I had a better time than I expected at Wizard World’s first Anaheim Comic Con. Not surprisingly, it was similar to the last Wizard World Los Angeles, except without any comics publishers. (I guess they all went to C2E2.) Without Marvel, DC, etc., the con focused mostly on dealers, fan groups, artists and celebrities.
Read on: A Day at Anaheim Comic Con. Or check out my photos of the con on Flickr.
DC Direct’s Solicits for December are out and there are some great Flash related releases coming up.
BLACKEST NIGHT: SERIES 8: BLACK LANTERN BLACK FLASH Action Figure
The hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT action figure line continues!
Included in this eighth installment of the series are: Black Lantern Black Flash, Professor Zoom’s reanimated corpse, holds curious sway over The Flash’s other undead rogues; Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, the new Orange Power Ring seeks out Lex Luthor for his avarice and lust for power; Indigo Tribe The Atom, with compassion and sense of duty stronger than ever, Ray Palmer serves as the binding force uniting the spectrum of power; Sinestro Corps Member Scarecrow, delights in instilling fear in others and is rewarded with the Yellow Ring of Power.
The Black Lantern Black Flash figure stands at 6.75″ high, features multiple points of articulation and includes a display base. Character-appropriate accessories are also included.
4-color clamshell blister card packaging.
BLAMMOIDS!: SERIES 4: FLASH Mini Figure
Real compact – with real impact!
BLAM! A funky, chunky collection of boldly designed toys that pack a lot of punch in a squatty body!
POW! A striking, hyper-stylized twist on the world’s greatest heroes and their biggest foes. Too tough to call small – you’ll want to collect them all!
Packaged on a blister card, each measures approximately 2.5″ to 4″ tall with three points of articulation.
On Sale December 1, 2010
and his Zoom counterpart:
BLAMMOIDS!: SERIES 4: ZOOM Mini Figure
Real compact – with real impact!
BLAM! A funky, chunky collection of boldly designed toys that pack a lot of punch in a squatty body!
POW! A striking, hyper-stylized twist on the world’s greatest heroes and their biggest foes. Too tough to call small – you’ll want to collect them all!
Packaged on a blister card, each measures approximately 2.5″ to 4″ tall with three points of articulation.
On Sale December 1, 2010
The Black Lantern Reverse Flash is a must have for me. Especially since we have yet to get a proper Professor Zoom or Zoom in the DC Direct lines. Well except for that artist-specific, out of scale one coming up in the Classified Series. It’s a shame that I only own five Reverse Flashes. And none of them were made in the traditional sculpt. Two are from JLU(Justice Lords large and small figures), One is a Toyfare Exclusive from the 90s JLA Line, and the other two are from Infinite Heroes and DC Direct’s short lived Pocket Heroes line. I’m actually surprised we’ve yet to see a Zoom in the Minimates line either. I’m crossing my fingers that this Flash Relaunch leads to a DC Direct Flash Series similar to what they’ve been doing with Green Lantern. And then when the movie hits. Wow. I think we are in for a great next few years as far as collecting goes.
I really don’t know what these Blammoids are or what the point of them is but I will definitely be picking up both the Flash and Zoom. I have a feeling it’s going to be a slow month for Flash collectibles anyway. Unless DC Direct or Mattel kicks it up with a *crosses fingers* Flash line or Flash-heavy DCUC release.
I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of the last three heroclix I need from the recent release. Expect a full write up when they get here.
Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances the Design and Win Your Own Flash Ring Contest will be ending at the end of the day, 4/19/2010. All entries must be in by 12:00am Pacific Time to be counted and sent on to ArrobaSilver for the final judging of the contest.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone and I wish all of the current entrants good luck in the contest. The winner will be announced in the very near future and I will keep you all posted on the date.
Thanks again for all the great entries we have received thus far and remember you still have until 12:00am Pacific Time to get those last entries in.
You can find the rest of the contest details HERE
Thank you for your understanding. Any further inquiries can be sent to devintheflashjohnson@yahoo.com or designyourownflashring@yahoo.com
Thanks again.
P.S. ArrobaSilver is still offering 10% off for all readers of Speedforce.org. They have a plethora of officially licensed Flash and Justice League Rings and other jewelry available. Enter GA001 at checkout to apply the discount.
DC has been really cagey with Flash news lately, since the new direction is just getting started, but they’ve let a few hints slip at C2E2. Here’s a round-up from Newsarama and CBR’s coverage of the event.
