Blackest Night: The Flash #2 Solicited (With Cover)

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IGN has DC’s January Blackest Night solicitations, including the Green Lantern books, the three second-half miniseries, and eight “dead” titles resurrected for the month. Two of those titles feature Golden-Age Flash villains the Fiddler and the Shade. Full solicitations for January 2010 should be up on Monday.

Blackest Night: The Flash #2

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul

Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins continue this must-have BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in!

The Flashes find themselves more tangled into Nekron’s ultimate plan than they could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, it’s a well-known fact that Captain Cold hates running. But when the Rogues of the past rise to claim those that still survive, he has no choice!

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).

On sale January 13 – 2 of 3 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: I’m encouraged to see this not only still scheduled for January, but also still early in January. It implies that DC doesn’t plan to delay the book even if Flash: Rebirth ends up running past November.

The Black Lantern Rogues appear to be, from left to right:

Three of the dead Rogues have successors (four if you include the Rainbow Raiders). Two of them — Top and Boomerang — have died and come back to life before. Four of the surviving Rogues — Captain Cold, Mirror Master (Evan McCullogh), Weather Wizard, and Heat Wave — have also died and returned to life (Underworld Unleashed and Hell To Pay).

Classic Villain Guest Spots

Starman #81

Written by James Robinson
Art by Fernando Dagnino & Bill Sienkiewicz
Cover by Tony Harris

James Robinson revives his beloved STARMAN series for one more issue as a Black Lantern Starman haunts Opal City. Which Starman has returned and who can stop him from wreaking havoc on the city? Well, the Shade would rather just continue his date with Hope O’Dare, but if no one else can be bothered, what choice does he have but to investigate? Just don’t dare call him a Super Hero.

As the rest of the DC Universe is learning, defeating Black Lanterns isn’t easy – is this the final curtain call for the immortal Shade? Find out in another of this month’s one-issue revivals of classic DC Universe titles!

ONE SHOT – on sale January 20 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Suicide Squad #67

Written by John Ostrander & Gail Simone
Art by J. Calafiore
Cover by Daniel LuVisi

Original SUICIDE SQUAD writer John Ostrander and Gail Simone resurrect The Suicide Squad as they take on BLACKEST NIGHT and the Secret Six! The Fiddler has risen from the dead, and he’s targeting Deadshot and anyone who stands in his way. But someone else has targeted Deadshot – the Suicide Squad! Everything is about to hit the Wall (Amanda Waller, that is) – and this Wall hits back!

Continuing this month’s one-issue revival of classic DC Universe titles, this epic story carries into January’s SECRET SIX #17!

ONE-SHOT – on sale January 6 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Secret Six #17

Written by John Ostrander & Gail Simone
Art by J. Calafiore
Cover by Daniel LuVisi

John Ostrander and Gail Simone continue their epic team-up that begins in SUICIDE SQUAD #67! Suicide Squad has taken capture of Deadshot, forcing him to rejoin their ranks. But the Secret Six doesn’t see that happening any time soon!

On sale January 13 – 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Geoff Johns talks Speed Force, XS, Wally’s Costume and More

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CBR has posted their latest Geoff Johns Prime question and answer column. in it the Flash: Rebirth author talks about Blackest Night, Flash, Superman and a lot more.

Some Flash items that stood out:

Wally’s Costume

Back in June, Ethan Van Sciver said that Wally West’s new costume debuts in Flash: Rebirth #6, but Geoff Johns says here that it appears in #5. If that’s correct and not a typo, then I feel a lot more confident about the schedule for Blackest Night: Flash not being pushed back to avoid spoiling the costume debut.

He goes on:

And it’s very much a Flash costume. It’s tweaked, but it’s certainly not crazy. It’s not blue and white. It’s Flash. We never wanted to completely change it. We just wanted to accentuate what makes Wally’s costume, Wally’s costume. It will feel very familiar.

Hmm, hard to say, but I’m going to guess two things:

Barry keeps the straight-across belt and Wally keeps the V-shaped belt.
Wally loses the top of his cowl, making his hair visible.

XS

There are very big plans for XS in the future of the Flash universe. “The Flash” book and the “Kid Flash” book start next year

I think this is great. I haven’t read much of the DnA Legion of Super-Heroes, but I liked her appearances in Impulse during and around “Dead Heat.” Jenni and Bart really connected during that story, and I can see a lot of potential with two teenage speedsters who have spent significant amounts of time in the future. Plus it’s got to be a big change for Bart to go from having one blood relative around (Iris) to three (Iris, Barry and Jenni).

On the other hand, I hope XS will still be tied to the Legion of Super-Heroes, and I hope her Flash appearances are in addition to the “new” female speedster hinted at in San Diego and Long Beach.

Hey, wouldn’t it be weird if she ends up in the Justice League? (Okay, not going to happen, but she would be an “interesting” choice, wouldn’t she?)

The Speed Force

His longest Flash-related answer is to a question about why he changed the nature of the speed force in Flash: Rebirth. It’s several paragraphs long, but the part that stood out for me was this:

And literally if [Barry] builds up enough energy, just like anything else that builds up energy, boom, there’s a discharge somewhere or somewhen. A stray lightning bolt from the Speed Force that…strikes somebody that shares the same sense of justice that Barry Allen has.

