Well, it’s official: One of the longest runs of the New 52 is coming to an end with Flash #25. From Brian Buccellato’s blog:
If you’ve seen the solicits for FLASH #26, you may notice that Francis and I are not listed as the creators… That’s because (as strange as it sounds to even us) we’ve reached the end of our Flash run. #25 is the final chapter in what’s been an incredible journey with the fastest man alive. Fun times!
We were REALLY honored to have the opportunity to usher Barry, Iris, Patty, Lenny, Forrest and the entire Flash universe into the New 52. We’ve lived and breathed Barry and are sorely gonna miss him, but after 3 years and over 30 issues (annuals, zero, Villains Month), we felt it was time to Move Forward and take on a new creative challenge.
Before anyone points out that it’s only been two years since the New 52, remember that Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato were the art team on the Brightest Day-era Flash series written by Geoff Johns before Flashpoint. They’ve been on the character since early 2010. At today’s DC Comics, that’s an astonishingly long run!
Unlike other high-profile creative changes that have made news recently, this appears to be an amicable split. Brian Buccellato remains as writer on Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion, and then there’s this:
Francis and I will be moving on to a NEW regular DC series that will hit stores in MARCH 2014. We can’t tell you what the series is (yet), but we are super excited about this new sandbox we get to play in!
March 2013 should be about the time Forever Evil wraps up. No doubt DC will be launching several new series at that time.
As for who’s next on The Flash, a new creative team hasn’t been announced. Christos Gage and Neil Googe are doing a one-shot for Flash #26.
I’ll miss this team on The Flash, but I feel a lot more content about this news than I did when Geoff Johns left — ironically, because I was more satisfied with the New 52 Flash than the Brightest Day version. The post-Rebirth Flash was a study in frustration and missed opportunities, with long waits and a lackluster ending.
Here? By the time “Reverse” wraps up next month, Manapul and Buccellato will have delivered on everything they set out to do.
They re-established Barry Allen and his supporting cast.
They revamped the Rogues, Grodd and Reverse Flash.
They re-established the Speed Force as something that you might be able to explain without a PowerPoint presentation.
Sure, I would have liked to see more new villains (we got Mob Rule and Dr. Elias, and that was really about it), and I really wish we’d gotten to see that cold case story that editorial canned in order to get the Captain Cold story out sooner. But it feels like, once the last few issues are out, the Manapul/Buccellato run will be a complete run on the book.
In addition to their upcoming series together, Brian Buccellato is continuing to write Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion at DC, The Black Bat at Dynamite, and Executive Assistant: Iris at Aspen.
One last THANKS to all the Flash fans out there that gave Francis and I an honest chance and stuck around for the ride. You know who you are. You guys make this job worth all the crazy deadlines and sleepless nights! Thanks again… we can’t wait to tell you what’s next! 🙂
We’re looking forward to it!
This is one “Villains Month” comic that I truly wish was a permanent ongoing series…not just a mini series but a full-fledged ongoing a la Gail Simone’s old Secret Six (though I am looking forward to Rogues Rebellion). The Flash #23.3 aka The Rogues #1 has the look and feel of an excellent series first issue, giving us a New 52 version of what has made the Rogues great for decades. These are the ultimate blue-collar crooks, not bent on world domination but on making a living the “honest” way…by robbery, of course. Their code against killing makes them almost completely unique, especially in the DC Universe. These colorful crooks are more human, even with their newer meta-powers, than most villains found anywhere else in comics…and it makes one almost cheer for them at times. This is only part of why there are so many Rogues fans out there…and this issue captures the essence of what has made the group so great for so many years.
