Wanted: The Flash: Earth One

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Today’s guest post is by Brandan of Speedster Site.

What does it take to make a character memorable? Is that what it takes to make a character iconic?

When DC Comics announced that writers Geoff Johns and Joe Michael Straczynski would be writing 100+ pages each about Batman and Superman respectively, I couldn’t have been happier. I immediately thought that this “The Perfect Chance”. Johns and Straczynski are writing Batman: Earth One and Superman: Earth One. Two original graphic novels that have their own unique spin on DC’s icons. Why was this the perfect chance though? Simply because DC Comics has about 7 specific characters that could thrive under this type of release.

Of course the most important of those I’m speaking of is our favorite hero, The Flash! Let us look at the math of this perfect chance. One of the most recognized characters in comics, plus a symbol that’s known to many outside of comics, subtracting the monthly wait and occasional artist deadline rush, adding a highly capable artist, and to top it all off, its over 100 pages of new content. I was never good at math, but I am pretty sure that equals a sure fire success story.

But why The Flash? I know what you’re thinking. “Surely you must be happy with the relaunch of the series, and excited about the upcoming Flashpoint event. Why waste time on 100 pages of Flash?” Why? Because while that first issue of Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul’s The Flash may be new comic reader friendly, its not going to bring in more readers like The Flash: Earth One could. Still not convinced? Well how about the idea of a Barry Allen story that defines the character you have come to love and respect? Yeah, I thought that might change your mind.

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Rogue Profiles: Keeping the Flash on Schedule

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This is probably a crazy idea, but it’s something I thought about while writing up my thoughts on Flash #6:

DC should plan for the book to get delayed.

I really like Francis Manapul’s art, and Geoff Johns, when he’s at the top of his game, can be a great writer. I’d rather not lose this team on the book right now. But it’s been a while since The Flash managed to release twelve issues a year. To catch up, they’ve planned a couple of Rogue Profiles before the next story arc: done-in-one issues that tie into the ongoing mythology but focus on a different point of view, namely one of the Flash’s villains. These were great during Geoff Johns’ run on the Wally West Flash series, and I’m glad we’re seeing more.

Meanwhile, the pacing of the series seems a little bit more decompressed than it needs to be. As much as I enjoyed it, “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” felt like it could have been told as effectively in four or five parts instead of six. Flash: Rebirth definitely could have – it seemed like half of the final issue was epilogue. But six issues is the standard length for a collection, so that seems to be the story length that they’re shooting for.

My suggestion: Make the story arcs five issues long instead of six, and schedule a Rogue Profile in between. Put another artist on the profile, one suited to the villain getting the spotlight. If Geoff Johns is busy, let another writer work from his outline, or hand it outright to someone who understands the current take on the Rogues.

That way, the star creative team is only committed to ten issues a year instead of twelve, and we get some great stand-alone stories that DC can either include with the main story collections or save up for a couple of years and put in a collection as “The Flash: Rogues Gallery.”

What do you think?

Weekend Update: Renegades, Hot Pursuit, Variant Covers

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I decided to take a little time this weekend (while I still had some!) to update a few items on Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning. I’ve finally posted an article on the Renegades (a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash Task Force), and put up a placeholder for Hot Pursuit even though the story arc dealing with him won’t launch until at least January. I also updated the cover variants list with Flash #6 and the preview art we’ve seen for Flash #7 & #8.

I wasn’t really sure where to file the Renegades. They play the role of villains, or at least antagonists, in “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues,” but from what we can see, they do appear to be the “good guys” of their era, acting on what they thought was solid information. I finally ended up putting them in the Heroes category, figuring that if they show up again, they’re more likely to play that role.

Review: The Flash #6

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Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Francis Manapul

The long-awaited conclusion of “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” is here! And while it doesn’t exactly end with a bang, it does race to a satisfying finish. Mysteries are revealed, conflicts are resolved, and events that seemed unrelated turn out to be connected, with teases for upcoming events.

It’s been a fun story, one I really didn’t expect going into this series. I do think it could have been told just as effectively in less time — maybe 4 parts instead of 6. This storytelling style isn’t going to lose much when DC drops the page count from 22 to 20 next year.

Francis Manapul’s artwork is amazing, as always. I really can’t add more to what I’ve already said about it, so I’ll focus on the story, and since this is the conclusion, it’ll be hard to say much without spoilers…

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