If I go into a McDonalds and say “Hey, I love your McRibwiches. I don’t always see them all the time, though. When are you guys bringing back the McRibwich?”
the manager doesn’t flip me off and say “The McRibwich sucks, buy a Big Mac.”
— Comic Bloc message board poster Stephen Henel writes on DC’s approach to “Where’s Wally?” inquiries in a discussion of Flash #10.
So, even when asked point blank, “Are we going to be seeing Wally in Flashpoint at all?” Geoff Johns can’t bring himself to say anything more than “It’s more focused on Barry and the DC Universe.”
Look, we know Barry’s the star. We get that. But it seems that in a gigantic, sprawling event centered on The Flash, with a central miniseries, 16 miniseries and at least four one-shots telling side stories, there ought to be room for Jay Garrick (yeah, him too) and Wally West somewhere. Bart gets a miniseries, and even Professor Zoom gets a one-shot.
The question wasn’t, “Will Wally West be a major player?” It was “Will Wally West appear.”
How hard is it to say, “Yes, he’ll be there, but he isn’t the focus of the book.”
I can only assume at this point that Wally West isn’t anywhere in the event, or that if he is, it’ll be in line with his appearance in this week’s issue of The Flash: a cameo as part of Barry’s cheerleading section. Or dead. Because let’s be honest: DC hasn’t given me any reason to believe anything else.
Back when DC canceled their plans for Wally West backup stories, Geoff Johns assured fans that Wally would not only be fine — he was going to kick ass. I’m still waiting.
At this point, I’m beginning to wish DC would just stop talking about Flashpoint until it launches. (Or maybe I should stop covering it.) I was pumped at the beginning — finally, the Flash is at the center of a big DC event, and there will be room for everyone! And I figured on buying 5 or 6 of the tie-ins, a big jump from the one tie-in I bought for Blackest Night. But far from piquing my interest, it seems like every “Flashpoint Friday” kills a little more of my enthusiasm.
Anyway, head over to the full interview at IGN. He talks about Flashpoint and Green Lantern, and of course doesn’t reveal a whole lot, since this is spoiler-free “wait and see” Geoff Johns.
On one hand, I found Flash #11 — chapter 3 of “The Road to Flashpoint” — to be a lot more engaging than the previous issue. On the other, it highlights some problems with the series.
I was disappointed to see that Francis Manapul didn’t draw this issue, though seeing Scott Kolins’ name was a relief. That said, while I normally like Kolins’ art on The Flash, it actually looks rushed, especially on the early pages. I have to wonder how much time DC gave him to draw the issue.
The pacing, however, is much better than the previous two issues. After an issue-long teaser and another issue that was 50% exposition, we actually get into the meat of the story here — a story very much about Barry Allen, the man who works as a police scientist, not the Flash who happens to be Barry Allen (which may be part of why I liked it better than #10).
It was nice to see the story actually address some of the problems with Barry’s post-Rebirth isolation, though I get the impression that this was intended to develop over more story arcs. As with the artist change, I can’t help but wonder what we might have seen if they’d been able to keep this book on time. Monthly from April 2010 through May 2011 would only have included two more issues, but the two Rogue Profiles wouldn’t have been added. Under those circumstances, Johns could have fit another 4-issue story between “Dastardly Death…” and “Road to Flashpoint.”
Geoff Johns does a good job of keeping Hot Pursuit’s motivation and methods ambiguous throughout the issue, keeping it unclear whether he’s causing or tracking the murders. The super-heroics kick into gear at the very end, with not one but two cliffhangers to be resolved in next month’s series finale…though with a title like “The Road to Flashpoint,” it seems pretty clear that it’ll wrap with some sort of transition. I expect the “last issue” to end in one of two ways: Either it will feature a teaser with Barry in the altered reality of Flashpoint, or it will end with a fade to white like all of DC’s “Zero Hour” tie-ins back in 1994.
So, let’s move on to some talk including SPOILERS… Continue reading
As Flash comics go, issue #275 is right up there on the impact meter. One of the definitive issues of the 1959-1985 volume, it molts characters and standards, experimenting with tone and depth not before seen in the Flash title. It cast a long shadow over Barry Allen, extending to his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is also the first recognizable installment in the drama that arguably ended with the return of Allen to the DC Universe proper, and eventually the current Flash series.
This is the latest installment in our breakdowns of writer Cary Bates’ Flash saga, leading up to Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. Links to additional artwork and research are included throughout this post.
UP TO SPEED: Last week, we witnessed the demise of Dr. Nephron and the escape of his deranged guinea pig, convict Clive Yorkin. Barry teamed up with Detective Frank Curtis, a fellow cop who was investigating the heroin smuggling operation based in Barry’s police lab. Iris’ concern over Barry’s attentions continued to grow, while an ESP-powered teenaged fan named Melanie once again established her mental hold on our hero. Meanwhile, Yorkin trailed Barry home and found Iris, alone…
Those of you who pick up your comics on Wednesdays have no doubt already noticed: Although Francis Manapul was scheduled to draw both Flash #11 and Flash #12, his art only appeared on the cover of this week’s issue. Instead, Scott Kolins provides the interior artwork this time around.
The one-time regular Flash artist explains on Twitter:
Sorry guys I didn’t do flash 11 and only came back to help on 12. Editorial decided to get me started on the next project
Clearly Editorial wanted to get those last two issues of The Flash out before Flashpoint, and the clock was ticking. Manapul doesn’t say what the “next project” is, but I’m guessing it’s either not tied to DC’s event schedule or has a lot of lead time.
My guess: Someone else will pick up the inevitable post-Flashpoint Flash relaunch, but we may see Francis Manapul back for the equally-inevitable Flash: Secret Origin.
Personally I’m sad to see him go. His art was a big part of what I enjoyed about this run, and I do think that “The Road to Flashpoint” will ultimately suffer a bit for being split between two artists with different styles. It really makes me wish DC and/or Geoff Johns hadn’t tied the series to another event with its own deadlines.
One last note: It’s not clear whether Scott Kolins is doing the art for next month’s series finale (except for the 5 pages that Francis Manapul mentions elsewhere on Twitter), but after the two Rogue Profiles and #11, it seems like a safe bet.
UPDATE: Francis Manapul writes more about the move on his blog, saying: Continue reading
It is convention season, and 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, we introduce our new 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 whereswally – at – speedforce.org, and we’ll announce the winner next week!
So check out the image to the right and ask yourself, WWWW?
This week’s prize is the Flash Final Crisis poster by JG Jones. Winners must live in the continental US or Canada.