Long Beach Comic and Horror Con 2011 – Yeah, Still Got It!

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Me and the Flash at Long Beach Comic Con

When I heard that Long Beach Comic Con was rebranding itself as Long Beach Comic and Horror Con this year, I was a little concerned. One of the things I liked most about it the first two years was the heavy emphasis on comics compared to San Diego (which has plenty of comics, but is so big that it’s easy to miss them) or the Wizard conventions (which seem to have refocused around celebrities). As it turns out, the horror didn’t drown out the comics at all. The front of the hall was still mainly comics publishers, with dealers (mostly comics and collectibles) behind them in a U shape, wrapped around the core: a gigantic Artist’s Alley.

Of course, Halloween and horror did make their presence known, starting with the signs for zombie parking, and continuing with programming, guests and costumes.

Continue reading at K-Squared Ramblings, or jump straight to the photos.

Media Blitz!: Flash Team Talks to io9, Comic Impact

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The New 52 Flash creative duo of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato maintained their recent level of visibility, already talking to both io9 and Comic Impact this week.

Both sites touch on the status of the Rogues Gallery, the much-lauded artwork and both feature a mention of Wally West.  The two had this to say, regarding the revamped Rogues, to i09:

Will there be any new Rogues or have any been radically redesigned?

FM: I’m still basing it on past continuity, but we’re evolving them. When you read the first arc, it’s about The Flash trying to evolve. You realize in the second arc, that that’s what the Rogues have been doing this entire time.

BB: Trying to keep up with the Joneses.

FM: But obviously it went wrong and they’re not together. We’re going to see what that’s all about and how they came across the powers that they now have.

The Comic Impact interview, from the Long Beach Comic Con, can be seen below:

Speed Reading: Halloween Edition

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Between Long Beach Comic Con & some home improvement projects, I didn’t have time to do the weekend linkblogging. So, here it is!

Art

More stuff

New 52: Kid Flash Clarification

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For those who are still wondering, Teen Titans artist Brett Booth stepped in last week to clarify:

https://twitter.com/#!/Demonpuppy/status/129259180027686912

While DC hasn’t been very clear in the Teen Titans solicitations, Kid Flash has been identified as Bart Allen in articles and interviews as far back as June. Last week’s Teen Titans #2 explicitly referred to him as Bart Allen, so this should end speculation (most recently seen here) that the series features Wally West in line with the Young Justice cartoon.

Of course, there are still plenty of questions about Bart’s origins. Is he still related to Barry Allen? If so, how? Is he still from the future? How did he get his powers? (Come to think of it, Smallville never did reveal an origin for Bart beyond being in some sort of accident with a flash of light.)

If Bart is still from the future, and if he is still Barry and Iris’ grandson, the fact that they aren’t married in the present is no more a contradiction than the fact that Booster Gold’s grandparents haven’t even been born yet in the present day. In that case, he comes from a future in which they do. Even so, it doesn’t have to lock down the Barry/Iris question. As Yoda once said, “always in motion is future.”

The Fastest Forum Alive

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With the launch of the new Flash series, one fan forum is setting up their own relaunch: The Fastest Forum Alive sort of fell by the wayside during Flashpoint, but they’re back up and running again with an improved site, and they’re ready to bring in new members.

So if you’re looking for a place to talk about the Flash, and the forums you’ve been to just don’t seem to fit, zoom over to the Fastest Forum Alive and give it a spin!

Impulse Sketch by Brian Buccellato (And Flash Hints from Long Beach)

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I had a lot of fun today at Long Beach Comic Con. Barring disaster, photos will be up on Flickr tonight [edit: they are], and my write-up should be ready by the end of the weekend [edit: it is now, a bit later than planned].

First, though, check out this sketch by Brian Buccellato. I talked with him this afternoon, about everything from the latest issue to the Flash’s powers to editor’s notes and recap pages to who would make a good Flash movie (his preferred lead actor: Ryan Gosling), and got this sketch.*

He also gave me a sneak peek at Flash #3, and I’ve got to say: it looks awesome! He says they figure this is the issue that will really win people over and convince them that the success of the first two issues is more than a fluke, and from what I’ve seen, I have to agree.

He mentioned that they have 25 issues planned out already, that the shift from Rogues with weapons to Rogues with powers will be explained in-story, and that we will see continuing consequences of the event at the end of this week’s issue. And yes, we’ll be seeing some of the Rogues very soon.

*Why Impulse? I got a Flash sketch when he did the signing at The Comic Bug last month, and I wanted another character, but one still Flash-related. And I miss Bart as Impulse. Funny story: While I was talking with him, someone else came up and asked for a sketch of the X-Men character of his choice. He went with Nightcrawler…and it turned out that Francis Manapul had also drawn him Nightcrawler in San Diego!