Brian Buccellato’s Foster #3 and Foster Anthology Kickstarter

Flash co-writer/artist Brian Buccellato’s creator-owned comic book, Foster, has added a new chapter. Issue #3 is now available in the limited edition from his website and at upcoming convention appearances, while issue #1 (and soon #2) is available in a standard edition with cover by series artist Noel Tuazon. All three issues are available digitally for $1.99 (less than a new DC comic!)

For Comic-Con International, Buccellato plans to release a Foster Anthology featuring five short stories with different artists, set in different time periods and fleshing out the universe. Unlike the main series, this one is being funded through Kickstarter, seeking to raise $5,000 by May 20.

If nothing else, you need to look at the list of perks you get for various donation amounts. Some of them are obvious, like the “It’s just like pre-ordering it” level, or free-sketch level, but for $30 he’ll let you win at Words With Friends, for $150, he’ll meet you at an LA-area gas station and pump your gas, for $250 he’ll play basketball with you…

Foster, a haunted war veteran trying to forget the world at the bottom of a bottle, becomes the guardian of a 6 year-old boy who is the offspring of a woman and a primal race of supernatural creatures that lurk on the fringes of society and need him to repopulate. In a world where technology is stuck in the analog ’70s and danger lurks around every corner, three rival factions want the half-breed child. Now Foster must navigate the shadow world, twisted scientists and his own past in order to keep the boy safe while winning his trust, nurturing his humanity, and trying to prevent him from giving in to the monster within.

It’s a great book, very different in tone from The Flash but in a way that fits the story and genre. Definitely recommended.

This Week: Flash #8 (With Preview)

Comic Book Resources has a preview of Flash #8 by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, due in stores this week.

The Flash gets pulled into the Speed Force that gives him his super-speed powers…and he learns he’s not alone in there! Introducing Turbine, a prisoner of the Speed Force who just wants out – even if it means trading places with The Flash!

Lia points out on Twitter, “So Turbine spins and his name is Roscoe? Uh huh.” Indeed, that sounds strangely familiar

Where’s Wally West? C2E2, Dan Didio, and the Illusion of Change

First off, sorry for the lack of updates last week. Sometimes, life gets too busy to blog.

There’s been a lot of talk about Wally West since C2E2 panels brought up the usual non-answers, and a Bleeding Cool reporter accidentally asked Dan Didio about Wally.

He explained that fans had grown up with Wally West, seen him get married and have children and with the de-aging of Barry Allen, it would cheat those fans who grew to love Wally to de-age him as well.

As a justification, it’s a bit disingenuous. “We shouldn’t do to Wally what we did to Barry” kind of suggests that maybe they shouldn’t have done it to Barry either. And while there’s something to “We’re making your favorite character go away because we know you wouldn’t like what we do with him,” it seems like it would rank right up there with “I don’t want to ruin our friendship by dating you” on phrases that people like to hear.

At Boston Comic Con, Francis Manapul mentioned a rejected a Wally cameo that he tried to put into an early issue of the New 52 Flash.

He doesn’t say how Wally would have appeared, and frankly, that’s a problem in itself. A few months ago when I met Brian Buccellato at a signing, he pointed out that having Barry Allen young and Bart Allen as Kid Flash kind of squeezes out Wally: Wally should be somewhere between Barry and Bart. But if Barry never died, and Bart’s already Kid Flash, where does that leave Wally?

There’s just no room for Wally West in the DCnU.

I kind of suspect that’s by design: A lot of Didio’s statements line up with that first panel of Comic Critics up above (though I’m sure he did watch Justice League Unlimited – and note the reference to the same nostalgia cycle I talked about recently), and he’s often talked about how Barry Allen is “more iconic” and otherwise superior to Wally West. I’ve long thought, cynically, that “more iconic” means “the version I grew up with,” but as I mull over the words reported by Bleeding Cool, I think it means something else. Continue reading

Speed Reading

Some weekend linkblogging.

Flash Art

Flash Commentary

More Comics

Flash Collectible News Round-Up: Mattel

Hey Speed Readers,

I know it’s been a while since we’ve updated you on all the Flash Collectible News swirling about and there has been quite a bit these past few weeks. We will begin with Mattel:

For those of you who missed it Mattel quietly announced the cancellation of their Young Justice 4 inch and 6 inch action figures at retail citing poor retailer support. They later went on to make an official announcement that the figures that are further along in tooling may receive releases on Mattycollector.com in the near future but they can’t be 100% about it.

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Annotations: Super-Team Family #15, Part Three – “A Hell of Giants!”

Welcome to the latest installment in our series of annotations of classic DC Comics stories starring the Flash!

We’re taking a break from The Trial of the Flash to look at Super-Team Family #15 (December 1977), written by Gerry Conway and featuring a team-up between Flash and The New Gods!  This book contains major unheralded moments in the history of both franchises, as well as foundations for future stories that would go untold.  Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post.  For previous annotations, including Part One and Two of this issue, click here!  Now, on to Chapter Three: “A Hell of Giants!”

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