Annotations: The Trial of the Flash, #335 – “How to Trash a Flash!”

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Welcome to the latest installment in our annotations of the collected edition of The Trial of the Flash!  We analyzed related stories leading up to the release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash.  In addition, we interviewed author Cary Bates about the buildup and the Trial itself, plus showed you what wasn’t included in the collection.

IN THIS ISSUE:  Central City’s TV media market ranking….revealed!

Links to original artwork, scans and research are included throughout this post.  For definitive legal analysis of the story by Bob Ingersoll, go here.  Tom vs. Flash took on this issue here.  See you after the jump!

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This Week’s Digital Flashbacks: Flash vs. Razer & Impulse with the Trickster

Flash #84

ComiXology has made another change in their Flash/Impulse re-issue schedule. For a while they were releasing three issues of the 1987 series starring Wally West each week, then two issues of that series and two of Impulse. Recently, they caught up to where the comics released for the Flash 101 sale left off, and pause the Flash but kept Impulse going. This week, Flash is back, but they’re releasing just one issue of each 1990s speedster series: Flash #84 and Impulse #39.

Flash #84: Fresh out of the dual wringers of “The Return of Barry Allen” and “Back on Track,” Wally West carries on protecting Keystone City, this time going up against a blade-armored mercenary known as Razer.

Impulse #39: The Trickster returns, pulling in threads from the organized crime, toxic dumping and flood storylines.

Update: Here’s the Impulse summary from ComiXology (I can’t believe I forgot this one): “The Trickster is back in town. And you can bet he’s got something up his sleeve when, working with Impulse, he tricks Manchester’s rival crime families into believing the toxic waste they’ve been dumping in town is actually a formula that can turn metal into gold!”

Impulse #39

Why is Vertigo a Proving Ground for DC/Marvel Talent (Instead of the Other Way Around)?

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In his article on Karen Berger’s legacy at Vertigo, Sequart’s Julian Darius cites the imprint’s role as a “proving ground” for talent. Many well-known comics writers made their mark with a magnum opus at Vertigo — Grant Morrison with The Invisibles for instance, or Brian Azzarello’s 100 Bullets — and have gone on to mainstream success at DC and Marvel.

But isn’t that backwards?

I mean, that’s like J.K. Rowling following up Harry Potter with a long career writing Forgotten Realms novels. Or Steven Spielberg following up Jaws and E.T. by directing episodes of shows like Cheers, M*A*S*H and L.A. Law for the next two decades.

If that’s what someone wants to do, that’s great. R.A. Salvatore has carved out such a niche in Forgotten Realms that his name is a bigger draw than the universe’s brand. I’d bet Geoff Johns feels like he has the best job in the world.

But it seems…broken somehow that even when an author makes a splash telling their own stories, the main measure of success is a career working on pre-existing character concepts controlled by Warner Bros. and Disney.

This Week: Flash #14 and Impulse vs. Grim ‘n’ Gritty

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This week sees the release of The Flash #14, part two of Gorilla Warfare, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. Preview at CBR.

Gorilla Grodd’s more powerful than ever, and the Flash is completely outmatched! Who will give their life defending Central City against the ape invasion?

ComiXology’s digital backissues have paused in releasing the early 1990s Flash, but Impulse is still going, with issues #37-38 by William Messner-Loebs and Craig Rousseau.

Impulse #37 parodies the grim-and-gritty 90s excess as Bart encounters the Glory Shredder, a vigilante who takes his anti-crime crusade too far.

In Impulse #38, a rising river threatens to flood Manchester, Alabama. Can two speedsters and a handful of quirky villains make the difference as the townspeople struggle to save their home?

Return of Long Beach Comic & Horror Con!

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Yoda Is My Co-Pilot

I spent the first Saturday of November in Long Beach, California for the fourth annual Long Beach Comic and Horror Con. Despite the name change last year, the show remains focused on comics, and horror feels like an afterthought tacked on to fit with the Halloween timing of the show. (It makes me wonder whether they’ll return to the original name next year, when it’s held at the end of November.)

On the main floor, Artist’s Alley continues to be the centerpiece, both literally and figuratively. SDCC has been shoving the artist’s tables off to one end of the insanely-long hall, Wizard tends to put them in the back, and I hear NYCC put them in a different hall entirely (not quite behind a door labeled “beware of the leopard”), but Long Beach has always made a point of putting them right in the center. Publishers at the front, fan groups at the back, dealers to the sides, all wrapped around the artists….

Read the whole post at K-Squared Ramblings!