Speed Reading: Crimson Art, Morrison, Crisis Interviews & More

Some Flash-related links I’ve collected over the last few weeks.

ART!Swan Shadow features Flash and the Crimson Avenger, drawn by Chris Ivy.

NEWS!MovieWeb interviews cast & crew of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, including Josh Keaton, voice of the Flash. CBR interviews Keaton more extensively.

FANDOM!Once Upon a Geek has located a DC Comics Snuggie. Speed Force’s Devin “The Flash” Johnson found a satirical piece on the Snuggie that also has a DC link!

The Collected Editions Blog recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.

SIGHTINGS! — Former football player Darrell Green just may be the fastest baby boomer alive, claiming to have run a 40-yard-dash in 4.43 seconds on his 50th birthday.

Winged pant clips.Need winged boots? These reflective clips for cyclists, inspired by Mercury or Hermes, are in @zieglarf’s words, “almost the Flash.”

COMMENTARY!Multiversity Comics starts a new feature, Crisis of Chronology, by looking at the DC works of Grant Morrison from Animal Man to Final Crisis, including his brief run on The Flash.

IO9’s 75 Books You Should Own For DC Comics’ 75th Anniversary includes Showcase Presents: The Flash Vol.1, reprinting the first few years f the Silver Age Flash: “Why you should read it: To see the style and substance that made a genre live again… and also how old ideas were made contemporary back in those days.”

Essentailly fanfic, but an interesting take on a Flash movie series at Comic Book Movie.

Flash #1 Preview

DC has released a 5-page preview of The Flash #1. The Geoff Johns/Francis Manapul series launches on April 14 (after a Flash Secret Files and Origins special this month).

It’s…better than I expected, actually. Geoff Johns is finally writing that book about speed that he always wanted to do but somehow didn’t get around to. I like Francis Manapul’s art, though I think it needs a bit more in the movement department (the Flash looks like a statue compared to the car he’s pacing). And I’m beginning to think I’d happily read a story about Iris Allen, Caffeinated Reporter (though as a journalist, I’d like to think she’d be using actual words while texting).

The preview describes the first storyline, “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” (and now we have a definitive statement on whether “Death” is singular or plural in that title), as follows:

…coming back may have been the easy part. When one of the Flash’s deadliest foes turns up dead, can the newly-returned Scarlet Speedster scour Central City to solve the crime before the elusive killer strikes again?

DC goes on to add that they’ll be “talking more Flash” soon.

(The Source’s images sometimes don’t work on Internet Explorer. If that’s the case, you might have some success with CBR’s copy or Newsarama’s copy of the preview.)

Strange Searches

The top search terms lately have been variations on the following:

  • Flash Rebirth 6
  • Blue Lantern Flash
  • Wally West new costume
  • Speed Force

But then there are the search terms at the bottom of the list…the weird ones that make you wonder either, “What was this person thinking?” or “How the heck did that term bring someone here?”

is final crisis canon or not? – Why wouldn’t it be?

is there a way to smoke speed – Umm… I don’t know. In fact, I don’t want to know.

can you name that dc character – You know, the who suffered a severe childhood trauma involving the loss of a parent, and everything in their past seems to be related to the costume gimmick or powers? Yeah, that one!

full episodes of Bones – I think you reached the wrong site.

kill the beatniks – I can blame Tom Peyer for this one.

batman/wally west romance fanfic – I’m sure it’s out there (and probably more than there used to be, now that Dick Grayson is Batman), but I have no idea how they landed here.

irredeemable comic reading order – Seriously, there’s, what, 10 issues out, and they’re numbered sequentially. Why is there a question here?

colour of ww1 brodie helmets in green – Umm…I’m going to go with green.

wally west’s hair – Umm… it’s red.

what’s the last bus to leave golden lantern and hidden hills – I don’t know, but you’d better not miss it.

where to buy batman ice cream – Is there such a thing? I’ve heard of Superman ice cream, but Batman?

flash gordon super speed – *sigh* – He doesn’t have it. I hope you learned something today.

Answering Searchers: Convention Questions

Here are some more questions (and implied questions) pulled from search terms that have shown up in the site stats, all about conventions.

Why are some tickets for the comic con more expensive than others?

That depends on the convention. Some of the price variations I’ve seen include:

  • More popular days cost more. (Simple supply and demand to help balance the crowds.)
  • Days with longer hours cost more. (Friday starts later, or Sunday ends earlier, or both.)
  • More expensive tickets include access to special events or exclusive merchandise.

