The upcoming Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (April 16-18, 2010) has confirmed Geoff Johns as a guest of honor. Since Ethan Van Sciver was announced back in August, that means that the Flash: Rebirth and Green Lantern: Rebirth writer/artist team will both be appearing at C2E2 next spring.
This also means that neither of them will appear at Wizard’s Anaheim Comic Con, held the same weekend.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that a lot of the indie comics I read don’t have fixed schedules. In a few cases, it goes beyond that, and the comics are, as near as I can tell, totally stalled — in some cases for years. Maddeningly, there are a few that are stalled just one issue from the conclusion!
Planetary #27 was one of these, but the epilogue issue finally came out last month. I was beginning to wonder whether Ignition City #5 was headed the same way, once it got to three months after the fourth issue, but the last issue finally came out in October.
Currently, I’m waiting for…
(Image) This five-issue miniseries from Jay Faerber and Jon Sommariva about a super-hero whose secret identity doesn’t know he’s a super-hero (sort of like that TV show with Christian Slater last year) started off solidly, then quickly went off the rails scheduling-wise. I didn’t even realize how late it had gotten until I looked for it a few days ago and found a reference to the original solicitation: It was supposed to wrap in September 2008! The longest gap was between #3 and #4 (which came out this past July).
Status: The artist is currently working on the issue…along with a bunch of other projects.
Update (March 2011) Still not finished. According to Jay Faerber, “Jon Sommariva has the script, so it’s in his hands now.”
(Dabel Bros.) This 8-issue miniseries adapting the Wheel of Time prequel launched in August 2005, produced by Dabel Bros. and published by Red Eagle Entertainment. After a couple of issues it got to be very sporadic as the studio and publisher started to feud, and it ceased publication entirely after #5 came out in early 2006.
Two years later (summer 2008), Dabel Bros. announced that they would start adapting the main Wheel of Time series, but at the time had no plans to complete New Spring. Finally, in April 2009, they announced that they’d be finishing the miniseries. #6 came out in May, along with a prologue to the new series, then I waited…#7 came out in August… Now there’s just one issue left, but there’s been no sign of New Spring #8 anywhere. For that matter, Eye of the World seems to have stalled after just one issue. Meanwhile, Bleeding Cool has been reporting financial problems — like not paying artists — and Dabel Bros. website has gone offline.
Status: It doesn’t look promising, but then the series has already come back from the dead once. I believe Tor (Robert Jordan’s publisher) has the rights to publish the collected edition. Maybe if Dabel Bros. can’t finish it in miniseries form, Tor can step in, finance the last chapter, and just sell it as a hardcover? I’d certainly buy it.
Update (April 2010): I may be able to cross this one off the list soon. Dynamite (who has taken over Dabel Brothers’ catalog) has scheduled the last issue for June!
Update (May 2010): The final issue of New Spring arrived on May 12, 2010! Dynamite has also relaunched the Eye of the World adaptation.
(BuyMeToys.com) Simple premise: Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz have grown up and left behind the worlds they think were simply childhood fantasies, and are now roommates in (IIRC) Chicago (Their other roommates include Wendy from Peter Pan and an obvious analog of Susan from the Narnia books). Of course, their pasts were real, and now they’re being called upon to return to those worlds and help them. The four-issue miniseries was coming out about once a year starting in 2005, but it’s been at least two years since issue #3.
Status: They released a preview of #4 at Chicago Comic-Con this year, and the website says it’ll be out “early 2010.”
Update (June 2010): I’ve found several stores listing an August 25, 2010 release date, but the official website doesn’t say anything. We’ll see.
Update (April 2011): The fourth issue finally came out on April 13, 2011 — three years after the previous issue and six since the first. Meanwhile, they launched a sequel, “Jack and Cat Tales,” before they actually finished the first series.
Just one week until more Flash: Rebirth. For now, we’ve got JSA vs. Kobra, The Titans, and the Absolute Justice hardcover.
