A friend of mine works at a retailer, and was able to salvage a complete Flashpoint button set from being sent back to the distribution center.
Here’s the full display board and pins, more pictures after the cut.
This week* sees the release of the second issue of Flashpoint, as well as four of the tie-in miniseries.
Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art and cover by ANDY KUBERT and SANDRA HOPE; Black and White Variant cover A by ANDY KUBERT; Variant cover B by IVAN REIS and GEORGE PÉREZ
The world-changing miniseries continues! Where are the World’s Greatest Super Heroes? Barry Allen is on a mission to find out or die trying – and that may be what’s happening as he tries to make lightning strike twice! Meanwhile, around the submerged Paris, the pirate Deathstroke confronts Emperor Aquaman!
*(There’s a bit of confusion on this point. DC’s website has said from the start that Flashpoint #2 comes out next week, and there’s no preview out, but Diamond says it’s shipping this week, and my local comic shop expects to get it in as well.)
Since the event is so huge, we’ll be focusing on the directly-Flash-related series here. Flashpoint itself, of course, plus Citizen Cold, Kid Flash Lost, Legion of Doom (starring Heat Wave), and the Grodd of War and Reverse Flash one-shots. That’s still a big job (and yeah, I know I’m late with Flashpoint #1), so we’ve broken the books down among our regular contributors.
USA Today confirms that DC is in fact relaunching everything at #1 in September, and Geoff Johns and Jim Lee are relaunching Justice League.
It looks like it’s a bit more than simply a coordinated jumping-on point like One Year Later or the post-Zero Hour #0 issues or a more thorough reboot. Jim Lee has “spearheaded the redesign of more than 50 costumes to make characters more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old,” and Dan Didio says, “This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.”
Further details about individual series and characters will follow on The Source over the next week.
I guess the first rule of Flashpoint has been rescinded.
More importantly: DC will begin releasing comics digitally on the same day as the print editions go on sale.
As for what this means for the Flash franchise…I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but I’m beginning to suspect that one of my worst-case scenarios for Flashpoint is actually going to happen.
Update: Newsarama posts a letter DC sent to retailers about the revamps, including the following explanation:
We have taken great care in maintaining continuity where most important, but fans will see a new approach to our storytelling. Some of the characters will have new origins, while others will undergo minor changes. Our characters are always being updated; however, this is the first time all of our characters will be presented in a new way all at once.
More details will be announced over the next month, with full September solicitations on June 13.
Updates: CBR has a round up of what we know so far. USA Today has an interview with Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and Dan Didio. More breakdowns at Weekly Crisis, Comics Alliance. The Beat has a round-up of creator & retailer reactions.
While DC still isn’t saying much about what happens after Flashpoint (“The first rule…”), they’ve just made an announcement about the Flash:
But like issue #12 was the final issue of THE FLASH by Johns, the final issue of FLASHPOINT will conclude Johns’ run on FLASH titles for the foreseeable future.
Geoff Johns wrote a long run on The Flash (vol.2) starring Wally West in the early half of the last decade, then returned in 2009 for the miniseries Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night: The Flash, and the short-lived series The Flash (vol.3) starring Barry Allen, culminating in the Barry Allen-centered Flashpoint.
So what is coming up for The Flash after Flashpoint?. We don’t know much (see that first rule again), but DC’s subscription service says The Flash #1 is coming in September (thanks to Deron Morgan for asking them!). This may fit in with the rumors of a line-wide post-Flashpoint renumbering, or it may simply be the logical choice to launch The Flash (vol.4).
I’m of mixed feelings on this. On one hand, I’ve been disappointed with the relaunched series. There’s quite a bit about the Rebirth-era Flash that I haven’t liked, and my favorite aspect, in fact, was the fantastic art by Francis Manapul. So bringing in someone new — perhaps someone more interested in telling stories about a speedster than telling me how wonderful this particular speedster is — is probably something I’d welcome.
Plus with his job as Chief Creative Officer, chances are that Geoff Johns has been awfully busy, which may have contributed to the now-infamous delays.
That said, what stands out the most for me about The Flash vol.3 are the missed opportunities. I wanted to read “Murder in Gorilla City.” I wanted to read those backup stories featuring Wally West (I’m still waiting to see him “kick ass,” as Geoff Johns promised a year and a half ago) and those Kid Flash solo stories by Sterling Gates. I wanted to read about Abra Kadabra’s other enemies scattered across the centuries. I thought “Mara Thawne” was a cool name for a villain. Presumably, we won’t even see The Flash: Secret Origin, which Geoff Johns has said on several occasions that he wants to do.
Most of all, I wanted to believe (wasn’t convinced, but wanted to believe) that everything I didn’t like about Geoff Johns’ take on The Flash was part of a long-term plan that would have some sort of payoff. For that to happen, he had to be committed to the character long-term.
Now we know that Flashpoint is the endgame. That’s a lot for the next four issues to live up to.
Among today’s Flashpoint Friday articles at The Source are this map of the world of Flashpoint showing trouble spots, and an interview with Sean Ryan about his one-shot: Grodd of War.
It seems that in a world without a Flash, Grodd took control of Gorilla City and began expanding his empire, conquering the whole of Africa by the time Flashpoint begins. But everything’s come too easily, and he just isn’t satisfied without a challenge.
Other articles posted today include interviews about The World of Flashpoint and Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos. CBR has a good round-up of the day, including both DC’s releases and fan reactions.
A couple of quick sales items:
The Source is reporting that Flashpoint #1 has sold out at the distributor. You may be able to still find copies at your local comic shop, but they won’t be able to order any more. DC doesn’t say so in the announcement, but you can probably expect a second printing soon.
Diamond Comic Distributors has posted their sales rankings for April, and The Flash takes two spots in the top 20 by units sold. Flash #10 is #18 for the month, and Flash #11 is #19. No doubt ICv2 will have number estimates up soon.
Update: Previews confirms the second printing, coming June 15.
