Tonight’s episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “The Golden Age of Justice,” features more guest stars than usual: not only the return of the Flash, but the entire Justice Society of America!
CBR has preview images from the episode, which airs at 7:30 tonight (which means it probably just finished on the east coast).
So as I am the new kid around here I wanted to name my posts something that can identify them different to our glorious leader and I feel that right now being the new kid on the block sidekick is a good way to identify myself. Kelson is the guy that channels the speed force. I am impulse to his wally at the moment. I might change the name later but for now I think it is a nice way to let you know when I am speaking.
So this is the place that I will be looking at The Flash and his universe at the characters and events that have shaped each person that has worn the lightning.
Ignition: the end of one age, the birth of a new one.
So today I wanted to look at the Ignition storyline that begins with Issue 201 and what the story meant to the character of the Flash and the Flash universe in general.
Ignition is an interesting issue from the perspective of serialised super hero story telling. It is a great example of how you can make large scale changes to the status quo and still maintain the integrity of the character and honour the audiences expectations.
This is the reboot that I feel the people involved with “One More Day,” the Spider-Man story that was intended to create a new paradigm for the character. But where they failed with “One More Day,” Geoff Johns succeeded: execution. Geoff Johns took the subplot that ran through the Flash starting in the last half of Mark Waid’s run (the fear of loss) and used that theme as the reason for the changes made in this story.
Last Monday, CBR posted a new installment of Geoff Johns Prime, their occasional question-and-answer feature with the writer.
Responding to a question about the new costumes introduced in Flash: Rebirth #5, he talked about the “Emergency Stop” story by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar and how it provided “the first inkling that the Speed Force was more than just gasoline.”
I always thought of the Speed Force as if it were this layer, kind of like the fluid in your joints that allows your bones to move together, and if you think of that as the Speed Force, it’s this fluid between the now and the time stream. It allows the two to co-exist, because the way time exists, it’s not just a line, it’s a sphere. So that fluid coats that sphere and the sphere is the Speed Force. And that sphere touches all reality and it’s full of everything, it’s full of ultimate speed, moving through reality, because time is all relative and it’s full of all scientific knowledge. It’s all knowledge of all eras.
Johns answered several other questions about the Flash, confirming that the Rogues will be heavily involved in the new series (no surprise there) and that their tailor, Paul Gambi, will return.
Another item I found interesting is that the price was a major factor in the decision to scrap the backup stories they had previously announced.
There’s more there about the Flash, plus he answers questions about Blackest Night, Earth One, Smallville and more.
Greetings
My name is Karl and I will be helping Kelson around here. I have been collecting comics since 1984 and have been a fan of the flash for the last 19 years. I fell in love with the book with issue #72 and have a complete run of the Wally series (one of my most prized collections).
I suppose my passion for the flash comes from my love of the character and the fact that Mark Waid took a group of supporting characters and created a family around Wally and in Wally created a character that matured and became in my opinion one of the greatest super heroes in the last twenty years.
I have been a fan of what Geoff Johns has done with the character and am waiting to see where Barry, Wally and Bart go from here.
I am really quite honoured to be contributing on a site and being part of a community that Kelson has worked hard to create, I will be contributing in various ways and hope to get to know all of you and look forward to being a part of this site.
Karl
PS my favourite flash villain is Dr Alchemy. Give you two guesses why.
In mid-December, DC rescheduled Flash: Rebirth #6 from January 27 to March 24. Artist Ethan Van Sciver thought this was strange, as he was nearly finished drawing the book. At the end of the month, Diamond listed February 24 on their shipping updates page, but DC left their website at March 24. That left readers with this question:
Which date was correct? DC’s or Diamond’s?
In the past I would have relied confidently on Diamond’s date, since DC’s website was notorious for outdated or otherwise wrong shipping dates, but in the last few years it’s generally been accurate.
Well, today DC updated their website, and their listing for Flash: Rebirth #6 now shows a February 24, 2010 release date!
I believe this is the first time an issue of Flash: Rebirth has been rescheduled for an earlier date!
It’s still after Blackest Night: The Flash wraps, but only by one week, and it should be out a month before Flash: Secret Files.
Diamond has released its Top 500 comics for 2009, and Flash: Rebirth comes in at #16.
Other issues come in at:
| Issue | Rank (Year) |
|---|---|
| Flash: Rebirth #1 | 16 |
| Flash: Rebirth #2 | 55 |
| Flash: Rebirth #3 | 75 |
| Blackest Night: The Flash #1 | 102 |
| Flash: Rebirth #4 | 107 |
| Flash: Rebirth #5 | 125 |
Meanwhile, ICv2 has posted sales estimates for December 2009. We already knew Blackest Night: The Flash #1 was ranked #5 for the month, and the actual sales estimate comes in at 80,313 copies sold. For comparison:
| Issue | Rank (Month) | Units Sold | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash: Rebirth #1 | 2 | 102,429 | +286.6% |
| Flash: Rebirth #2 | 4 | 86,183 | -15.9% |
| Flash: Rebirth #3 | 10 | 83,086 | -3.6% |
| Flash: Rebirth #4 | 14 | 78,107 | -6.0% |
| Flash: Rebirth #5 | 9 | 73,875 | -5.4% |
| Blackest Night: The Flash #1 | 5 | 80,313 | +8.7% |
Yes: that’s right. Blackest Night: The Flash outsold the last two issues of Flash: Rebirth. Most likely one of two things is happening:
Probably both, though I wouldn’t try to guess which factor is more significant.
Update: The Beat has posted their analysis of DC’s December sales.