This picks up from something suggested during William Messner-Loebs’ run on the book, in which he suggested that Barry Allen might somehow have subconsciously willed the accident that gave him super-speed to repeat itself with Wally. It explains the mysterious behavior of the speed force “noticing” people, though it doesn’t quite explain, for instance, Savitar — who certainly didn’t share Barry Allen’s sense of justice. Maybe he did before he gained his powers. Or maybe he gained them through a discharge from Thawne’s “negative speed force?”

(Personally, I think that these changes overcomplicate a plot device that was designed to simplify speedsters’ origins, but that’s just my opinion.)

Flash Movie

Geoff Johns says that he’s “working on The Flash” and Shazam but can’t say anything more at this time.

Flash: Rebirth #5 Now Due November 11

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Flash: Rebirth #5 Wow…this would be hilarious if it weren’t…actually, scratch that. It is hilarious.

DC’s website now shows Flash: Rebirth #5 as shipping on November 11, 2009. A week ago it was scheduled for November 4. A week before that it was October 28. Two weeks before that, it was October 14. And it was originally supposed to be out on August 26!

No change yet on the schedule for Flash: Rebirth #6 or Blackest Night: Flash #1. DC’s January solicitations should be up next Monday, though. There may be some leeway since January is a “skip month” for Blackest Night, though it’s not clear whether it’s only the primary miniseries or the side series like Blackest Night: Flash, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman and Blackest Night: JSA that are skipping. If we see BN: WW #2 and BN: JSA #2 on the schedule, but not BN: Flash #2, we’ll know something’s up.

I’m beginning to feel like I should start a betting pool for when Flash: Rebirth will actually wrap.

Update: Now it’s November 18.

This Week (Oct 14): JSA, Titans, Super Friends

JSA vs. Kobra #5

Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Don Kramer & Michael Babinski
Cover by Gene Ha

The Justice Society finally tracks Kobra to his main base and launches an all-out assault on him and his forces. It seems impossible that Jason Burr can escape their wrath now, but the wily serpent has one last surprising trick up his sleeve!

5 of 6 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Titans #18

Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Angel Unzueta and Wayne Faucher
Cover by Angel Unzueta

With the Titans team slowly dissolving as members drift their own way, only the empath Raven recognizes the mounting disconnection. With her only friends drifting apart, Raven makes a surprising life choice that will affect the course of her strained relationship with Beast Boy.

32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Johnny DC

Super Friends #20

Written by Sholly Fisch
Art by Dario Brizuela
Cover by J. Bone

It’s Halloween time again! The Super Friends are having fun at the Halloween parade, only to have it interrupted by the fearsome Shaggy Man! Oh, no, that’s no treat!

32 pg, FC, $2.50 US

Justice League of America: When Worlds Collide HC

Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ed Benes, Shane Davis, Sandra Hope, Jose Luis, JP Mayer, Rob Hunter, Norm Rapmund and Drew Geraci
Cover by Ed Benes
The heroes of Milestone Comics return to battle the Justice League in this title collecting Justice League of America #27, 28 and 30-34.
The hero called Doctor Light is missing, and her former Justice League teammates intend to find the man responsible and make him pay. But before they do that, they’ll have to get past his Shadow Cabinet of powerful superbeings who have sworn to save humanity from itself. Milestone Comics characters Icon and Hardware make their first modern DC Universe appearances here — and it’s not clear whose side they’re on!
176 pg, FC, $24.99 US

Wednesday Comics: The Giant Coffee Table Book

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All right! DC has announced that they’ll be collecting Wednesday Comics as an oversized hardcover book at 11×17″!

It’s not the full size, which would be ideal, but I do think an oversized hardcover is the best way to collect it. Shrinking the art to standard size would diminish the experience of reading it, and trying to do something this size as a paperback is unwieldy at best, judging by Comic Book Tattoo. There’s a reason I bought the hardcover of that book, and it wasn’t so that I could carry extra weight around the convention floor. (It wasn’t to weaponize a comic book, either, but I’m sure I could knock someone out if I hit them over the head with it.)

Amazingly enough, they plan to sell it for $49.99, the same price as the archive books that clock in at the same page count but smaller page size. Back when I tried to figure out how Wednesday Comics could be collected, I figured a coffee table book from DC would end up costing a lot more.

I do have to wonder how they’re going to manage the paperback edition, but with this option available for this price (and you know it’ll be discounted in places like Amazon)…does it really matter?

Note: I managed to delete the original post when I intended to edit it, losing the comments made earlier this evening. Sorry about that!

On the Comics Code

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The Comics Code Authority is little more than a rubber stamp these days, but in the 1950s, it was a last-ditch attempt to save the industry from a popular backlash against perceived immorality, primarily (but not exclusively) in crime and romance comics. (Though some people thought super-heroes were even worse.) Its restrictions, eventually relaxed during the 1970s, are no doubt responsible for many of the silly story elements of the Silver Age.

Check out the Illustrated Comics Code, which uses Golden Age comics panels to demonstrate just what the original version of the code prohibited. (Be warned: the first image on there is kind of gruesome. And misspells Wertham.)

On a related note, I recently finished reading David Hajdu’s The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America. It’s a fascinating look at the early years of the comic book industry, the cultural landscape around it, and how a moral panic (not unlike current controversy over video games — actually, more or less exactly like current controversy over video games) nearly destroyed the industry.