Annotations: Flash #277, “The Self-Destruct Flash”

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Following the devastation of issue #275 and the immediate fallout in #276, Flash #277 had a lot to deliver.  Iris was dead and Barry’s mind was ravaged by a massive dose of PCP.  He found himself aboard the Justice League Satellite, begging his friends and teammates to bring her back to life by any means.

This type of subject matter was far beyond mainstream superhero norms of the era.  A drug-addled Flash begging the JLA to bring Iris back from the dead is a shocking turn for a character who was, less than a year before, engaged in stories about Golden Age comic books.  Even more notable is that the change occurred while the title maintained the same writer: Flash legend Cary Bates.

UP TO SPEED: Flash has turned on his fellow JLA members, threatening to take down the entire Satellite with him!  Links to research and artwork are included throughout this post.

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How Might THE FLASH Relaunch After FLASHPOINT?

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DC keeps reminding us that this week’s The Flash #12 is the final issue of the series. But we all know that the series is coming back, one way or another. The Flash is one of DC’s foundational* series that only ever gets canceled to pave the way for a relaunch.

So we know The Flash will be back in some form after Flashpoint. But how?

Main Series

Most likely it’ll be called The Flash, and as long as Dan Didio and Geoff Johns are in charge it’s a safe bet that it’ll star Barry Allen. The question is, will it be…

  • Flash vol.4 #1 (a straight relaunch)
  • Flash vol.3 #13 (picking up where they left off)
  • Flash with some sort of combined numbering.

For that last option, I added the series up a while back and came up with ways they could launch at #625 or #630. There’s also the Flash #351 approach some people have suggested, which is odd, because it includes both the Golden and Silver Age numbers but skips over the last 25 years of Flash comics.

If Flashpoint is a big turning point for the Flash, they might go for a new title, maybe All-Flash vol.2 #1 (Gotta keep those titles in trademark!)

Who will write it? Geoff Johns could. He’s said he can do 3 monthly books, and with Brightest Day over, he’s committed to Green Lantern and Aquaman. But he’s also busy with his job as Chief Creative Officer. Could it be time for someone else?

How about art? After the way things went with this run, it probably won’t be Francis Manapul on the next ongoing. Scott Kolins seems to found a niche as the go-to-guy for “quick draw” Flash books, so he might return full-time. Or we might see someone entirely new.

When will it start? Most likely it’ll launch right after Flashpoint (or 3 months later to keep spoilers out of solicitations), but DC might run a miniseries first.

Spinoffs

Secret Origin. Geoff Johns has said on several occasions that he wants to do Flash: Secret Origin, and at last year’s Baltimore Comic Con it was suggested that it would follow the second story arc on The Flash. (At the time, my guess was that Secret Origin would run through the main title while Flashpoint ran in its own miniseries, though that obviously isn’t happening.) I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he and Francis Manapul started working on this behind the scenes during Flashpoint, with Flash: Secret Origin launched as a miniseries after Flashpoint concludes. If that happens, I’d guess that DC will wait until Secret Origin is finished before relaunching The Flash again.

Kid Flash. At SDCC 2009, Geoff Johns announced plans for a Kid Flash series by Sterling Gates, launching in 2010 alongside the Flash relaunch. This was eventually scrapped, though Gates is writing the Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost miniseries. If it sells well, I would not at all be surprised to see a Kid Flash ongoing spin out of the event.

Speed Force. At SDCC 2010, Geoff Johns announced plans for a second Flash series, Speed Force, featuring Wally West and Bart Allen, launching in 2011. Most likely this would be a rotating cast like JSA Classified. It’s only occasionally been mentioned since then, and unlike Kid Flash, it doesn’t have as obvious a hook from Flashpoint…that we know of.

Chances are that we’ll see Speed Force or Kid Flash spin out of Flashpoint, but not both.

Flash: Secret Origin sounds like a good bet, though, whether before the new ongoing series launches or side by side with it.

