DC has released a preview of The Flash #20 at Newsarama: “Reverse, Part 1 of 6.” From DC’s blog:
Something is claiming the lives of those who’ve been touched by the Speed Force, and The Flash is in a race against time to unlock this mystery before someone else turns up dead! Don’t miss the start of Reverse-Flash’s game-changing arc in the pages of THE FLASH #20!
The issue, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, arrives in stores on Wednesday.
Today’s guest post is by Glenmarc Antonio. Read part one first.
Reinvigorated as if I was able to tap into the Speed Force, I went back to living normally. I also went back into my happier self, though slowly. As part of my personal recovery, I tried a lot of things, and was fortunate to have been successful once more.
In early 2011, a crazy idea occurred to me. I wanted a Flash suit. With the rise of cosplaying in local hobby events in the Philippines, I began to strongly consider suiting up in one of the local cons as the Scarlet Speedster. A very good friend and established local cosplayer, Paolo Cordero, helped me craft my very first Flash costume. I said I was only to wear it if he joined me as Green Lantern. He gamely agreed, and thus JUSTICE Ph (the Philippines’ DC cosplayers group) was born.
As most fans are aware by now, James Robinson has announced in a series of Tweets that he is leaving Earth 2 and DC Comics. This marks the beginning of some uncertain times for Jay, Alan, Kendra, Khalid, Al and company. This has been a consistently excellent series, one near the top of my pull list for some time. The fact that it has done so well is testament to Robinson’s talent as a creator, and he will be sorely missed. There is certainly time for DC to try to make this right, as they previously have done wih Gail Simone on Batgirl…but just in case this is a good time to say a few words about James Robinson’s excellent run on Earth 2.
Earth 2 has been both a critical and sales success, with Robinson taking on one of the most difficult and controversial changes in the New 52 – the complete redesign of the Justice Society. Robinson took the Golden Age Heroes who for years had literally been the elder statespersons of the DC Universe and made them young again, placing them on a parallel Earth for the first time since before the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 1980s. In doing so, he revamped both the look and origin stories for characters long cherished by DC fans, with many fans (including myself) waiting for the results with skeptical eyes. What we got was something truly special, and something that has been one of the great success stories of DC’s lineup.
Jay Garrick in particular had caused some early concern. The initial drawings released to the public didn’t cast the new uniform in the best light, and while the first issue allayed that concern with a very interesting new look it also cast Jay as a bit of a slacker who couldn’t keep his life together. Yet, over the issues so far we have seen Jay grow as both a person and as a hero. Jay Garrick didn’t ask for his powers, but he didn’t shirk the responsibility that came with them. And, he is still growing and becoming both a true hero and a leader. Jay as the everyman hero has become a great character in this series.
Even the change that generated the most news in the mainstream media, revamping Alan Scott as gay, was handled expertly by Robinson. We find an Alan Scott who is noble, brave, truly heroic, and a strong leader who happens to be gay. It is one part of who he is, not merely a stunt to generate controversy or sales. In remaking these characters, Robinson has taken the best of their Golden Age and Silver Age qualities and reshaped them to fit the sensibilities and realities of today.
I could go on and on about the characters created for this series, from the great Hawkgirl to the wonderful new Doctor Fate, to the new Al Pratt and the new Mr. Terrific (who doesn’t seem so interested in “fair play” at the moment, if you are following the storyline). This is a series that I didn’t want to like, didn’t want to believe in…yet James Robinson won me (and a lot of other fans) over with his excellent storylines and characterization. He has proven that writing matters, that good writing can make most any character compelling, and that a good story is always worth reading.
I’m still holding out hope that something can be resolved a la Gail Simone and her return to Batgirl. If not, DC will have the very difficult task of finding someone who can effectively continue James Robinson’s excellent vision for this team and this series. Jay Garrick and company have lost an excellent friend…and so has the DC Universe. Wherever you go, Mr. Robinson, we will anxiously await your next work. Thanks for a great ride with Earth 2!
Today’s guest post is by Glenmarc F. Antonio, whose Flash memorabilia collection has previously been featured here on Speed Force in our first Collector’s Showcase.
My name is Glenmarc F. Antonio, and I’m Flash. That makes me the Fastest Man Alive. Well, not really.
I’m actually a 30-something Digital Media specialist for the Philippine’s largest telco provider. In my heyday, I was one of the fastest runners in my company, and was fairly athletic, having competed in basketball at a varsity level back in college. My self-confessed similarities to the Flash’s (superhuman) speed however do not end there.
I got introduced to the Scarlet Speedster when I was really young, having watched and loved the live-action Flash TV series starring John Wesley Shipp in the late 90s-early 2000s when it was shown in the local channel. The moment I saw that golden lightning emblazoned across John’s chest as the opening credits were shown (plus Danny Elfman’s masterful The Flash theme song), I fell in love with the character. For me, Shipp was THE Flash. His portrayal of Barry Allen (with a subtle mix of Wally West) was in my honest opinion, absolutely on-point. I watched all of the episodes and didn’t mind re-runs. Seeing him running in his bright red suit was a joy. I wanted to be him. No, I wanted to be The Flash.
