Brian Buccellato Talks Mob Rule at CBR TV

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Brian Buccellato, co-writer and colorist of the new Flash series, is featured in a new video at Comic Book Resources. In it, creators from DC’s New 52 talk about the villains in their books, and provide some insight to their portrayal.

Buccellato, up first in the video, describes how it was important to he and co-writer Francis Manapul that Mob Rule be someone close to Barry Allen.  He also reveals that the character’s actions, not his motivations, classify him as a super-villain.

Head on over to CBR to check out the video, or click on the following image of Brian Buccellato spitting knowledge.

New 52: Flash Debuts at the #4 Comic for September

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Diamond has released its September sales charts, and The Flash #1 takes the #4 spot on the chart. DC dominated the charts with 9 of the top 10 comics, and Flash was beat only by Batman #1, Action Comics #1, and Green Lantern #1.

From what DC has said before, we know that The Flash sold somewhere between 126K and 200K copies (more links in that article to older sales figures). And if three of DC’s books sold over 200K, and Flash is #4, it’s probably at the high end of that range.

Detailed sales estimates will no doubt be available soon at Comic Chronicles & ICv2.

Update: I had an interesting thought. Is this the first time sales have gone up with the next issue after Geoff Johns has left a series? Obviously the circumstances are unusual, but still…

Art School: Step-by-Step with Francis Manapul & New Flash Artwork (via The Source)

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The Source has an interesting piece up today featuring Flash writer/artist Francis Manapul, in which he takes readers through the process of creating a teaser/ad for DC’s New 52 Art Tour.

Manapul discusses his approach, from early layouts to the element of luck.  The first few steps include previously unseen artwork from the upcoming issue #3.  Here’s one version, featuring the preview:

The artwork previews, cover solicits and teasers for Flash have all been stunning.  A post like today’s Source feature shows off some of the ways that Manapul and partner Brian Buccellato are experimenting and innovating in their approach to the design of the Scarlet Speedster.  Looking for more?  We interviewed Manapul about his work earlier this year.

Head on over to The Source to check out the finished product(s).

Annotations: The Trial of the Flash, #327 – “Burnout!”

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Welcome to the latest installment in our annotations of the collected edition of The Trial of the Flash! We’ve been breaking down related stories leading up to last month’s release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash.  In addition, we’ve interviewed author Cary Bates about the buildup and the Trial itself, plus shown you what wasn’t included in the collection.  For previous issues, click here.

Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post.  For legal analysis of the story, something I will not attempt, go here.  For this issue’s corresponding Tom vs. The Flash podcast, go here!

Continue reading →

New 52 Quick Hits: Flash, Resurrection Man, Justice League Dark

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September is over, and DC’s New 52 comics have all debuted. Halfway through the month I reviewed four of the New 52 launches. Now that the month is over, it’s time to look at the rest of the books I picked up.

Flash #1

Judging by this issue, The Flash may finally be getting back on track. The book was focused, moved quickly, and managed to lay out the ground rules for new and returning readers alike without getting overly bogged down in exposition. Most importantly, Manapul & Buccellato understand that a book about a guy who runs fast should be fun, not serious and full of angst.

See my full review for more.

Resurrection Man #1

I thought this book was technically very good, but for some reason it didn’t really grab me. It did a great job of setting up the main character, establishing his powers, and setting up a hero-on-the-run dynamic, without ever getting too expository. Critically, rather than letting people wonder how badly Mitch Shelley can be injured before he can’t resurrect, in this first issue he’s…well, let’s just say killed very thoroughly, and he still comes back to life. I think it’s also the only New 52 debut issue I read that’s actually a complete, done-in-one story.

Still, I got to the end feeling vaguely unsatisfied for some reason. I’ll certainly check out issue #2, but I’m on the fence.

Justice League Dark #1

I wanted to like this more than I did. Partly I’m more interested in the characters as a dark fantasy team than as a group of broken people. (I’m not a fan of Madame Xanadu as drug addict, for instance.) Partly I was hoping that, despite the title, it would stay as far away as possible from the main Justice League. Partly I didn’t think Milligan balanced exposition and story very well. A lot of characters wound up saying things for the sake of the reader rather than for the sake of what they might have been saying. I think I’m on board for the first arc, but I’m not sure if I’ll stick around past it.

Overall: How Did the New 52 Do?

  • On board: Flash, Demon Knights, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
  • On the fence: Resurrection Man and Justice League Dark.
  • Didn’t make the cut: Stormwatch, Justice League.

So… which New 52 comics did you pick up? Which ones did you love? Which ones did you hate?

Flash #1 Review Round-Up (New 52)

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Flash #1 Reviews around the net.

Co-writer Brian Buccellato is also asking people to leave links to their reviews on
his blog: So…what do you think?

Have you seen one I missed? Leave a comment here!