Tag Archives: Delays

Geoff Johns Talks Flash’s Future

Geoff Johns posted on Comic Bloc this morning about plans for the Flash through 2010. He recommends that Flash fans read Blackest Night #5, says he’s seen Blackest Night: Flash #1 and goes on to reveal:

March sees the release of Flash Secret Files 2010.
April features “not one, but two new Flash titles. There have been a few minor top secret alterations that will be revealed soon, I think, about the books.”

Presumably that means The Flash and Kid Flash will both debut in April. The top secret alterations may include a backup feature in Kid Flash, or perhaps an artist change. (I suppose it could mean two Flash books in April and then Kid Flash in May, but that seems unlikely for now.)

He talks a little about the new series:

The first arc of THE FLASH is called THE DASTARDLY DEATH OF THE ROGUES and should be self-explanatory…kind of. 🙂 Other arcs will include MURDER IN GORILLA CITY, THE RETURN OF ### ######## and a brand new Rogue with a power unlike anyone in comics, but perfect for the Flash.

Johns also addresses the delays with Flash: Rebirth, saying it’s “as frustrating for [him] as anyone” and adding that “after much debate, we didn’t want to hand the series over to another artist or spilt up the book.”

There’s a lot more, particularly about Blackest Night: The Flash. He notes that “the ending [of the first issue?] might be my favorite line Captain Cold has ever uttered.”

One Week to Flash: Rebirth #5, Dan Didio Talks Delays

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So, who remembers what happened in Flash: Rebirth #4? 😀 All joking aside, it looks like we’ll finally get the next installment of the story in just over a week. Not only does DC still list Flash: Rebirth #5 with a November 18 date, it’s on also on Diamond’s upcoming releases list for books shipping next week. It’s extremely rare for anything to slip once it appears on that list (though I have seen it happen occasionally).

Here’s what the miniseries’ schedule looks like at this point:

Issue	Orig. Date	Actual Date	Gap	Delay
Flash: Rebirth #1	April 1	April 1	3 months*	On time
Flash: Rebirth #2	May 6	May 6	5 weeks	On time
Flash: Rebirth #3	June 10	June 10	5 weeks	On time
Flash: Rebirth #4	July 22	Aug. 26	11 weeks	5 weeks
Flash: Rebirth #5	Aug. 26	Nov. 18	12 weeks	12 weeks
Flash: Rebirth #6	Sep. 30	Dec. 23**	5 weeks	12 weeks

*Since Flash v.2 #247

**Well, currently-scheduled date, anyway.

All signs point to the next mini-series, Blackest Night: The Flash staying on track. Especially when you factor in Dan Didio’s comments on scheduling in his latest 10 Answers column:

…A lot of times the story drives how the books are produced. Certain books we have a certain level of leeway with because of how they fall within the rest of the DCU continuity. Books like Flash: Rebirth, books like Superman: Secret Origin, had long lead times and they still ran into some problems toward the end. But because of the consistency of the look and the consistency of the team and the consistency of the vision of that material, we’re willing to wait for those books because they don’t have an impact on other series that are rolling out at that time. [emphasis added]

But when we have other books like Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, it’s essential for them to come out in conjunction with Blackest Night, and for those, we know to plan differently.

Both sides — Rebirth not holding up the rest of the DCU and Blackest Night: Flash needing to sync up with Blackest Night — would seem to factor into the decision to keep the Johns/Kolins miniseries on schedule even though it means launching before Rebirth ends (whenever that ends up being).

Just think: in a few weeks, the Flash franchise should be back on track!

Flash: Rebirth #5 Now Due November 18

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It looks like Flash: Rebirth #5 won’t be out next week after all. Reader Perplexio wrote in to point out that DC’s website now shows a release date of November 18.

The funny thing is, I checked it two hours ago and it still said November 11. It’s starting to feel like I should check it on an hourly basis!

No change on the release dates for Flash: Rebirth #6 or the first two issues of Blackest Night: The Flash.

The current schedule looks like this:

Flash: Rebirth #5	November 18, 2009
Blackest Night: The Flash #1	December 2, 2009
Flash: Rebirth #6	December 23, 2009
Blackest Night: The Flash #2	January 13, 2010

It’s beginning to look less and less likely that Flash: Rebirth will finish this year. With no comics shipping the week of December 30, even a one-week slip on issue #6 will push it into January.

