Category Archives: Flash News

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

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.

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

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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Firestorm Jason Rusch to appear on The Flash

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Quick note for those who haven’t already heard: Luc Roderique will play Jason Rusch on The Flash TV show, and will make his appearance in the tenth episode of the season.

A graduate student at Hudson University, he was part of Martin Stein’s research team on the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project. In the DC comics, Jason takes over the Firestorm matrix after Ronnie Raymond’s death.

Classic Wally West & Family Return in Convergence: Speed Force

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DC has started announcing the tie-in miniseries for Convergence, the spring 2015 event that will see the new 52 line go on hiatus for two months while we look in on fragments of various other realities tossed together…including the reality formerly known as the DC Universe. The 40 two-issue miniseries will run April and May, along a 9-part weekly Convergence series.

Among the titles revealed at IO9:

Speed Force / Convergence

SPEED FORCE

Wally West and his kids are separated from Linda, which was bad enough, but when the dome falls, Flashpoint Wonder Woman comes for them. Tony Bedard (W), Tom Grummett and Sean Parsons (A).

JUSTICE LEAGUE

When Supergirl, Zatanna, and Jade went to Jesse Quick’s baby shower, they didn’t expect to be taken to another planet for a year, or to be attacked by Flashpoint Aquaman. Frank Tieri (W), Vicente Cifuentes (A).

Wally West and the kids — not just pre-Flashpoint, but pre-Rebirth, it appears — and Jesse Quick. It’s been a while.

Update: DC announced Convergence in an article at USA Today last week. Here’s how they describe the in-world premise:

Convergence spins out of the April 1 finales of the Earth 2: World’s End and The New 52: Futures End weekly series. The alien supervillain Brainiac has trapped cities from various timelines and planets that have ended, brought them in domes to a planet outside of time and space, and is now opening them for a great experiment to see what happens when all these folks meet.

“We’re picking up at points of their lives where we left them and finding out what’s gone on with them since then,” says DiDio.