This Week: Flashpoint – Citizen Cold #2

Among the collection of Flashpoint tie-ins this week is one directly Flash-related book: Citizen Cold.

Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #2

Citizen Cold is known by Central City as a hero. But when an entire gallery of Rogues kidnaps his sister, Lisa Snart, they’ll use her as bait to lure him into a deathtrap. Will Citizen Cold be able to save both Lisa and himself? And what does Wally West’s disappearance have to do with all of this?

Written by SCOTT KOLINS; Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS

32pg. – $2.99 US

Be sure to catch the preview if you haven’t already seen it.

The Shade – 12-Issue Miniseries Launches in October

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DC has started releasing information about its October comics this week, including several miniseries launching in the second month of the DC relaunch.  Among them: James Robinson’s 12-issue miniseries featuring The Shade, as reported by CBR.

The Shade is probably more associated with Starman these days, but he started life as a Golden-Age Flash villain, one of the trio whose place in DC history was later secured by appearing in Flash of Two Worlds.

Even though he only made one appearance in the Golden Age (as compared to the many tines Jay Garrick fought the Thinker or Fiddler), the Shade is the oldest Flash villain to survive it. The only older themed/named villain, the Threat (All-Flash #2), was a one-off who died in his first appearance and never returned.

THE SHADE #1
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by CULLY HAMNER
Cover by TONY HARRIS
1:10 Variant cover by CULLY HAMNER
On sale OCTOBER 12 * 1 of 12, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US * RATED T+

James Robinson returns to the world of his acclaimed STARMAN series with a new 12-issue series starring the antihero known as The Shade! An attack at the Starman museum kicks off a globe-hopping, centuries spanning quest that will irrevocably change The Shade’s life, and ultimately shed light on his true origin! Artist extraordinaire Cully Hamner (RED) kicks off the series, and upcoming issues will feature art by such luminaries as Darwyn Cooke, Javier Pulido, Jill Thompson, Frazer Irving and Gene Ha!

UPDATE: CBR interviews Robinson about the series.

Cary Bates Flash-es Back at Newsarama

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Newsarama interviews Cary Bates about his work on The Flash and Justice League of America back in the 1970s, and his upcoming DC Retroactive specials revisiting those books.

With the books closer to release (DC Retroactive: The Flash: The 70s comes out next week), he’s able to say a little more than he did in our interview back in May, plus of course we weren’t asking him about the JLA! There’s some strange spoilery information about “Son of Grodd,” but what really caught my eye was what Bates said about the timeframe of the DC Retrocative books:

The deadlines for the retro books were very tight, so once I signed on I had to come up with the plots for both books within 24 hours.

24 hours! Wow! I’d gotten the impression that the Retroactive specials were a last-minute addition to the schedule, and this seems to confirm it. My suspicion: After DC decided to push full-steam-ahead on the reboot/relaunch/whatever it actually is, they decided to give the previous versions of the major characters a “last hurrah” before moving on.

When you’re done reading the Newsarama interview, jump back and check out our two-part interview in which Cary Bates talks more about his 1970s Flash run, the Death of Iris Allen, and where The Flash would have gone if it hadn’t been canceled during Crisis on Infinite Earths.

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Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #2 Preview is Up

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DC has released a 4-page preview of Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #2, due in stores next week.

Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #2

Citizen Cold is known by Central City as a hero. But when an entire gallery of Rogues kidnaps his sister, Lisa Snart, they’ll use her as bait to lure him into a deathtrap. Will Citizen Cold be able to save both Lisa and himself? And what does Wally West’s disappearance have to do with all of this?

Written and illustrated by Scott Kolins, FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #2 is colored by Mike Atiyeh and comes out on Wednesday.

Comics: Who Needs Numbering?

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At Newsarama, Michael Doran speculates that the DC Comics Relaunch could mean a switch to “seasonal” numbering. Basically, instead of starting a comic book at #1 and continuing indefinitely until the market and editorial whim dictate cancellation or relaunch, each series would start over at #1 every year. He compares it to television seasons, which have individual episodes and, when written long-form, tend to have a season premiere and a season finale.

Now, there’s something to like about that, particularly if DC commits to publishing an entire “season” of every series they solicit. No more scrambling to tie up loose ends when a series is canceled mid-storyline. The writers know they’ve got 12 issues to work with, and if the series does well, they’ve got 12 more, but they at least know where the axe is going to fall if they get canceled.

But I don’t think it goes far enough. Continue reading →