Category Archives: Site News

Comment Policy

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I hate having to spell this out, but I’ve had to delete several comments over the last couple of weeks from people who just couldn’t resist insulting other commenters, or the blog authors, or half the Flash fanbase.

From here on out, this is the official Speed Force comment policy. Ready?

1. Be polite.

That’s it. Don’t insult people. Don’t dismiss their opinions out of hand (for instance, by declaring that they only hold an opinion because they like that Flash better). If someone makes a statement with 5 supporting points, and you disagree, and your response hinges on one of those points being wrong, address it instead of just saying “My ninja just beat up your Flash, therefore your argument is invalid.” Disagreeing is fine. Just be respectful of the other person when you do it.

In short, Don’t be a jerk.

Stolen from Inspired by the Bad Astronomy Comment Policy.

Now on Tumblr!

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In response to last week’s survey, we’re adding a Tumblr blog to Speed Force. Like the Facebook Page and Twitter stream, it’ll automatically pick up updates from the main site, plus there’ll be link & photo sharing and occasional short commentary that fits better on Tumblr.

We’re still settling in — and still working out the kinks in the cross-posting — but feel free to stop by, check it out, and if you see something isn’t working quite right, please let us know.

» SpeedForceOrg.tumblr.com

Get on the Cosmic Treadmill of Introduction!

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I remember staring at the Greg LaRocque cover for Flash #48 for the better part of an afternoon, terror frozen in time while a flare of hands stopped a hail of bullets.

Weekly trips to the general store turned into transparent check-ins for the latest issue of Flash.  Galvanized by the TV show, fandom took over.  After receiving and wearing-out a copy of The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told, I saw the avenues and inroads throughout Flash’s fictional history.

I had fallen in love with the concept of moving faster than humanly possible, and the implications and consequences therein.  Challenging the limits of time and reality, while remaining grounded in a world of human limitations…what more could comics offer?

As I grew up, I was especially thrilled by something I had managed to overlook: the prose piece in the Greatest Flash Stories, “The Final Flash Storyline”.  I sought out each original installment at once.

Those waning days of almost unending tribulation and tragedy, spent in the constant specter of death, were unlike any other hero story I had read.  Written by longtime Flash scribe Cary Bates, the issue-by-issue cascade of the Final Flash Storyline broke my heart.  It also provided context, and weight.

The new world of The Flash’s protégé, carrying on in his name and dealing with a different set of challenges, made it simple for me to stay dyed crimson in the comic book wool.  What an amazing hook.

Along the way, I immersed myself in Kelson’s unparalleled Those Who Ride the Lightning site, a major source of information and reading material when I was putting together the bulk of my Flash collection.  I was of course very excited, as a fan, when the Speed Force blog launched.  Concentrated Flash news!

I hope I’m able to do justice to the standard set by Kelson, and Devin.
With a few interviews on the board, I’m looking forward to working and collaborating on some projects for this space, including:

  • Annotations for the contents of the upcoming Trial of the Flash reprint, and related reading
  • Reviews and analysis of the Flashpoint event and tie-ins
  • More interviews with creators, and others linked to the generation of Flash stories, artwork and other media

You can follow me on Twitter, www.twitter.com/gregislands.
Many thanks to Kelson!

Site Stability & Comments

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So, yeah, the site’s been having some stability problems. Dreamhost has changed some settings to deal with disk issues, but the new settings require more memory, and it’s just been one big swallow-the-spider-to-catch-the-fly experience. It’s mostly working at this point, but if you end up having problems loading the site or making a comment, please let me know by email at speedforce at pobox.com or on Twitter at @speedforceorg.

Also, a lot of comment spam has been slipping through the last couple of days. It’s mostly the “I found your site on Google and this is such a fascinating analysis” type of robot-generated flattery (even on things like linkposts) that quietly links back to the spamvertised site. I’ve been clearing it out as quickly as I can, but they keep posting at times like when I’m on the road or in a meeting at work, etc.

The upshot is that I’ve turned on moderation for now. I don’t like to pre-moderate everything because that can slow down discussion, but I’ve set it to let through returning commenters and hold comments from new people until I have a chance to review them.

Weekend Updates: Storylines, Covers, Rogue Profiles

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A few updates at Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning:

I’ve finally added an index of storylines from Rebirth onward, including the upcoming “Hot Pursuit” and Flashpoint stories. I also ended up combining the 1987-2006 and 2006-2008 indexes together in a 1987-2008 index that covers all of Wally West’s series, plus the brief Flash: The Fastest Man Alive.

Also added: the 75th Anniversary cover for Action Comics #892, referring back to the first Flash/Superman race in Superman #199. Check out the list of cover homages.

And I’ve updated the index of Rogue Profiles to include the last two issues featuring Captain Boomerang and the Reverse-Flash.