DC Nation was light on Flash information…though Dan Didio joked that “as far as dead meaning dead in the DCU, once we get to Nightwing and Wally West, yes.”
At the Brightest Day panel on Saturday, Geoff Johns answered a fan who was upset that Flash #1 had a “Brightest Day” banner, but didn’t tie into the book:
Johns said, “It was a good issue, wasn’t is?” before explaining that the book would tie in to what happens in “Brightest Day” in some small ways, though “I didn’t want to start Flash #1 with a white power battery. I wanted him to fight the Trickster.” Sattler added “The bannering on the books is about a theme in the DCU…the stories are important to Brightest Day’s central story.”
He told another fan, who was confused about the number of Zooms running around, “If you look at Reverse Flash, I try to do everything in reverse…”
At the DC Universe panel, Ian Sattler answered a question about a Flash Secret Origin story by saying, “Sooner than you think.” Wally West will make an appearance in Justice League.
Robinson also said that he’s “very excited about bringing Jesse Quick to the team.”
Finally, at Sunday’s Flash/Green Lantern panel, Geoff Johns declined to answer questions about the current arc or about Flashpoint. He has plans for Wally West and the West Twins. We will “eventually” see the Tornado Twins and John Fox, but there are no plans for Inertia (he’s “really dead”) or Walter West (“but never say never”).
Someone else asked why the resurrected Captain Boomerang is already in jail, “Or is this based on his previous crimes?” Johns said yes. “Is there a legal precedent in the DCU for culpability for crimes you’ve committed before you’re resurrected?” “I’ll have Boomerang complain to the guards.”
The most interesting remark I found in the write-up was this:
“The Rogues always told Wally there was a mutual respect between them and Barry, and that was a lie.”
The funniest, though: Someone asked about Mopee. No one on the panel knew who he was, except Geoff Johns, who sighed and joked that he’ll be in issue #715.
This frivolous complaints about Blackest Night thread is a fun read. My favorite is on page 4, with these two comments.
Greg Owens:
Nekron was not defeated by the use of delicious Hostess Fruit Pies. Complete and utter failure on DC’s part.
ADGood:
Not just fruit pies, but a fruit pie corps. Seven different-colored pies to represent the flavor spectrum.
I can just imagine DC trying to work the low-rent villains and nonsensical plots from those Hostess ads that were all over late 1970s/early 1980s comics into modern continuity…only to make them all darker and edgier.
Friday afternoon linkblogging: a trio of interviews to go along with the Flash #1 relaunch.
First, Geoff Johns Prime has the writer answering questions about Brightest Day and The Flash. Some items that stand out:
We don’t want anyone to have to buy a lot of DC books, we want you to. Our job is to tell great stories that can stand alone and also be part of a bigger whole. That’s what the DC Universe is. The Flash is probably one of the most accessible books I have written, but it fits into the bigger tapestry of the DCU.
Johns also explains that these are new stories, written for Barry Allen, not unused Wally West stories. He has a bunch of those that he never got to use since he left the book before he ran out of ideas, but they’ve “been put away for now.” He also confirms that there will definitely be a Flash/Green Lantern crossover at some point — something that should surprise no-one.
CBR interviews Francis Manapul about his work on The Flash.
At the beginning, I was digging what Ethan [Van Sciver] was doing with tons of lightning and stuff like that. So, I used some of that at the beginning, but I found more and more that, the deeper I get into the pages, the more I enjoy the multiple images the way Carmine did it. So, I’ve been doing a lot of that. It’s actually been advantageous being able to do the watercolor [effect on] my own work, because the way I would draw the trail of images where he was running from, I’m able to draw on a lighter scale.
He adds: “the goal is that with every issue, you’re going to see the Flash do something completely different, in terms of showing his speed, that you haven’t seen before.”
Speedster Site interviews Scott Kolins about Blackest Night, DC Universe: Legacies and The Flash. He talks about designing the Black Lantern Reverse Flash, drawing Wally’s new costume and Barry’s Blue Lantern uniform, and how Blackest Night: The Flash compared to Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge.
Kolins was also asked about the Wally West backup stories he and Geoff Johns were going to do:
DC of course recognizes how important Wally is and has been for the Flash fans and the co-feature idea was one of the ways they wanted to make use of him. -But then they had another idea – a possibly better idea. The reader is the ultimate judge, but it’s all done with the best of intentions. I’ve been working long enough to realize that plans change as the company endlessly searches for new and better ideas.
I’m curious about this “possibly better idea” now, and more hopeful about it than I would have been on Tuesday.