Tag Archives: Blue Lantern

How idolizing The Flash has profoundly influenced my life (Part 1)

Today’s guest post is by Glenmarc F. Antonio, whose Flash memorabilia collection has previously been featured here on Speed Force in our first Collector’s Showcase.

My name is Glenmarc F. Antonio, and I’m Flash. That makes me the Fastest Man Alive. Well, not really.

I’m actually a 30-something Digital Media specialist for the Philippine’s largest telco provider. In my heyday, I was one of the fastest runners in my company, and was fairly athletic, having competed in basketball at a varsity level back in college. My self-confessed similarities to the Flash’s (superhuman) speed however do not end there.

An introduction with the Scarlet Speedster

I got introduced to the Scarlet Speedster when I was really young, having watched and loved the live-action Flash TV series starring John Wesley Shipp in the late 90s-early 2000s when it was shown in the local channel. The moment I saw that golden lightning emblazoned across John’s chest as the opening credits were shown (plus Danny Elfman’s masterful The Flash theme song), I fell in love with the character. For me, Shipp was THE Flash. His portrayal of Barry Allen (with a subtle mix of Wally West) was in my honest opinion, absolutely on-point. I watched all of the episodes and didn’t mind re-runs. Seeing him running in his bright red suit was a joy. I wanted to be him. No, I wanted to be The Flash.

Flash TV Series (1990)

I guess I have my mom to blame as well. Being the very 1^st geek in the family, my mother Ruby introduced me to the world of comics, as she was the one who bought me my 1^st title (Jim Lee’s X-men #1), and over the years, has steadily maintained and monitored my voracious consumption of comicbook geekery. I still remember when she gave me the Death Of Superman TPB as a gift when I graduated from grade school school. Yes, that’s how geeky she is. From there, I have shuttled between fandoms, Marvel and DC Comics (and for a brief period, Image Comics).

Over time, I saw myself being more of a DC-fan long after the live-action TV series was cancelled. I have always been pro-mutant given my X-men roots, but I have grown to appreciate the Justice League and its many incarnations. And while the comics have already focused on Wally West taking over the cowl of The Flash since Barry’s apparent demise in the 80s mega-crossover “Crisis On Infinite Earths”, I still hoped that Barry would come back. That he would be The Flash again.

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Flash Costumes: Speedster Style

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Today’s guest post is by Ryan Heuer of BuySuperheroCostumes.com.

The fastest superhero to ever grace the pages of comics wears one of the most recognizable costumes, but as the role of the Flash has changed hands from Barry Allen to Wally West, the costumes over the years have incorporated some subtle changes. Of course, no one would be talking about DC Comics’ Flash at all without the original inspiration behind the modern day Flash if Golden Age Jay Garrick had not inspired the superhero’s more popular incarnations.

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Design And Win Your Own Flash Ring Spotlight!

With only two weeks left in the contest, I’d like to take some time to highlight some of the entries we’ve received so far and will all be passed on to Arrobasilver for consideration:

Ryan cleverly combined elements of the Blue Lantern and The Flash:

While Adam Komar from Conroe, TX had the interests of those conflicted between light and dark in mind with his concept:

Cape Sandlin incorporated a variation of The Flash logo itself into a modest but visually stunning piece of work:

And Aaron Rivin Rivin took a more traditional approach to his concept: [Edit: Images removed because they were plagiarized (see comments).]

Kevin Allen from Rochester, MI described his concept as: “This is a ring he would wear when giving an interview, or at the opening of a new wing of the Flash Museum. It is a ring he would only take out for super important events. As such, it takes some of the elements of his normal ring, but also adds a few style choices to make it look more regal and important.”

And Joey Forlini delivers with a simple yet engaging piece framed with elements of The Fastest Man Alive.

And that’s only a few of the great submissions we have so far. Thanks for all the entries. I look forward to seeing even more of all your great work, so get those submissions in while you still can. You can visit the Official Contest Page HERE for details on submissions and such.

