Artist Karl Kerschl has posted a preview of art from his and Brenden Fletcher’s Flash strip in Wednesday Comics. The 12-part weekly series launches in July.
Preview: Flash in Wednesday Comics
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Quick Review: Blackest Night #0
I made it out to one of my local comic stores on Saturday for Free Comic Book Day, and picked up several books (some free, some not). As a Flash fan and long-time DC reader, I grabbed Blackest Night #0, the prelude to this year’s huge event.
Now, some background: Geoff Johns is really hit-or-miss for me. I loved his run on The Flash and Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, but JSA and Justice Society of America just doesn’t click with me, I couldn’t stand Infinite Crisis, and I’ve never been particularly interested in Green Lantern no matter who’s writing it. (I’m not sure why — you’d think sci-fi space action would be right up my alley.)
Anyway, Blackest Night #0 left me with a resounding “meh.” There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just wasn’t terribly compelling. It did its job, or at least one part of it, which was to establish which major characters had died recently, show that death in the DC Universe is not always permanent (by focusing on two characters who have come back fro the dead), and introduce the Green Lantern Corps and the groups based around the other colors. for those who might not be keeping up with Green Lantern. But it didn’t catch my interest for picking up the main story, which is what I’m sure DC really wanted it to do.
For some contrast, one of the other books I picked up was the trade paperback, Powers Vol. 12: The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time (not free, obviously!). I haven’t read Powers in several years, and I suspect I may have missed a few issues between when I stopped reading and the beginning of this volume. I opened it up when I got home to take a quick look at the first few pages and get an idea of how much time had passed, and couldn’t put it down.
Speed Reading: Waid, Infantino, Fan Films, Barry & Iris, Showcase Auction and More
Ain’t It Cool News interviews Mark Waid about his work on Flash, Fantastic Four, Irredeemable and more (basically his entire career). He’s got some really interesting things to say about the Flash. Eventually I’ll find time to read the whole thing and pick out some good quotes to post here.
The latest Fan Film Podcast episode focuses on The Flash: Crossover from Influence Films.
POP! lists Barry Allen and Iris West at #3 on its 25 Greatest Super-hero Romances (via Robot 6).
The Comic Treadmill looks back at the 1970s revival of All Star Comics, featuring the Justice Society of America on Earth-2.
The best-condition copy of Showcase #4, first appearance of Barry Allen as the Silver-Age Flash, is “off to a fast start” at Heritage Auctions, already up to $100,000 with three weeks to go.
Comicbook Rockstar talks about lunch with Carmine Infantino, comics legend and co-creator of the Silver Age Flash, and the veteran artist’s advice for writers.
Comic Bloc user CreativeArtist has a new animation based on Flash: Rebirth.
Pegasus News reviews a production of Based on a Totally True Story (by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa), a stage play about a playwright on the verge of making it big in Hollywood — who also happens to write the Flash comic book.
Update: The first installment of Q&A column Geoff Johns Prime is up at Comic Book Resources. He doesn’t say much about Flash: Rebirth beyond “wait and see.”
Flash Signings for Free Comic Book Day
Saturday, May 2 is Free Comic Book Day, and comic stores around the world (okay, mostly in the US) are holding events with guests from the comics industry. I’ve put together a list of all the Flash and Impulse-related appearances I could find:
United States
Arizona
- Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver sign at Atomic Comics in Mesa
California
- Mark Waid and Marc Guggenheim sign at Collector’s Paradise in Winnetka from noon-3pm
- Mark Guggenheim will also appear at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles from 4-7pm.
- Todd Nauck (Young Justice) signs at 4 Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga
Florida
- Paul Pelletier signs at Heroes Haven in Tampa
Maryland
- Greg LaRocque signs at Super Villains Comic Shop in Baltimore
New York
- Todd Dezago (Impulse) signs at Excellent Adventures in Ballston Spa
Canada
- Ken Lashley (Flash: The Fastest Man Alive) signs at Comic Connection in Hamilton, Ontario
Notes
- Humberto Ramos (Impulse) canceled an appearance at Comicpalooza this weekend.
The FCBD website has a list of more creator signings on Saturday. I may have missed some Flash-related names.
Review: Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #4
Yes, it’s actually here! This issue is a lot more story-focused than the last few, which I remember being more about showing the war between the Superman and the three Legions of Super-Heroes on one side and Superboy Prime and the Legion of Super-Villains on the other.
First: the art. It’s George Frelling Pérez. Do I really need to say anything more? Didn’t think so. The book looks fantastic.
The big events:
1. Following through on last issue’s resurrection of Bart Allen. We get a touching reunion between Bart and his cousin Jenni Ognats (XS of the reboot Legion), and Geoff Johns once again shows that he’s found Bart’s voice at last. (Quoting Disney’s Aladdin in the 31st century: absolutely perfect.) We also get some mumbo-jumbo about why Bart returned as a teenager instead of an adult, which doesn’t really make any sense (or fit with what we saw during 52 and Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, but then it’s not as if that’s been particularly consistent to begin with.)
2. Another hero returns from the dead, revealing that the Legionnaires in The Lightning Saga had at least two objectives to their time travel mission.
3. A major character’s true identity is revealed again, and it’s not the same identity as last time. (Shades of Monarch, there.)
Overall, I found it a better read than the earlier issues of the series, because it was much less scattered. I do get a sense that Geoff Johns is treating the “other” legions as expendable, making it possible to kill off “major characters” and still keep the “originals” around.
A couple of spoilery notes behind the cut: Continue reading
Flash: Rebirth #2 Preview and Alternate Cover
DC has posted a 6-page preview and both the standard and alternate covers for next week’s Flash: Rebirth #2 to The Source.
Edit: Does anyone else remember the Wonder Woman Plus Jesse Quick one-shot? In it, Savitar’s former acolyte, Christina, sought revenge against him by trying to “rob him of his victory” and pull him out of the speed force against his will.