I guess I have my mom to blame as well. Being the very 1st geek in the family, my mother Ruby introduced me to the world of comics, as she was the one who bought me my 1st title (Jim Lee’s X-men #1), and over the years, has steadily maintained and monitored my voracious consumption of comicbook geekery. I still remember when she gave me the Death Of Superman TPB as a gift when I graduated from grade school school. Yes, that’s how geeky she is. From there, I have shuttled between fandoms, Marvel and DC Comics (and for a brief period, Image Comics).
Over time, I saw myself being more of a DC-fan long after the live-action TV series was cancelled. I have always been pro-mutant given my X-men roots, but I have grown to appreciate the Justice League and its many incarnations. And while the comics have already focused on Wally West taking over the cowl of The Flash since Barry’s apparent demise in the 80s mega-crossover “Crisis On Infinite Earths”, I still hoped that Barry would come back. That he would be The Flash again.
MTV Geek has an extensive write-up of a Grant Morrison talk in which he discussed (among other things) his long-in-the-works Multiversity. Each issue will focus on a different reality in DC’s multiverse, surrounded by a pair of bookends tying the story together.
One issue focuses on…
“The Just”, taking place on Earth-11, showcasing the return of the Super-Sons and the children of other superheroes. Surprisingly citing The Hills as an inspiration, the disaffected super-kids will be introduced in ways similar to that program, and the utopian world brought on by their parents will be echoed by their dull, meaningless, “shallow” conversational patterns. We’ll also see the remnants of a bored Justice League, filled with nearly-forgotten 90s characters with nothing to do but superhero/supervillain battle re-enactments. When asked who would be appearing, Kyle Rayner will be the Green Lantern featured in the book, but Guy Gardner will be present. Other 90s characters set to appear include Bloodpack, Bloodwynd, Anima, Walker Gabriel and, yes, Wally West, amidst a host of other legacy characters introduced in the era, hinting at appearances by Azrael and the “replacement” Supermen. Knowing that it would always come back to the most iconic versions of the characters, such as Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, Morrison wanted to give these heroes “a world they did inherit, but they didn’t inherit anything” worthwhile.
Hey Speed Readers,
Yet another awesome nugget of DC Comics Video Game news as Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Adventure has been announced for the Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and PC.
Described as a “DC Comics Encyclopedia” by the developers, 5th Cell, the game boasts over 2000 unique DC Comics superheroes and supervillains! In addition to the usual Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman offerings we’ve already seen a glimpse of members of the Flash Family (with cool props like the Cosmic Treadmill), Captain Cold and reportedly we will be able to play as 130 different Green Lanterns!
While I’m not that familiar with Scribblenauts and it’s style of play, the concept is pretty simple; If you can spell it, you can use it. I’m sure some of the more colorful executions of this playstyle have obviously been omitted seeing as the game is rated “E10”.
In this side-scrolling puzzle-actioner you play as Maxwell who is tasked with collecting objects known as “Starites” of which a certain number are required to advance to the next level. In the vein of old school graphic adventure point and click games (like Monkey Island) just about every object in the game can be interacted with by clicking on it which opens up a myriad of options depending on what you are actively doing in the game. The key part of the gameplay however is the ability to utilize Maxwell’s magic notebook to summon items (or other characters) into the game to help you solve puzzles by writing the name of the object or character on the screen. Usually you are limited to 3 to 4 summons in order to solve a puzzle and the games “emergent” play style really requires you to exercise and hone your mental agility and think outside of the box.
Honestly it sounds like one of those games that sounds more fun than it seems, but the reviews don’t lie; this is the fifth in a series of an extremely well-received and award-winning franchise. I remember being intrigued by the studios first effort in this genre, Drawn to Life, but never really following up on it due to a lack of a Nintendo Wii or DS. Unfortunately I still have yet to pick up either of those systems (or their next-gen counterparts) so it will really depend on just how cool this game ends up being (and how much in price these consoles drop) before I decide to take the plunge.
While I’ve noticed a fair bit of New 52 pandering, from the looks of it I think we can also expect some traditional DCU love as well. Just in the Flash-themed picture from above we have the traditional Golden Age Flash, Kid Flash, Professor Zoom and Black Flash! With 2000 or so characters I think we can expect a lot more variety to come.
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure is due out sometime this Fall and needless to say, Speed Force will be keeping a close eye on the development of this title. In the meantime you can check out the official trailer, HERE.
So who is already a big fan of Scribblenauts and can testify to it’s greatness? Anyone plan on picking up the games for the first time due to the presence of the DC Universe? Please let us know in the comments below.
Pictures courtesy of CBR.
Thanks for reading,