–Devin “The Flash” Johnson

DC Direct Flash-Related Solicitations for November

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DC Direct‘s solicitations for November give us some definite dates on two great Flash collectibles. Blue Lantern Flash as part of the sixth series of Blackest Night figures and a DC Chronicles Flash statue.

BLACKEST NIGHT: SERIES 6: BLUE LANTERN FLASH Action Figure

The hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT action figure line continues with four awesome new characters!

Included in this sixth installment of the series are Hal Jordan, the personification of the Green Lantern Corps; Wonder Woman, who finds the power of love and joins the ranks of the Star Sapphires; Hawkgirl, who was one of the first heroes to lose her life to the dark power of the Black Lanterns; and The Flash, who couples the power of the blue ring with his trademark speed to carry the message of hope to all.

All four figures feature multiple points of articulation and include a display base. Character-appropriate accessories are also included.

4-color clamshell blister card packaging.

On Sale November 3, 2010

And

DC CHRONICLES: THE FLASH Statue

SCULPTED BY TIM BRUCKNER

The Fastest Man Alive kicks up a dust cloud as he slides into the DC Chronicles statue series!

This statue features The Flash of the Silver Age, Barry Allen, in his classic costume.

The DC Chronicles statue line has a consistent base, and the retro-style logo on the base further gives the piece a sense of the period from which it originated.

This limited-edition, hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain statue measures approximately 6.75″ high x 5″ wide x 3.5″ deep and is packaged in a 4-color box with a 4-color Certificate
of Authenticity.

Manufactured to order.

$ 99.99 US | On Sale November 24, 2010

I’m really looking forward to Blue Lantern Flash as it will look great poking out of the field of red and yellow in my display. I’m also loving the sculpt. Reminds me of Wally West from the first series of JLA action figures they released a few years ago. Perfect build, great sculpt and a slick paint job.

I’m not really a statue guy. I do own a few but rarely if ever will you find me anticipating the release of one. This one is no exception unfortunately. I’m not really in the market for Barry Allen statues these days anyway. And I would need a Wally in new costume as an action figure first. Hint hint.

—Devin “The Flash” Johnson

Custom Blue Lantern Barry Allen Figure on eBay!

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As a Flash collector I spend a lot of my time on eBay. Whether it’s looking for good deals on action figures or hunting for some rare gem of a collectible, I spend a lot of time on the site. This afternoon I came across a pretty sweet custom of Blue Lantern Barry Allen up for auction. Interesting to note that the custom is astonishingly pretty accurate to the official action figure of Blue Lantern Flash by DC Direct design wise.

I actually think I dig the custom on eBay a little more though. Especially the way the belt is worked right into the Blue Lantern chest design as opposed to being awkwardly painted over it. The previous design may work in the comic but on an action figure it stands out a lot more than it should. This custom is being brought to us by nissan_nx2004 and Black Lanterns Green Arrow and Hawkman are also included in the auction.

Pretty nice huh? The auction is currently at $75.00 with 2 days and 21 hours left in the auction and you can view it here. The listing also has some additional pics of Blue Lantern Flash and Black Lanterns Green Arrow and Hawkman.

–Devin “The Flash” Johnson

Blackest Night: Blue Lantern Barry Allen Action Figure Announced

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Toy Fair 2010 is upon us and with that comes some awesome DC Comics toy news. IGN.com reports that DC Direct will have at least four new Blackest Night Action Figures on display at Toy Fair including Blue Lantern Barry Allen! I knew they would eventually get to him but I never thought it would be this soon. Color this toy collector extremely excited for the possibility of more Flash-oriented collectibles. And with The Flash series finally getting back on track, and with Barry being a key player in the upcoming Brightest Day there is a possibility of more fun stuff being rolled out before the end. IGN has the first pics including this one of Barry as a Blue Lantern:

This is probably the cleanest image we have of Barry in the Blue Lantern gear so far and I’m definitely digging the design. Here is hoping for more great Flash stuff.

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson