Flash: Rebirth artist Ethan Van Sciver posted on Facebook today, saying:
Looks like I’m doing the art for the WONDERCON 2010 t-shirt and book!
The artist and Flash writer Geoff Johns have previously been confirmed as guests for the April 2-4 convention in San Francisco.
(On a side note, does anyone know how to link to a particular status on Facebook?) Update: This should work, though possibly only for people who are (a) logged in and (b) listed as friends: Facebook status link
Artist Ethan Van Sciver dropped in at Comic Bloc this morning (for the first time since July) to apologize for the lateness of Flash: Rebirth and to answer fans’ questions. A couple of items that stand out are, first, on inking one’s own pages:
The allure of inking one’s own work is simply to work in a different medium (drawing with ink, as I do, is smoother…the effect of putting solid blacks down instead of scratchy pencils is often more pleasant.) and to be sure that the final product meets with my approval.
And second, on conventions:
Conventions are not “vacations.” They are a vital function of what we do, to promote the comics and meet fans. I do not ride roller coasters, lie on beaches, or relax in any sense. They are work.
That’s something worth remembering. For you or me as fans, a convention might be a vacation. But for someone who makes comics for a living, it’s a promotional event, it’s professional networking, it’s a trade show.
Of course, the sentence that will probably interest the most readers is this: “Issue 6 is more than halfway finished.”
Comics Alliance has a couple of Flashy items: First, a page from the Shortpacked! coloring book: Batman Can Breathe In Space, But Not The Flash.
Second: they look back at a pair of Baby Ruth commercials from the 1990s, featuring Hawkman and an obvious Flash stand-in called the Blur. They have a video clip of the Blur commercial. Fun fact: The Blur was played by Tim Thomerson, who played Barry Allen’s brother Jay in the pilot episode of the 1990 Flash TV show.
Speaking of the Flash TV series, it makes Comic Book Movie’s list of Top Ten Most Accurate Live Action Superhero Costumes
The Secret of Wednesday’s Haul contrasts Ethan Van Sciver and Carmine Infantino in their approaches to conveying speed.
noscans_daily has a Flash Appreciation Post focusing on the character from the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited TV series.
A Trout in the Milk reviews Wednesday Comics and asks the question: “What have we learned?”
InTylerWeTrust82 casts Superman and the Flash, with some interesting choices for the heroes, their supporting casts, and selected villains.
What Were They Thinking? has an example of Golden Age Flashdickery. Jay Garrick was a bit of a prankster in those days…
Just a quick note before the weekend: artist Ethan Van Sciver is among the guests at Comicpalooza, held in Houston, Texas on March 26-28, 2010.
Other speed-related guests listed on the site include artist Humberto Ramos, the original artist on Impulse, and actress Brea Grant, who played speedster Daphne Millbrook on Heroes during the “Villains” and “Fugitives” arcs.
(Tip of the hat to Papa Zero for spotting this.)
Flash: Rebirth is closing in on its conclusion. Mysteries are revealed, heroes battle villains — well, a villain anyway — and change is in the wind for more than one speedster. The sense of urgency that started building in issue #4 is present in full force here, as Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver build the story to one last cliffhanger before the end.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Wally West’s new costume debuts in this issue. If you’ve read it already, or don’t mind being spoiled — or want to be spoiled — you can read my comments and see a scan in my previous post. The change itself is a little forced, but works well enough — and, interestingly enough, isn’t played up at all by the characters themselves.
So: Barry Allen solves his cold case, Jay Garrick demonstrates that super-speed is more than just running, the West Twins reach a turning point, Liberty Belle makes an impression, and Professor Zoom proves himself petty and vindictive as well as vicious.
A lot happens in this issue, but I can’t help but feel that it ultimately doesn’t matter. The plot of Flash: Rebirth is secondary to the book’s real purpose:
Along the way, it does a lot of what one of my friends in Star Wars fandom calls “spackling:” patching over rough spots or outright holes in continuity. Last issue we got an explanation of why Barry never learned about the Speed Force in the form of a completely new interpretation of how it works. This issue we get an explanation for why Barry’s flashback has his parents in Central City instead of Fallville. We get yet another layer on why Jay and Joan Garrick look 50 instead of 90, and a new explanation for why Jai and Iris/Irey West don’t have super-speed. We even get an explanation for “hot Iris.”
In that way, Flash: Rebirth is a lot like World War III, which existed solely to explain what had changed between Infinite Crisis and the “One Year Later” books. That this miniseries is the best Flash story since 2005 has less to do with it being a good story than it does with the fact that the comics from 2006 through 2008 were incredibly haphazard.
Well, I’ve reached the point where I can’t say anything more without giving anything away, so if you don’t want any spoilers, stop reading now! Continue reading
Yes, Wally West’s new costume, which we’ve known was coming since Ethan Van Sciver said he was designing it last summer, has finally been revealed in Flash: Rebirth #5!
If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop now! Continue reading