain Marvel (I mean Shazam) really is the world’s premiere super-hero, and even an old-school Crime Syndicate (featuring Earth-3 Johnny Quick).

Convergence deals with Braniac’s collection of cities from multiple realities, and what happens when he opens the domes and allows them to interact. The main story will be told in a 9-part weekly series in April and May. DC’s New 52 line goes on a two-month hiatus, replaced by a zillion two-part miniseries focusing on different characters, including a 2000s-era West family and 1980s Flash.

Convergence JSA

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artists: Tom Derenick and Trevor Scott
Colorist: Monica Kubina

Older and in full retirement under the dome, members of the Justice Society get the chance to regain their youths to stave off forces from the Qward Universe. But the promise of youth comes with a deadly price.

Note: Dan Abnett is also writing the Bronze Age Barry Allen miniseries for the event.

Convergence Crime Syndicate

CRIME SYNDICATE

Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artist: Phil Winslade
Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski

The Crime Syndicate’s absolute control of their city is challenged when the dome comes down and changes everything. Now, Superwoman is on death row while the rest of the team fights One Million Universe’s Batman and Superman!

Note: You’ll recognize Brian Buccellato of course as half of the Manapul/Buccellato team from the first two years of the New 52 Flash.

Convergence Worlds Finest
I’m kind of surprised there’s no Silver Age week. I guess the nostalgia wave has passed it by. On the other hand, there’s also this:

WORLD’S FINEST COMICS

Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: Jim Fern and Joe Rubinstein with cartoons by Shannon Wheeler
Colorist: Paul Mounts

The Seven Soldiers of Victory regroup to defend their city against the Qward invasion, while cartoonist Scribbly Jibbet transcribes their adventures.

Scribbly was a fictionalized version of Sheldon Mayer, a writer, artist and editor going back to the Golden Age who was involved with launching or editing just about every major DC character on the All-American side of the company including the Flash, and made at least two cameos in All-Flash. Mayer also wrote and drew the semi-autobiographical comic strip Scribbly, the Boy Cartoonist.

Scribbly Jibbet!

Bronze Age Barry Allen in Convergence: The Flash

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DC Comics has announced the titles that will make up the third week of Convergence’s miniseries that will take the place of the New 52 line for two months next April and May. Convergence tells the story of what happens when Braniac takes all the fragments of different realities he’s collected from across the multiverse…and allows them to interact.

The first week was all about the 2000s versions of DC’s characters (including the West family) interacting with worlds like Flashpoint. Week two is all about the 90s right around the time of Zero Hour. Week three, not surprisingly, seems to be focusing on the early 1980s pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths heroes.

And there’s this solicitation and art at Nerdist:

THE FLASH

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Federico Dallocchio
Colorist: Veronica Gandini

Trapped in Gotham, Barry Allen has nowhere to run. He fights on, seeking justice as well as a way to save the city. But he faces a Tangent Universe foe that thinks faster than the Flash could ever move.

I’d guess that’s the Tangent universe’s Superman he’s up against. I really hope somewhere in all this they do a Flash of Two Worlds cover. Anyway, here’s a splash page from the book, via @dccomics on Twitter:

Convergence Flash Art

Media Blitz: Venditti, Jensen & Booth on Wally West & Future Flash

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After the last issue of The Flash, Newsarama and Comic Book Resources spoke to the writers and penciller of the series about the just-finished and upcoming stories.

CBR: Venditti and Jensen Form “The Flash” Fight Club with Four Flashes.

Regarding future Barry:

…what we’ve explored with this future version of Barry is that he has decades under his belt of seeing the justice system fail. What happens when he decides that course of trying to make things right doesn’t work? Now, he’s taking matters into his own hands.

As far as present-day Barry Allen’s current status:

Barry has quite a journey that he must undergo from the end of “The Flash” #35 to where that story ends — not only in terms of where Barry is but that fact that he is without his powers. He has quite a journey to get back to Central City and Patty and the life that he is supposed to have, and how different he is when he gets to that point is as much a part of the journey as how far he has to travel.

They talk about the Rogues, and how we’ll be seeing some new villains soon, including the two that future Flash name-dropped: Overload and Plague.

Newsarama: Brett Booth on Redesigning Wally West & Bringing the Future Flash

On designing future Wally West’s Flash outfit:

Wally’s costume is actually based on a proposal I did years ago. He’s sort of a hybrid between Flash, Kid Flash and Max Mercury. I had to talk very fast to get them to change the open top to the regular skullcap.

And on designing the future Barry Allen’s costume:

I used Barry’s current costume as the base, I added in a bit of tech, and that was that. I wanted a more armored look, a darker look, but I also wanted to show him being more in control of the Speed Force.

I covered his face in the energy to keep who he was a secret — didn’t know they were going to reveal it in the first issue.

I did pull a bit of John Fox for the earpieces, a nod to the old universe.

Regarding Wally in general:

The purists aren’t happy because he was changed, but the rest of folks seem to be OK and even happy with the change. I know some bi-racial fans are very happy; they are now represented in the Flash Universe.

My hope is to get him some powers and maybe a spin off book! Wally was cool because he was an out superhero, and while the secret identity works for most characters, he is simply the Flash; you get what you see, warts and all. Doing that with a teen would be interesting and could be a lot of fun!

Flash Comics for February 2015: Flash #39 & Season Zero #5 Covers and Descriptions

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DC has been releasing their February 2015 solicitations. Flash comics include…

Flash #39 Cover

THE FLASH #39
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
HARLEY QUINN Variant cover by AMANDA CONNER
Blank variant cover
On sale FEBRUARY 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for details.
Barry Allen is trapped in the Speed Force while an impostor wreaks havoc at home! Can The Fastest Man Alive make it back in time to put things right?

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