Armchair Quarterbacking the Flash

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Today’s guest post is by Perplexio.

Perhaps it’s because Geoff Johns has done such a brilliant job writing Green Lantern, or maybe it’s that he did such an excellent job writing Wally after Mark Waid had passed the torch and moved on that many fans are still reserving their judgment on how Geoff has been writing The Flash since Barry’s resurrection.

I’ll be honest I’ve found some of what Johns has done with the Flash title since Barry’s resurrection to be inspired. However, some of the things he’s written have left me scratching my head in bewilderment or nodding my head in chagrined disbelief. Continue reading →

Flash #6 is the #15 comic for November

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November sales charts show The Flash #6 ranked #15 for the month, with an estimated 57,673 units sold.

The numbers are a lot like the numbers for Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. But overall comics sales are down compared to 2006, and the rankings for The Flash are solid, still holding between #10 and #15.

Issue Rank Month Units Sold % Change
Flash v.3 #1 2 April 2010 100,903
Flash v.3 #2 12 May 2010 76,560 (-24.1%)
Flash v.3 #3 11 June 2010 68,799 (-10.1%)
Flash v.3 #4 15 July 2010 64,832 (-5.8%)
Flash v.3 #5 14 September 2010 62,063 (-4.3%)
Flash v.3 #6 15 November 2010 57,673 (-7.1%)

The percentage drop is kind of disturbing, though there’s been some discussion as to a possible error in this month’s estimates. Between this and discussions of the overall comics market, I’m beginning to wonder if, by the time DC is ready to launch the long-promised second Flash title, sales will be too low to justify it.

Here’s hoping Flashpoint can do for The Flash what Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night did for Green Lantern.

Speed Reading

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Interesting links found over the past week or so…

First, the Flashy stuff:

And the not-so-Flashy:

Flash & Speed Force in 2010: A Look Back

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2010 was a big year for the Flash. After five years of meandering (since DC decided to cancel Wally West’s series during Infinite Crisis because, hey, you can’t have a Crisis without a dead Flash, but couldn’t figure out what to do with the relaunch), it’s beginning to look like DC has finally gotten the character back on track.

The year opened with the wrap-ups of the Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night: The Flash miniseries, then ran headlong into the Flash vol.3 relaunch in April by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul. The new series starring Barry Allen has completed its first story arc, introduced new characters in the form of reverse-Rogues, and presented two Rogue Profile spotlight issues. On the downside, the series has been plagued by delays since summer, and those two Rogue spotlights were added to help get the book back on schedule.

Speedsters Really Get Around

Barry Allen has been all over the place: The Flash, Blackest Night, Brightest Day, Green Lantern… A number of Barry Allen/Flash action figures have also been released or announced this year.

Bart Allen, as Kid Flash, has rejoined the Teen Titans.

Jay Garrick continues to be a mainstay of the Justice Society of America.

On TV, Batman: The Brave and the Bold featured a Flash-focused episode starring Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West (as Kid Flash)…with John Wesley Shipp voicing Professor Zoom. Cartoon Network’s Young Justice launched with Kid Flash as a main character. And of course there’s the continuing presence of Flash fandom on The Big Bang Theory.

Continue reading →

Plush Impulse

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Today’s guest post is by Christine Adamo.

I recently bought a Funko Flash plush, and it inspired me to create a similar plush of my favorite character who doesn’t get much love these days in toy form — Bart Allen. Especially as Impulse (Don’t get me wrong; I love that he still exists as Kid Flash, but I, like many, long for the Bart of old).

Reverse-Flash Immunity

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The Professor Zoom spotlight in The Flash #8 (review coming soon) reminded me of something that’s been bugging me about the current version of the character. In Flash: Rebirth, it’s pointed out that while Eobard Thawne can change history to make Barry Allen’s life a living hell, he can’t prevent Barry from becoming the Flash. Without a Flash, there’s no Reverse-Flash, and without the positive speed force that Barry Allen generates, there’s no negative speed force for Thawne.

Somewhere along the line, it turned into the idea (stated in The Flash Secret Files 2010) that Thawne can’t kill Barry Allen because he needs Barry’s speed force to power his own.

Why?

They made a big point that the speed force, once generated, stretches out and touches all times, past and present. That’s why Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick and Max Mercury could have super-speed before Barry was even born. That’s why John Fox and Eobard Thawne could have super-speed centuries after Barry’s death. That’s why Wally West, Bart Allen, Jesse Quick, and the surviving older speedsters could all have super speed while Barry was gone.

Thawne can’t erase Barry Allen from history, but he can still kill Barry anytime he wants…after Barry becomes the Flash!