How can i get tickets to Comic Con?

In most cases, you can go to the convention’s website and order a ticket online, or find a phone number to call. Regional cons will often sell tickets through nearby comic stores.

I’m guessing that this person meant Comic-Con International (San Diego), which has sold out of full-weekend, Saturday, and Friday passes for this year. You can still buy a Thursday or Sunday ticket. If you want to get a 4-day pass, or a pass for a day that’s sold out, don’t give up hope just yet.

But first: you can’t just buy a ticket second-hand because they’re linked to names, and you have to show ID when you pick up your badge. Maybe if your identical twin bought the ticket and is willing to lend you his or her driver’s license.

You can keep your eye open for promotions. Last year, as the con approached, there were companies that held contests or raffles where the prize was a ticket to the convention.

You can also wait until June. Last year, after the cancellation deadline, the con organizers counted up the number of tickets returned and started selling them online. To keep them from selling out all at once, they put them up in small lots in fixed-price sales on eBay. They’ve said that they plan to do something similar this year.

Wizard World Anaheim Review

I’ve seen a lot of variations on this one, which is interesting because there hasn’t been a Wizard World Anaheim yet to review! The convention coming up in April is the first one.

It will probably be similar to the last few Wizard World Los Angeles cons, though the change in venue will almost certainly have an effect. WWLA itself changed drastically (I’m told) when it moved from the Long Beach Convention Center to the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the new con is going to be literally across the street from Disneyland. More importantly, Wizard World itself seems to be broadening its focus to general pop culture and celebrities even as it’s adding “Comic Con” to its name.

If you’re interested, here are my write-ups of some recent LA-area cons:

On a related note, I also saw this:

Comic-Con Anaheim Geoff Johns 2010

Sorry to break it to you, but he’s not going to be there. The same weekend, he’ll be at C2E2 in Chicago.

Update: I forgot to mention another weird one related to Anaheim: “WonderCon Anaheim.” I don’t know whether someone got the names mixed up (it does start with a W) or was looking for information on both conventions.

Greg Berlanti to Direct the Flash Movie?

IESB is reporting that Greg Berlanti, co-writer of the Green Lantern film with Marc Guggenheim and creator/executive producer of such TV series as Eli Stone, Brothers & Sisters, and Everwood, is the “leading contender” to direct The Flash. (via SpeedsterSite)

The Flash is being written by Dan Mazeau from a story by Geoff Johns, who is also attached as a producer.

Batman: Brave and The Bold Flash Action Figure

Somewhat related to Kelson’s Article about Batman: Brave and The Bold, it has been pretty much confirmed that Barry Allen will be getting an action figure of his own in the Brave and The Bold toy line.

Oddly enough instead of showing up at Toy Fair 2010, fans caught their first glimpse of the new Flash figure on Target.com. According to the Batman: Brave and The Bold Facebook Page, Mattel didn’t reveal it at Toy Fair on purpose. A sensible decision to try and save some of the new merchandise for the upcoming New York Comic Con. I hope they have a Jay Garrick ready to go as well, because to date he is the only Flash that we have seen guest star on the show. Not really fair for Barry to get a figure before Jay especially when Jay appeared on the show (and in the comics) first. Then again I don’t think Jay would mind that much once he saw this thing:

I don’t know about anyone else (or if anyone else can remember back as far as this) but does this toy remind anyone else of the Centurions from back in the day?

You know these guys:

As you can probably surmise I’m not too thrilled with the overall look of it. But looking at it from a kid’s point of view I could definitely see myself having fun with it. Not myself as a kid, because I was that kid who always questioned why Batman was wearing orange or neon green when he was supposed to be a creature of the night. I’m talking about your average kid who isn’t quite as nit-picky as I was.

I guess it can’t be much worst than this:

It took me a couple of years to finally break down and purchase that thing and it was only because I was in a collectors drought and hadn’t gotten anything new in months. Still every time I look at it I have to pretend that Flash somehow lost his powers and this is his way of making up for it or some nonsense like that. Yeah. Don’t ask.

I will still end up picking it up but if I can help it I will probably drag my feet a bit before doing so. Although with the Flash’s recent resurgence in popularity due to The Flash: Rebirth and the upcoming Brightest Day storyline coupled with the high demand of the Brave and The Bold toy line I might not have a chance to.

Devin “The Flash” Johnson