*To use Grumpy Old Fan’s term for those books that are essentially cancellation-proof, since they’ve been in publication almost continuously since 1960 or longer.

Review: The Flash #12 – “The Road to Flashpoint” Concludes

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Well, here it is, the supposedly final issue of The Flash. So how does it read? And how does Geoff Johns & Francis Manapul’s brief 12-issue run hold together?

This one’s better than the previous issue, with a super-speed battle, revelations about Professor Zoom, the Speed Force, Flashpoint and Kid Flash, and even the background between Barry Allen and Patty Spivot. Scott Kolins’ art looks better as well — whether he had more time, or whether the super-heroics is just better suited for his current style, I couldn’t say — and Francis Manapul’s cover (revealed just yesterday) is great.

Still, the whole “Road to Flashpoint” arc feels like something’s missing. The biggest problem, I think, is that everything from Flash: Rebirth to this point was supposed to be a steady build toward Flashpoint, but the combination of slowly-paced long storylines and publishing delays meant that instead of progressing from A to B to C to D to E to Flashpoint, we instead spent a lot of time on A and then a lot of time on E without actually following the steps to get there.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think maybe making a clean break at this point and starting fresh after Flashpoint is exactly what the book needs.

A bit about the art:

I mentioned that I liked Kolins’ art better in this issue than last. One sequence that stood out was the way he portrayed Zoom and the negative speed force. It looked more like flowing energy streams within Zoom’s body than the usual lightning leaking around it, which was a nice change, and a good way of showing that Thawne was using the powers differently. Still, I miss the background details that Francis Manapul works into his art, like the fire extinguisher behind someone who’s still carrying a flame.

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DC Universe Classics Blue Lantern Flash Carded Images and Wally West Custom

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Hey, Speed Readers! Earlier this afternoon Mattycollector.com’s Facebook page released carded images of DC Universe Classics Wave 17, Mattel’s own Blackest Night Wave. Of course any Flash fan that has been following the last few years of the DC Universe would know that Barry was deputized into the Blue Lantern Corps during Blackest Night and has already seen a release in the DC Direct Blackest Night Wave. Now DC Universe Classics collectors get a shot at him:

 

One cool thing to note that was absent from the DC Direct version of this figure is the ability for this figure to hold his included Lantern. The DCD version sports closed fists. In addition to that the figure has 23 points of articulation and has a lighter color scheme. Despite feeling pretty burnt out on the whole Rainbow Lantern thing I will still be picking this figure up. The completest in me will not let me pass up on it.

I also came across an auction posted by eBay seller, Last_Galaxy for a custom Wally West action figure in his latest uniform:

The figure’s base looks to be a DC Universe Classics Barry Allen with a sculpted on lightning belt, lightning forearms and Wally’s new (JLU) symbol. Still hoping to see some version of this figure from either DC Direct or Mattel soon. I really do not care who makes it I just want it! The auction ends in about 4 days and can be found HERE.

Thanks for reading,

–Devin “Flash” Johnson

Contest: Where Was Wally West? Week Five

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Leading up to today’s release of Flashpoint and Flash #12, Flash fans across the country have been asking the same question: “Where is Wally West?”

While we do not know where Wally is now, where he will be, or how long it will be until he is anywhere, we certainly know where he was!  With that knowledge, here is the latest installment in our ongoing contest feature, “Where Was Wally West?”

On Wednesdays, we will post a panel or sequence from a classic comic featuring Wally West visiting an alternate reality, the past or a “possible future”.  Every fan who can tell us the issue, writer, artist(s) and a reasonable description of the locale/era, by Friday, will be entered into a raffle for a cool Flash prize!

Just send your responses to this email address (whereswally at speedforce dot org), and we’ll announce the winner on Monday!

So check out the image below and ask yourself, WWWW?

This week’s prize is the Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge hardcover by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. Winners must live in the continental US or Canada.