The Source has posted several pages of art from Francis Manapul’s work on the Flash, ranging from sketches to finished pencils. Some are familiar from yesterday’s preview. Most are new.
I particularly like this drawing of Abra Kadabra from the upcoming Flash Secret Files book (March 24).
There’s also a view of the crime lab — a nice, big, open crime lab that I’m sure will make Scipio of the Absobascon happy if he’s still reading.
Comics shipping this week that feature, or are likely to feature, the Flash.
Written by James Ro
Art and cover by Mauro Cascioli
7 of 7 · 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
This is the big one! After the catastrophes seen in issues #5 and #6, a hero loses control, leading to an unexpected ending that will fundamentally change the lives of the World’s Greatest Heroes forever. This issue launches a major storyline in the DC Universe and is not to be missed!
Written by MATTHEW STURGES
Co-feature written by JEN VAN METER
Art and cover by FREDDIE WILLIAMS II
Co-feature art by TRAVIS MOORE & DAN GREEN
40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
The All-Stars are forced to team with the Injustice Society against Johnny Sorrows unearthly accomplice! And only Star Girl knows what she must sacrifice to save friend and foe alike!
The hero and villain team-ups continue in the co-feature, as Liberty Belle [a.k.a. Jesse Quick] and Hourman join their proven enemies Tigress and Icicle, who hold essential clues as to the whereabouts of the ancient mysticism embodied in the Staff of Life!
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Kevin Maguire, Mike McKone, Bill Willingham & others
Cover by Kevin Maguire & Joe Rubinstein
192 pg, FC, $17.99 US
This new volume collects JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #23-25 and JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #26-30 as the team deals with a captured Thanagarian spacecraft and more.
Note: I believe this volume includes the membership drive that led to the launch of Justice League Europe, with Flash Wally West as a founding member.
Written by Gerry Conway
Art by Chris Batista and Dave Meikis
Cover by Brian Bolland
144 pg, FC, $17.99 US
By the year 2024 Buddy’s own hometown of San Diego has struggled for years to recover from a cataclysmic typhoon. And now he must face the most vicious foe he’s seen in years — while his own powers start to fade. Collecting the 6-issue miniseries.
Note: A future Flash appears in this story as a member of the League of Titans.
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.
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.
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.)
The top search terms lately have been variations on the following:
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.
Here are some more questions (and implied questions) pulled from search terms that have shown up in the site stats, all about conventions.
That depends on the convention. Some of the price variations I’ve seen include:
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.
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:
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.