This Week (Oct 22): Final Crisis

Final Crisis #4 of 7

Written by Grant Morrison; Art by J.G. Jones and Carlos Pacheco; Covers by J.G. Jones

It’s one month after the Anti-Life Equation was released worldwide. Millions now toil as slaves of Darkseid, while the Justifier shock troops of Apokolips lay waste to the planet Earth and hunt down its protectors.

The remaining free humans and superheroes are stationed around the world, besieged within the walls of ten very familiar ‘Watchtowers’, as they fight a desperate, losing battle against the triumphant forces of evil.

While Green Arrow and Black Canary attempt to deliver the secret of humanity’s last hope across America’s blasted wastelands, the Outsiders brave the horrors of the Blüdhaven bunker in search of Batman. The ultimate battle is coming…but which heroes will become villain – and vice versa? And what part do the Secret Society have to play in the dawning of this new Age of Evil?

Darkness is falling and death rules the day. Is this truly the end of the Age of Super Heroes? Don’t miss FINAL CRISIS #4: “How to Murder the Earth!”

40pg. | Color | $3.99 US

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #8 of 12

Written by Dan Jurgen and Ron Marz; Art by Wes Craig and Fernando Pasarin; Cover by Matt Haley

The Tangent Superman’s assault on the DCU Earth continues, and his quest to make the world “safe” for normal people is set to crush all metahuman resistance in its path!

32pg. | Color | $2.99 US

DC Universe: Halloween ’08

Written by Mark Verheiden, Mike Johnson, Brian Reed and others; Art by Trevor Hairsine, Duncan Rouleau and others; Cover by Gene Ha
The Horror! The Horror! Could this be the final Halloween for the DCU? Evil has won, and there are no treats! Witness tales of terror featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Titans, El Diablo, Faust and others by past, present and future DC greats.

80pg. | Color | $5.99 US

Notes: It’s not clear whether the Flash appears in this book, but there’s a chance depending on what era of theTitans is spotlighted. Last year’s Halloween special featured a “Whatever happened to…” story about Ira West, Wally’s grandfather and Iris Allen’s adoptive father.

The Flash may also appear in Trinity, and Kid Flash often appears in Tiny Titans.

Sales Slide in September

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ICV2’s sales estimates for September show yet another drop in Flash sales.

02/2008: Flash #237     —  37,719 (-  9.0%)
03/2008: Flash #238     —  35,606 (-  5.6%)
04/2008: Flash #239     —  33,741 (-  5.2%)
05/2008: Flash #240     —  31,944 (-  5.3%)
06/2008: Flash #241     —  30,810 (-  3.6%)
07/2008: Flash #242     —  30,325 (-  1.5%)
08/2008: Flash #243     —  29,647 (-  2.2%)
09/2008: Flash #244     —  29,180 (-  1.6%)

A couple of things worth noting: 1. Most regular super-hero series do drop slowly from month to month, with occasional jumps back up as big events bring new readers in to replace those who have left. (See “standard attrition.”) By that measure, the last couple of months don’t look so bad… but the series dropped horrifically from #230-237, leaving it at the dismal position of #82 on the rankings. 2. Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge has been outselling the regular series by roughly 2:1, though there was no issue in September.

Impulse: Mercury Falling to be Traded

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Collected Editions has obtained DC’s advance TPB solicitations for Fall 2009, including a big surprise in speedster collections:

The Flash (featuring Impulse): Mercury Falling

It’s been years since any of Impulse was collected (Impulse: Reckless Youth
), and that was only the first few issues. Mercury Falling, which ran from Impulse #62-66, was the major epic from the Todd Dezago/Ethan Van Sciver run on the book, and featured Inertia’s master plan, Max Mercury facing almost certain death, and Bart being forced to confront the fact that his mentor and guardian might not be around much longer, while desperately trying to find a way to save him.

It actually ties in quite well thematically with the recent stories in Flash and Rogues’ Revenge.

The title is a bit odd, considering that the Flash doesn’t appear in the story at all (that I remember), but it follows the same pattern as other recent collections of lesser-known characters, like JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Get the main franchise with the recognized name out there first, then add the original title of the book.

Update: Amazon now lists this as being released on May 12, 2009.

Flash Comics for January 2009

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Actually, there aren’t any Flash comics for January 2009, since the current series ends with #247 and Flash: Rebirth isn’t starting until March. But DC’s January Solicitations do list team books and events which will probably feature one Flash or another, and include the official announcement of The Flash Archives Vol.5, to be released in March 2009. Plus there are several collections that include Flash stories, and even an appearance by Impulse! Continue reading →

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