Geoff Johns on Flash: Rebirth, Smallville and More

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Geoff Johns was all over the place this week, talking with Hero Complex about several projects including Flash: Rebirth, to Newsarama about his Smallville episode, Legion, and to Wizard about the comic book projects he has for 2009.

Regarding Flash: Rebirth, he tells Hero Complex about series losing their focus:

When the book starts to not be about that, maybe it needs to refocus. Writing Flash with Wally West, he was kind of the sidekick to Barry Allen, the original, then he became the main Flash after Barry left and died. But you look at what the theme of Flash’s book has been for the last 200-something issues with Wally West and it’s been about a man trying to fill someone else’s boots. It doesn’t really have anything to do with speed. I mean, it has something to do with speed, but it was not totally what the book was about. The new Flash that I’m doing is all about speed. What speed means. I’m sure that you have a Blackberry or cellphone, or I’m sure that you’ve downloaded songs or something and asked, “Why is it taking so long?” Everyone wants everything faster today, so speed is even more of something that we can all relate to on a different level.

I like the fact that he wants to focus the book on speed. However….

The guy writing Flash: Rebirth, who also wrote ~60 issues of the last series, feels that Wally West’s defining characteristic is being a wannabe. Remind me again why Wally’s fans should simply relax and trust him? 🙄

Speed Reading: Reviews, an Homage, Firestorm, and Defining “Definitive”

Some Flash-related bits from around the comics blogging community.

Crimson Lightning has a scan from a Funky Winkerbean homage to the Flash, specifically the cover of Flash v.1 #115.

momoney433 has started reviewing the entire run of The Flash vol.2 (Wally West’s series) over at Comic Bloc. Issues #1 and #2 went up yesterday.

softpixels.net reviews Flash: Race Against Time.

Blogcritics reviews the Graphic Audio adaptation of Flash: Stop Motion.

The Irredeemable Shag of Once Upon a Geek fame has launched a new blog, Firestorm Fan. Firestorm ran as a backup feature in The Flash during the early 1980s.

Rokk’s Comic Book Revolution thinks that Wally retiring is a good idea.

Meanwhile, I’m Just Sayin’ ponders the “definitive” Flash and Green Lantern — and doesn’t come up with Barry and Hal.

Review: Final Crisis #6

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Final Crisis #6

You know how sometimes, when an issue of a comic book has been delayed for a long time, it finally shows up and it’s absolutely worth the wait? The last few issues of Fray and Midnight Nation come to mind. Unfortunately, Final Crisis #6 does not fit into that category.

The first few issues were structured like a mystery, presenting various fragments that slowly piece themselves together into a coherent picture. But now that the whole picture has been put together, we’re still only seeing fragments. It’s kind of like watching Cloverfield, except the reason we’re only seeing bits and pieces isn’t because we’re following a single viewpoint, but because we’re following too many.

The weird thing is, as unsatisfying as it is to read (though it does improve the second time through), I’m half-convinced that the fragmentation is intentional. It fits with the disintegrating cover design, and it fits with the theory that theme is more important than plot in this book. And, in fact, it fits with Grant Morrison’s comments about paring a comic down to the bare essentials like dance music. Of course, not everyone likes dance music.

Some specifics, so watch out for spoilers: Continue reading →

This Week (Jan 14): Final Crisis, Titans

Final Crisis #6 of 7

Written by Grant Morrison; Art and covers by J.G. Jones and Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino

As the entire world turns against them, the last of Earth’s Super Heroes must face the unstoppable power of the Gods of Apokolips for the final time. Supergirl vs. Mary Marvel! Superman vs. Darkseid! The fate of the Flash! And the incredible return of the New Gods! The End of Days has come and the ultimate war between good and evil will at last be decided on the battlefield of a broken world!

And as the skies bleed, as the walls between universes crumble and fall, the ultimate threat to life makes its presence felt as an evil beyond imagining arrives to claim its prize. Mandrakk the Dark Monitor is coming and the DC Multiverse will never be the same again!

Notes: Yes, it’s really coming out this week! Diamond shows it on their shipping list, and Newsarama has a preview.

Titans #9

Written by Judd Winick; Art by Howard Porter; Cover by Tony Daniel

A “Faces of Evil” issue! With Jericho around, no one is safe. He can hide in plain sight, and he’s far more powerful than he’s ever been before. Even those best equipped to understand and deal with him — his old teammates the Titans — are at a loss this time. What is his ultimate goal, and whom will he possess next to attain it?

IO9 has a preview.

Titans: Old Friends (Hardcover)

Written by Judd Winick; Art by Ian Churchill, Joe Benitez; Cover by Joe Benitez & Victor Llamas

The former teen heroes known as the Teen Titans are all grown up and under siege in this hardcover collecting Titans #1-6 as well as the hard-to-find one-shot Teen Titans East Special #1!

Also likely: Trinity and Super Friends.

Weather Wizard, Meet…Go-Go the Magician!

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Flash (and Rogues’ Gallery) fan liabrown found something Flashy in Bat-Manga!: a villain who bears a very strong resemblance to Central City’s own Weather Wizard.

Go-Go the Magician

As she puts it:

The Japanese artist said he was given some Batman comics and told to replicate the feel of them in manga style, but he pretty much copied Detective Comics #353 for the Go-Go story…with one major difference (mentioned below). He also used Clayface in a story, and some villains who appear to be fairly original (although one is somewhat reminiscent of Gorilla Grodd), including the awesome Lord Death Man.

Go-Go the Magician in a tornadoweatherwizard

Detective Comics #353It’s not clear why the artist replaced the Weather Wizard with a new villain, though the comment thread speculates that rights may have had something to do with it — or what “Go-Go” has to do with weather control. (Of course, this was the era of go-go checks on DC’s covers.)

Speaking of Detective Comics #353, it’s got a great classic cover showing the Weather Wizard physically stepping out of a Flash comic book and into an issue of Detective Comics.

More scans — of both the original and the manga versions — are available at the flash_rogues post.

Speed Reading: Best-Of, Classics, Kerschl and Waid

And the year-end round-ups keep coming!

At Comic Fodder, Tpull’s Top Ten Mini-Series of 2008 counts Rogues Revenge at #4.

CBR’s When Worlds Collide lists Geoff Johns among its 15 Creators to Watch in 2009.

Geoff Johns makes iFanboy’s list of The Top 5 Best Things About Comic Books in 2008.

Also:

Bags and Boards looks at Flash v.1 #309 (May 1982), pitting the Flash against a man from the future who would, by the end of the issue, become the first future Flash

According to David S. Goyer, all DC movies at Warner Bros. are on hold while they figure out how to get them right. (via The Beat)

The Montreal Mirror profiles artist Karl Kerschl, who penciled Teen Titans Year One and one issue of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. The article focuses on his work with the band Ragni and his webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher.

Major Spoilers has some preview pages from the upcoming The Incredibles comic written by Mark Waid.