EVS on the Future of the Flash

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Speedster Site has a round-up of hints from Ethan Van Sciver about the near future of the Flash franchise. In particular:

  • EVS will not do the art for the Blackest Night: Flash miniseries.
  • The Flash outfit seen on an upcoming cover for The Last Days of Animal Man is not related to EVS’ redesign of Wally’s costume.
  • A Flash monthly announcement is coming soon!

No earth-shattering surprises, but it’s always good to have confirmation. I figured DC wouldn’t have an Animal Man mini upstage the unveiling of Wally’s new Flash costume. He also drops hints about his own plans post-Flash: Rebirth

I’m looking forward to the announcement on the Flash monthly series. It’s a safe bet that Geoff Johns will be writing it, but we still don’t know whether it’s starting immediately after Flash: Rebirth or waiting until after Blackest Night finishes. And we don’t know who’ll take on the art. Though Ethan Van Sciver did mention in his interview with Word Balloon a while back that he was making an effort to learn to be a monthly artist, and one of the key conditions for getting that sixth issue of Flash: Rebirth was that he make his deadlines — which he apparently did — so it’s certainly possible the monthly could launch with the classic Johns/Van Sciver team.

Full Review: Flash: Rebirth #3 — “Rearview Mirrors”

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Flash: Rebirth #3

Well, the good news is that this issue does read better the second time through. I’ve re-read Flash: Rebirth #1 and #2, then read #3 again. Oddly enough, I liked the first two issues better the first time through than the second, and like this one better the second time through than the first read.

The bad news is that the cliffhanger still leaves me cold.

Now it could just be relaunch fatigue. The excitement of “Geoff Johns is back! With Ethan Van Sciver!” has worn off by now, and in a sense the actual relaunch isn’t going to be for another four months or more. Flash: Rebirth isn’t so much a new direction as it is the process of changing course. It’s not the new house, it’s the act of remodeling. And you know, it would be nice to actually move into that house instead of watch the contractors working on it.

But the main purpose of Flash: Rebirth is to convince people that the new direction is worth their time. People are asking, “Why should I get involved with a series that DC has relaunched 3 times in the last 3 years? Why should I let myself get attached to this new direction when they change it every 6 months? Why should I let myself get attached to the main character when they replace him every year?” By going back to Barry Allen, the one character whose resurrection was not an option for more than 20 years, they’re making a commitment: “This time, we really mean it!” In theory, that should clear away the baggage the Flash has accumulated over the last 3 years and leave it on the same level as any other comics launch.

Which still leaves hooking the readers on the Flash, and hooking them on Barry Allen.

I don’t think I can really go into the rest of the issue without spoilers, so… you’ve been warned! Continue reading →

Quick Review: Flash: Rebirth #3 First Impressions

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Flash: Rebirth #3

Full review coming later, but here are my initial thoughts on Flash: Rebirth #3.

It was fast — very fast. If Geoff Johns wanted to write a Flash book about speed, he’s succeeded. The Superman/Flash race worked well and grew organically out of the story. I liked Barry’s reactions to Wally, Jay and Bart. Not to mention seeing certain other speedsters again.

But the reveal of the villain? Too predictable. Too easy. It was the safe choice, like “killing” characters who are already dead. Too much “Let’s move the Flash franchise forward into the 1970s!” It reminded me of those Star Wars novels in the 1990s where every time you turned around they introduced yet another super-weapon, because what’s Star Wars without a Death Star? Or a Sun Crusher? Or a Galaxy Gun?

I’ve been willing to give Geoff Johns the benefit of the doubt up until now, based on his run on Wally’s series and buoyed by the excitement of getting a top-tier creative team on the book. Rather than convincing me of why Barry needs to be back, it’s making me wonder why I should care.

We’re at the halfway mark. I should be more enthusiastic than when I started, but instead I’m less. Here’s hoping it reads better on a second pass, and that it picks up over the back half of the story.

UPDATE: Full review is up.

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Archive: 5 Possible Candidates for The Flash: Rebirth Mystery Villain

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Originally published as a guest post on The Weekly Crisis, on June 9, 2009. Imported here after that site shut down.

The biggest question in Flash: Rebirth so far — after “What’s up with Barry’ Allens parents?” and “How the heck did Barry come back, anyway?” — is “Who is the mystery villain?”

The very first scene in issue one is a break-in at a Central City crime lab: an unseen assailant kills the CSIs and re-creates the lightning-and-chemical accident that transformed Barry Allen into the Flash. In his internal monologue, he “speaks” as if he knows Barry Allen and even claims to have brought Barry back from the dead — and that it was the worst thing he could have done to him. It’s not likely that Geoff Johns is introducing an entirely new character. So, who might he be?

What we know for sure: He’s a man, has white hair, and carries a staff tipped with a lightning-bolt-shaped blade at each end. In short, not much. Also worth noting, Barry has picked up a new, traumatic backstory, which Geoff Johns has hinted is part of a crime committed against the Flash — in short, deliberate manipulation of history. One page of the preview for issue #3 also suggests a time traveler may be involved.

There’s been a lot of discussion on various message boards and around the web about the possible candidates and I’m sure everyone’s been wondering just who the mystery villain is. As such, I’ve put together my own list of candidates and reasons why each makes sense. Hit the jump to find out who made my short list of suspects!

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How Long is Flash: Rebirth, Anyway?

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Ever since Flash: Rebirth was announced last summer, there’s been confusion as to how long he miniseries was going to be. Some sources said six issues, others said five. Finally DC solicited the first issue as #1 of 5, and it seemed settled…

…until DC announced it was being extended to six issues.

Ethan Van Sciver explains what happened after a fan asks what changed to make the story longer:

It’s not that simple. DC offered us 5 issues, but we were always planning for 6. Geoff had it mapped out for 6. DC basically told us to knock their socks off and for me to meet my deadlines, and they’d give us the 6th issue. So we did, and they did!

But even if we hadn’t, we’d have picketed for that 6th issue. We needed the space, were expecting it, and it really should be the same length as GL: REBIRTH.

That explains a lot — not only the extension, but the confusion early on as to whether it was going to be 5 or 6 to begin with.

(via SpeedsterSite)

Wally’s New Costume Unveiling Announced

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Yesterday, Ethan Van Sciver answered a question at Comic Bloc about when we’d finally see Wally West’s new costume — the one that should make it easier to tell the difference between Wally West and Barry Allen at a glance. The new costume will debut in Flash: Rebirth #6.

Yeah, in the grand scheme of things it’s a trivial matter, but Wally’s fans do care about the issue. It’ll be nice not to feel like our favorite Flash is getting thrown under the metaphorical bus to make way for the “real” Flash.

Update November 18: Wally’s costume has in fact been revealed in Flash: Rebirth #5. If you want to see it, head over to get spoiled!.