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Don Kramer & Michael Babinski
Cover by Gene Ha
It all ends here! Now that the Kobra’s lair has been razed by the Justice Society, Jason Burr’s plans should fall to pieces. But the terrorist leader has more than one plan at work, and the JSA won’t be able to stop them all once they’re put in motion! It’s old dogs vs. new tricks in one final gambit!
On sale November 11 · 6 of 6 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Angel Unzueta & Wayne Faucher
Cover by Angel Unzueta
It’s not easy being a dad in the DCU — just ask Roy Harper, who never wants to leave his daughter Lian an orphan. Unfortunately, that choice may not be his to make…Hot off his BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS miniseries, J.T. Krul returns for another issue!
On sale November 11 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Art by Alex Ross & Doug Braithwaite
Cover by Alex Ross
The spectactular 12-issue series by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Doug Braithwaite is collected in this amazing, oversized, slipcased Absolute edition. The members of the Justice League of America are about to learn they aren’t the only ones who can band together toward a common goal. The greatest criminal masterminds of our time appear to be acting in concert — but with a surprising plan that seeks to achieve more good than the JLA ever could!
This Absolute edition features a new cover by Ross, plus sketchbook a section with previously unseen artwork and more!
On sale November 11 · 8.25″ x 12.5″, 496 pg, FC, $99.00 US
Okay, so maybe the question itself is a bit of a cheap shot, but with the number of times issues #4–6 have been rescheduled, it seems a fair question. At this time, Flash: Rebirth #6 is scheduled for December 23, 2009, just five weeks after issue #5 comes out. But with 3-month gaps between issues #3, #4 and #5, it’s certainly not hard to imagine the schedule might slip again.
So, who remembers what happened in Flash: Rebirth #4? 😀 All joking aside, it looks like we’ll finally get the next installment of the story in just over a week. Not only does DC still list Flash: Rebirth #5 with a November 18 date, it’s on also on Diamond’s upcoming releases list for books shipping next week. It’s extremely rare for anything to slip once it appears on that list (though I have seen it happen occasionally).
Here’s what the miniseries’ schedule looks like at this point:
| Issue | Orig. Date | Actual Date | Gap | Delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash: Rebirth #1 | April 1 | April 1 | 3 months* | On time |
| Flash: Rebirth #2 | May 6 | May 6 | 5 weeks | On time |
| Flash: Rebirth #3 | June 10 | June 10 | 5 weeks | On time |
| Flash: Rebirth #4 | July 22 | Aug. 26 | 11 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Flash: Rebirth #5 | Aug. 26 | Nov. 18 | 12 weeks | 12 weeks |
| Flash: Rebirth #6 | Sep. 30 | Dec. 23** | 5 weeks | 12 weeks |
*Since Flash v.2 #247
**Well, currently-scheduled date, anyway.
All signs point to the next mini-series, Blackest Night: The Flash staying on track. Especially when you factor in Dan Didio’s comments on scheduling in his latest 10 Answers column:
…A lot of times the story drives how the books are produced. Certain books we have a certain level of leeway with because of how they fall within the rest of the DCU continuity. Books like Flash: Rebirth, books like Superman: Secret Origin, had long lead times and they still ran into some problems toward the end. But because of the consistency of the look and the consistency of the team and the consistency of the vision of that material, we’re willing to wait for those books because they don’t have an impact on other series that are rolling out at that time. [emphasis added]
But when we have other books like Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, it’s essential for them to come out in conjunction with Blackest Night, and for those, we know to plan differently.
Both sides — Rebirth not holding up the rest of the DCU and Blackest Night: Flash needing to sync up with Blackest Night — would seem to factor into the decision to keep the Johns/Kolins miniseries on schedule even though it means launching before Rebirth ends (whenever that ends up being).
Just think: in a few weeks, the Flash franchise should be back on track!
Some linkblogging for the weekend:
Collected Editions has spotted info on the Wenesday Comics hardcover, Final Crisis paperback and more.
Silver Age Gold points out that the science in the Flash…doesn’t always make sense.
TwoMorrows is holding a $10 sale on Modern Masters books, focusing on artists from Mike Allred to Mike Wieringo (with other artists who aren’t named Mike!).