Tag Archives: Elseworlds

ELSEWORLDS CONCLUSION! – Review

The first two installments of ELSEWORLDS have been absolutely stellar! We’ve seen reality twisted with Barry and Oliver switching heroic roles. We’ve seen the 1990’s Flash in full costume. We’ve been to Smallville, with even the Kent Farm from that series. And, we’ve met Batwoman and learned whether Bruce Wayne exists in the Arroverse! Believe it or not, that doesn’t give half the things we’ve seen and learned in this crossover. It’s almost a shame to end it tonight…but will ELSEWORLDS go out with a bang or whimper? What major developments will we find that could impact FLASH, SUPERGIRL and ARROW for years to come? Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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ELSEWORLDS Part 2 Review!

After last night’s amazing episode, we shift the scene to Gotham City. There is a LOT that we learn in this chapter of ELSEWORLDS, in another action-packed episode. Having Batwoman’s official debut after that quick cameo last night leads us to a lot of possibilities as well. How many Easter Eggs from the Bat-mythos will we see in this show? And, can we finally see the JWS Flash of the 90’s on Earth 1? And…most importantly, is THIS the real Crisis on Infinite Earths? We’ll learn all that and more in Part 2 of ELSEWORLDS! Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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ELSEWORLDS is here! Review of Part 1

THE big event is finally here! ELSEWORLDS shakes up the Arrowverse, and if this first chapter is any indication we are in for a fantastic ride! This is an action-packed, high intensity, top speed (pardon the pun), and at times hilarious crossover, and it all starts HERE! The setup works exceptionally well, bringing together most of the major players seamlessly. Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD! You have been warned!

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Alternate History of DC/AA Comics: Introducing Flashette

What kinds of changes are in store for the DC Universe during Flashpoint? Teasers we’ve seen so far show a world with no Earth-based Green Lantern, a very different Superman, and a Wonder Woman and Aquaman who are world leaders rather than superheroes. DC will be publishing no less than sixteen miniseries exploring this altered world, enough for an entire line of comics…which brings to mind another thought:

What might DC comics look like if they’d been publishing this alternate history all along?

It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s explored an alternate publishing history. The Marvel/DC mash-up Amalgam Comics were all labeled #1, but included editor’s notes and letters columns referring back to earlier imaginary comics.

More interestingly, Bob Rozakis published a series of articles in TwoMorrows’ Alter Ego and Back Issue magazines in which he imagined an alternate history of DC Comics, the company.

All-American Comics

Up until the mid-1940s, DC Comics was really two companies: One was DC proper, owned by Harry Donenfield. The other was All-American Comics, owned by Max Gaines, which published under the DC label. The big three characters at DC were Superman, Batman and Robin, starring in World’s Finest. The big three at All American were Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Alan Scott) and the Flash (Jay Garrick), starring in Comic Cavalcade. (This is also why Johnny Quick exists: DC published the Flash, but didn’t actually own the character, so they wanted a speedster they owned outright.) In 1945, after a dispute led to several issues of All-American books being published under their own banner, DC bought out the entire line. A few years later, most of the All-American characters fell off the radar (with the notable exception of Wonder Woman), but DC kept publishing Superman and Batman.

By 1956, DC decided to try re-imagining some of the older characters, starting with the Flash. The result: the Silver Age explosion, including new versions of Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Atom (Ray Palmer), etc.

What If…

For an Elseworlds story, Bob Rozakis imagined an alternate world in which instead of DC buying All-American, All-American bought DC. Flash and Green Lantern survived the end of the Golden Age, but Batman and Superman disappeared until they were re-imagined for the Silver Age.

DC rejected the story, but the ideas stuck in Rozakis’ head, and he eventually expanded them into a full alternate history — and not just an alternate story history, but an alternate publishing history, down to the way the alternate publisher might have treated his writers and artists.

Of course, part of the fun in this sort of alternate history is looking at not just what might be different, but what might be similar. So Green Lantern and the Flash not only took on the prominence of Superman and Batman, but many of the same story elements. Green Lantern introduced Kid Lantern stories instead of Superboy, and Girl Lantern instead of Supergirl. Instead of Batgirl, the Flash family expanded to include Flashette. Artist Larry Guidry provided cover art inspired by the introductions of their counterparts in the real publishing timeline.

On his blog, Rozakis lists the full set of articles:

The series appeared in ALTER EGO #s 76, 78-81, 83, 85 and 87, with a bonus chapter scheduled for #93 or #94, depending on space. [Edit: I don’t see it listed on the TOC for either book.] The second half is in BACK ISSUE #s 28 – 36, except #31.

Interview: Norm Breyfogle on the first Flashpoint

Today’s guest post is the third in a series of interviews by Greg Elias on The Art of Speed. 

With a new Flashpoint on the horizon in 2011, longtime Flash fans are likely reminded of the 2000 miniseries with the same name.  Written by Pat McGreal with art by Norm Breyfogle, the first Flashpoint was released under DC’s Elseworlds stamp in 2000.

In a world where the Flash is the only superhero, Barry Allen is paralyzed from the neck down while thwarting the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  Confined to a wheelchair, Barry becomes the leading figure in the world of space science. He also dreams of a heaven revealed to be the Speed Force, has visions of an alternate-Earth Flash career with the Justice League, and is friendly with his world’s incarnation of Vandal Savage.

Through a series of “accidents” tied to Savage’s machinations, Barry, Wally West, Ralph Dibny and the Martian Manhunter are embroiled in an attempt to keep the destructive power of the flashpoint from being unleashed on the world.

Best known for his long tenure and defining work on the Batman family of titles throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Breyfogle’s Flash resume is short but memorable. In addition to Flashpoint, he illustrated a Kid Flash/Jay Garrick story in Flash 80 Page Giant #2.

We spoke with him via email about some of the techniques used on Flashpoint.

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Cary Bates Returns to DC with the Last Family of Krypton

Writer Cary Bates is responsible for the entire Bronze Age of the Flash, but has been missing from the DC Universe since the early 1990s. This August he returns with Superman: The Last Family of Krypton, a 3-issue Elseworlds miniseries (remember those?) about what might have happened if Jor-El and Lara had escaped Krypton along with their infant son Kal-El, and the whole family had arrived on Earth. Renato Arlem handles the art, with covers by Felipe Massafera.

This Elseworlds project, one of very few in recent years, has been in the works almost as long as Bates’ first foray into comics after a decades-long absence, the 2008 Marvel miniseries True Believers. Dan Didio mentioned it at Wizard World Chicago that same year!