Keeping Comics on Schedule

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By now the delays on Flash: Rebirth #4-6 have become legendary. But the book is hardly alone. Just this week, I picked up issues of Dynamo 5 and Ignition City that, despite the series starting on a monthly schedule, came out several months after the previous issue. In fact, a lot of the independent comics I read don’t seem to have a strict schedule. Rather than soliciting them monthly and then rescheduling them the way DC often does, they seem to solicit them as they’re ready.

On the plus side, it’s less frustrating for the reader who doesn’t see a particular issue get scheduled, then delayed repeatedly. On the minus side, the reader has no clue when to expect more.

Solutions

If the goal is to keep a book to a regular schedule, some of the ways I’ve seen to keep it from falling behind include: Continue reading →

Answering Questions from Searchers

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Every once in a while I see something in the search terms that people have used to reach this site that makes me wish I could contact them and answer their questions. So I figured I’d try something new: The following are questions (or implied questions) pulled from this week’s site statistics.

Interestingly enough, they settled into three broad categories.

Costumes

What does Wally West’s new costume look like? (There are lots of variations on this one!)

Short answer: We haven’t seen it yet. But according to Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver’s design is “Very clean, very familiar, yet unique!”

What is the difference in the Flash costumes?

Barry Allen: belt is straight across, boots always have wings, eyes are always visible (well, except in this week’s Brave and the Bold issue).
Wally West: 1986-1991: same. 1991-2009: belt is V-shaped, boots sometimes have wings, eyes sometimes covered, costume is sometimes shiny.

Jay Garrick, of course, has a completely different costume with blue pants, red boots, no mask and a silver helmet.

How to make a Golden Age Flash costume. (Several variations on this, also.)

Here’s a two-part series describing exactly how to do it:

Future of the Flash

Will Flash Rebirth ever finish? (Yes, that’s exactly how it was phrased.)

Yes. The next issue is scheduled for November 11, and the whole thing should wrap up on December 23, 2009. The schedule could still slip, of course.

Why is Flash Rebirth being delayed?

Artist Ethan Van Sciver has accepted at least some of the blame for being a slow artist. He intended Flash: Rebirth as a project that would help him learn to draw faster.

Will Wally West be back in 2010?

Yes. Wally West will star in a second feature in the new Flash comic book, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Scott Kolins.

More immediately, he will appear in both Blackest Night: Flash and Blackest Night itself, alongside Barry Allen.

Powers

Who is the fastest Flash?

Whoever’s currently starring in the main book.

How Flash got super speed.

Lab accidents, mainly. Jay Garrick inhaled chemical fumes (originally identified as “hard water,” but later sometimes identified as “heavy water,” which still doesn’t make sense, but radioactivity makes a little more sense than high mineral content). Barry Allen was struck by lightning and simultaneously splashed with chemicals. Wally West was struck by a repetition of Barry’s accident.

What force is involved in lightning flashes?

Electromagnetism.

Is it possible to run as fast as a speed force?

I’m not entirely sure what this question is asking.

Flash: Rebirth to Conclude December 23

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Flash: Rebirth #6 (thumb) Once Flash: Rebirth #5 was pushed back to November 11, I don’t think anyone really expected the final issue to come out just two weeks later. Now DC has made it official, rescheduling Flash: Rebirth #6 for December 23. Merry Christmas, Flash fans! 😐

Dates for Blackest Night: The Flash have not changed.

Some interesting facts:

That’s 6 weeks after issue #5’s current release date.
It’s 12 weeks after the issue’s original release date (September 30).
Oddly enough, it’s 3 weeks after Blackest Night: The Flash #1 is scheduled to ship. (Thank you, DC, for not postponing it!)
It makes the miniseries 38 weeks, or almost 9 months, from start to end.
That makes it an average of 7.6 weeks between issues. The first three issues, which shipped on time, were 5 weeks apart.
Last year, the final issue of Wally West’s solo series, The Flash #247 was released on December 24. If this sticks, that means that two years in a row, a Flash series will have ended the Wednesday before Christmas.

Thanks to @kukheart for spotting this change. I’ve been checking daily, but he got there first today!

Speed Force

Tracking the Flash – the Fastest Man Alive