Quick note: Comic Bloc poster oddballuk spotted another Blackest Night: The Flash #1 preview on DC’s website that has two more pages than the one posted on IGN on Monday: Blackest Night: The Flash #1 Preview (PDF)
Artist Ethan Van Sciver dropped in at Comic Bloc this morning (for the first time since July) to apologize for the lateness of Flash: Rebirth and to answer fans’ questions. A couple of items that stand out are, first, on inking one’s own pages:
The allure of inking one’s own work is simply to work in a different medium (drawing with ink, as I do, is smoother…the effect of putting solid blacks down instead of scratchy pencils is often more pleasant.) and to be sure that the final product meets with my approval.
And second, on conventions:
Conventions are not “vacations.” They are a vital function of what we do, to promote the comics and meet fans. I do not ride roller coasters, lie on beaches, or relax in any sense. They are work.
That’s something worth remembering. For you or me as fans, a convention might be a vacation. But for someone who makes comics for a living, it’s a promotional event, it’s professional networking, it’s a trade show.
Of course, the sentence that will probably interest the most readers is this: “Issue 6 is more than halfway finished.”
No, it’s not your imagination. It’s only been two weeks since the last Flash comic book, and here we have another one! Blackest Night: The Flash is starting before Flash: Rebirth finishes.
I’ve gotten conflicting information about whether new comics are arriving on Wednesday as usual or on Thursday due to last week’s holiday. DC’s website and whoever answered the phone at my local comic shop on Monday said December 2. IGN’s Blackest Night: Flash preview lists December 3…as does Diamond’s shipping list. If it is Thursday, it’s going to cut into my review-writing time. Wednesday night is clear. Thursday night, it looks like stuff might finally happen in FlashForward.
Anyway, onto the comics!
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul
The Flashes of Two Cities – Barry Allen and Wally West – battle the undead Rogues. Will the legendary speedsters be able to handle the Black Lantern Rogues’ revenge?
Plus, witness the resurrection of Barry’s greatest enemy, the Reverse Flash in this hyper-speed miniseries event reuniting the fan-favorite Flash creative team of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins!
This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Scott Kolins), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul).
1 of 3 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by Sean McKeever and Marv Wolfman
Art by Fernando Dagnino, Joe Bennett, Rick Leonardi and others
Cover by Andrew Robinson
The Teen Titans join forces with The Titans and The Vigilante in this new title collecting the “Deathtrap” storyline from TEEN TITANS ANNUAL 2009, TITANS #12 and 13, TEEN TITANS #70 and VIGILANTE #5 and 6.
192 pg, FC, $14.99 US
IGN has posted a 5-page preview of Blackest Night: The Flash #1, due in stores this Wednesday. Here’s the final cover by Scott Kolins, complete with logo, next to Ethan Van Sciver’s cover for Flash: Rebirth #1:
Interestingly, Francis Manapul’s alternate cover turns out to be the one DC used in the solicitations for issue #3 — which means we have no idea what the real covers for #3 are going to look like!
A couple of things that come to mind reading this:
Head over to IGN to read the preview!
Well, of the 261 votes, the overwhelming consensus was that Flash: Rebirth #5 was good…but those responses were split between those who thought it was “absolutely” worth the wait and those who thought three months was too long. Those who thought the delay was excessive edged out the rest with 47% of the total vote to 35% for those who thought it was worth it.
Those who found it disappointing (or worse) or had already given up on the miniseries made up a sizable minority at 16%.
The latest poll: Which will end first, Flash: Rebirth or Blackest Night: The Flash?
Let’s check in on the internet and see what people have been saying about the latest issue of Flash: Rebirth.
IGN – “Rebirth’s biggest flaw is that it all too often feels more like housekeeping than storytelling….Flash: Rebirth isn’t a bad comic; it’s just far from Johns and Van Sciver’s best.”
DoubleDCoverage – “With just one more issue to go I’m beginning to feel a little concerned about the entertainment value of this series versus it’s existence purely to “fix” things.”
Major Spoilers – “3.5 out of 5 stars overall, by getting past the dark-and-gritty and remembering that some of the best Flash comics are about fun, about dynamism, about family and about a guy who runs fast and does neat stuff…”
Comic Book Resources – “I couldn’t help but be reminded of Unbreakable. And I don’t mean that as an insult. But I do mean that this issue has some of the same assets, and some of the same deficiencies, as that Shyamalan movie”
Mania – “This is a book for fans of superheroes and has all of the classic ingredients thrown in this time around. The stakes are high, the villain is truly villainous and the fists are flying just as much as anyone could want.”
Creative Loafing – “I’m excited about what the future holds for the characters … even though I’m not too thrilled about the present.”
Newsarama: Best Shots – “With some of the method behind Geoff Johns’ madness getting revealed, this issue certainly means big things to the Flash family — as well as fans of the Scarlet Speedster.”
Newsarama: Best Shots Rapid Fire – “[E]ven with Barry sharing the spotlight, this issue was still chock full of great character moments…I can’t wait to find out what the future holds for the new and improved Flash franchise.”
iFanboy: JumpingJupiter – “in spite of it’s ridiculousness and tropes Johns and Sciver do turn this clunky fast-running engine around.”
Paradox Comics Group – “often so entrenched in Flash lore that it becomes difficult for anyone bar the hardcore elite fanboy to fully engage in the action.”
Comicgasm – “This issue finally comes along and explans why Barry’s angsting all this time…But the thing that I really loved about Rebirth #5 is that the Flash family’s finally the spotlight.”
Reilly2040 – “…the best issue of Rebirth so far. The pace finally felt right to me, and it built on the Zoom stuff from issue 4 well.”
Multiversity Comics – “The long and short of it is? It’s awesome.”
Exile in Geeksville – “Geoff Johns has single handedly started the Second Silver Age of Comics.”
Mart Gray is Too Dangerous For a Girl – “The eeeeevil Professor Zoom faces off against more good super-speedsters than you can shake a winged helmet at at an issue with the wow factor on pretty much every Flash-packed page.”
SciFiPulse – “Geoff Johns continues to intrigue and amaze as he re-defines the Scarlet Speedster for DC Comics. Ethan Van Sciver’s art pulls me in and makes me feel I’m experiencing what Barry Allen is going through”
And a few podcasts I haven’t had a chance to listen to yet…
Rokk’s Comic Book Revolution Podcast
And finally, there’s my review of the issue.
I didn’t find nearly as many reviews as I usually do. I guess the slow schedule is killing enthusiasm for the book.