Tag Archives: Flash: Rebirth

Flash Hints from DC Nation at NYCC

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Mostly from coverage at Newsarama, though there’s more on CBR:

First post-resurrections reunion of Barry Allen and Hal Jordan? Blackest Night #0 and Flash: Rebirth #1, said Johns, who added that Blackest Night #0 will be free—as part of Free Comic Book Day.

“If Wally West is just going to be in Titans and guest starring in Flash, aren’t you basically making him Kid Flash again?” “Who said those would be the only books he’d be in,” asked Sattler.

Thank you, Ian Sattler, for at least implying that Wally isn’t being stuck in Titans alone.

Starman or Golden Age sequel? “I think the best sequel to the Golden Age was done by Mr. Darwyn Cooke,” said Robinson, referring to New Frontier. “As far as Starman, probably not, but I am doing a Shade origin miniseries.”

DiDio then brought a fan in a Kid Flash outfit up to the dais to pose for a picture with George Perez. The fan asked about the future of Bart Allen: “He’ll be in the 31st century in Legion of Three Worlds,” said Johns, adding that he’ll be back in the Flash universe as of Flash: Rebirth.

And from the lightning round of questions:

Max Mercury? “Uh…maybe,” said Johns.

Kid Flash back in Titans? “We have to fight about that.”

“How many Flashes will you kill in Blackest Night?” “Not enough,” said DiDio.

“Any chance of a Young Justice trade paperback?” “Not at this time,” said Wayne. The crowd didn’t like that much (or at least the vocal portion).

Anything coming up for the Rogues? “Yeah, it’s called Flash: Rebirth“

Dan Didio: Bringing Wally Back to his Roots

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Newsarama’s latest 20 Questions with Dan Didio is in video form, broken into 4 video clips with 5 questions each. The first clip includes the following:

OddballUK wrote: Flash: Rebirth begins in April. While I’m looking forward to the mini and reading about Barry, my question is how happy you think fans of Wally will be over his involvement in the mini and status in the DCU when it concludes?

I think we’re going to treat Wally with the same level of respect Kyle was treated in with the Hal Jordan Rebirth. So I’m hoping Wally fans are going to be excited. We’re going to be bringing Wally back to some of his roots, and more importantly, there’s going to be plenty of Wally in the DCU in 2009 with Rebirth and following Rebirth as well.

On one hand this is good news for Wally fans: Wally won’t be simply racing off into the sunset. On the other hand: What exactly does he mean by returning Wally to his roots?

His roots as a hero in the public eye, loved by the people he protects for being one of them and not hiding his identity? (I could go with that.)

His roots as the speedster who has to eat 50,000 calories a day to maintain his speed? (I could deal with it, but it would be annoying.)

His roots as a single guy who “moves fast?” (Throw Linda and the kids under a bus so that he won’t seem “too old.” No, thanks.)

His roots as the Titans’ resident conservative caricature? (Do we really need this?)

His roots as a teenage sidekick?

It really depends how far they want to go back, doesn’t it?

And of course Kyle Rayner fans are divided as to how well he’s been treated since Hal Jordan’s return.

Boycotting DC?

The New Teen Titans vol1 #39People can get very worked up about their hobbies, and comic books are no exception. Final Crisis, for instance, has inspired some very passionate responses. Between that and Barry Allen replacing Wally West*, I’ve seen a number of people say things like “I’ll never read another DC comic again!”**

I don’t understand this reaction.

To clarify: I understand dropping comics because you’ve lost interest in them. (I’m down to one ongoing DC book, Flash, and it’s technically been canceled.) I also understand dropping a series because of something you disliked in that series. If you don’t want to read it anymore, then by all means, you shouldn’t be obligated to read it anymore (but be prepared for people to tell you that you aren’t a “true fan,” whatever that means).

What I don’t understand is protesting something that happens in one book by refusing to buy other books. It just doesn’t make sense to me. If you like, say, Booster Gold but dislike the direction that Batman is going in, dropping both series isn’t going to encourage DC to make more books like Booster Gold.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never been one to refuse to buy a company’s comics. I might have held Marvel and Image in disdain back in my teenage years, but if something looked interesting, that didn’t stop me from buying it. (Not that I found much of it interesting, but it wasn’t a hard-and-fast rule.)

So I’m curious: Who out here has done this? Or are you planning to? What tipped you over the edge? Why did you decide to drop all of the company’s books and not just the ones that bothered you? Did you extend it to other brands owned by the same company (Vertigo, Icon, etc.) or only the particular division? How long did you keep it up, and if you went back, what did it take?

*Yes, Barry is replacing Wally. Wally has highlighted the main Flash book for most of the last 23 years, and after Flash: Rebirth is over, Barry will, and it looks like Barry will be taking the Flash spot in Justice League of America as well, leaving Wally in Titans. Just because they haven’t actually killed Wally doesn’t mean he’s not being replaced.

** Update: Lying in the Gutters reports that a lot of retailers have been hearing this, too — from their customers.

Dan Speaks: The Future of Wally West

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From Newsarama’s Dan DiDio: 20 Answers, 1 Question for January 23:

13. One question that keeps coming back with the return of Barry Allen as Flash. What’s the role of Wally West going to be?

DD: That question is great fodder for story, and what will be taking place in Wally’s life. He will be trying to figure out his place in the world in regards to being a hero and a family man, given the turn of events and the return of Barry. The return of Barry basically forces Wally to ask himself why he would want to continue, and should he continue in the role of the Flash? He took the mantle on, and “graduated” from Kid Flash to Flash because Barry died, and now that he’s returned, Wally has to question what he wants to do. He also gets to reexamine his family life, and see where he fits in and what exactly his purpose is. That’s going to be the centerpiece of a lot of stories in Titans and beyond in the coming year. Wally will be featured very prominently in Titans following the conclusion of Flash: Rebirth. We’re going to be addressing all of that – there’s a lot of story left to be told with Wally.

The interview also talks about a possible role for Barry Allen in Blackest Night, which seems to have grown from this year’s big Green Lantern story in the style of Sinestro Corps War to being this year’s big DC Universe Event-With-a-Capital-E.

A question to anyone reading Titans: has it actually gotten good? It took me a long time to break the habit of reading it, and if I’m going to have to fall off the wagon just to be able to read new Wally West stories, it had better be worth it.