iFanboy asked Francis Manapul how super-speed would make his life better. He answered, and DC sent them the finished artwork from the page showing how the Flash’s costume comes together in the relaunched DCU.
Click through to the interview for a larger image….or head over to the artist’s new Tumblr blog and check out the original inks for the page!
DC released art from the upcoming Flash relaunch over the weekend at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, and guest Francis Manapul revealed a few scraps of information.
First up: This amazing splash page from Flash #1 at CBR.
Be sure to click through and see the high-resolution version. It’s absolutely incredible. (Have I mentioned how much I like Francis Manapul’s art lately?)
Bleeding Cool reports from the DC Nation panel:
Francis Manapul confirmed Barry Allen is the Flash, with no word on the rest of Flash family, but that to expect Wally West at some point. A new villain was created for first arc, but Grodd will be along shortly. The costume will stil be kept in the ring, but will form around him in a different fashion. Flash’s costume is generated in pieces and fits together along the seams of the Jim Lee design, with lightning comes out of the seams.
I’m glad to hear that the first arc’s villain really is a new villain, and it should be interesting to see how Barry deals with the newer, more savage Grodd of modern times (or will Grodd himself be re-invented again?).
I think this is the first mention I’ve seen that Wally West actually exists in the post-relaunch universe, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for him to show up. DC’s used up all the benefit of my doubt regarding Wally over the last couple of years, just like they came dangerously close to using up all the benefit of my doubt regarding The Flash until they announced Manapul and Buccellato as the creative team.
Anyway, back to the costume. Bleeding Cool also has a set of blurry photos from the panel, originally posted at The Daily Blam, including another fully-colored view of the costume and a few panels of it forming up.
UPDATE: The Source has released a clear image of the costume in the post congratulating Manapul and Fiona Staples on their Shuster awards.
I like the boots better in this version. They look less clunky than they did in the Converse ad.
The mask still bugs me, though, not just the chin strap but the corners at the cheeks that have become narrow slits in this version. I think I figured out why: it makes his face look too closed. The closed-off look worked for Walter West and sort of works with Wally’s new costume, but in general I think the Flash’s face should be more open.
The 2011 Joe Shuster Awards were presented at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo on Saturday, and Flash artist (and soon-to-be co-writer) Francis Manapul has won the award for Outstanding Comic Book Artist.
The summary reads:
In 2009, Francis Manapul adopted an ink-wash style that semi-renders his figures and backgrounds, and combined the new approach with his already solid skills as a comics penciler to add a depth and tonality to his environments that gives his work a unique quality. His work on the Flash in 2010 is both mature in its storytelling and some of the best use of his new technique so far.
The Joe Shuster Awards are given to honor outstanding Canadian comics creators, and are named after Superman co-creator Joe Shuster.
This is Francis Manapul’s second nomination (he was previously nominated in 2010) and first win for the award.
Congratulations to Francis Manapul!
Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers interviews Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, the art team from Flash vol.3 who will be taking over both writing and art on September’s new series.
I’ve only had time to skim it, but the things that stand out to are:
Head over to Newsarama to read the full interview.
DC has announced ten of the new titles and their creative teams launching as part of their massive universe-wide revamp this September, including The Flash #1.
Rising superstar Francis Manapul, fresh off his acclaimed run on THE FLASH with Geoff Johns, makes his comics writing debut in THE FLASH #1, sharing both scripting and art duties with Brian Buccellato. The Flash knows he can’t be everywhere at once, but what happens when he faces an all-new villain who can? The cover to issue #1 is by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.
Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato on art? An all-new villain in the first issue?
DC just found a way to keep me reading!
Obviously Manapul as a writer is an unknown quantity, but I love his art on the book, and the way Buccellato colors it. And assigning him the book now seems like a clear vote of confidence from DC upper management, further supporting the idea that he wasn’t solely responsible for the delays in Flash vol.3. I’d hazard a guess that a big part of it was Geoff Johns being tied up with preparations for the universe-wide reboot. That’s got to have been time consuming.
Update: Francis Manapul, addressing concerns about the team’s writing experience, posted the following on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/FrancisManapul/statuses/76339587789766656
As far as what’s in store for the Scarlet Speedster:
https://twitter.com/#!/FrancisManapul/status/76343324516159488
Buccellato adds:
https://twitter.com/#!/BrianBooch/status/76344568219570176
Update: Here’s why I’m calling this Flash vol.4.
Update: Bob Wayne’s second letter to retailers insists: “this is the launch of the New DCU. It is not a ‘reboot.’ I think you will soon discover why that is.” My take, based on what I’ve seen in today’s announcements, is that they’re basically doing what they did after Crisis on Infinite Earths, just in a more coordinated manner. The key difference being, it seems that this isn’t going all the way back to the beginning for every character. We’ll have to see what that means for the Flash. I just hope it means we won’t be reading updated versions of old stories every few months.
(More reports & commentary: CNN, Comics Alliance, The Beat, Comics Should Be Good, Robot 6, Comics Nexus, Newsarama, Firestorm Fan.)
Well, here it is, the supposedly final issue of The Flash. So how does it read? And how does Geoff Johns & Francis Manapul’s brief 12-issue run hold together?
This one’s better than the previous issue, with a super-speed battle, revelations about Professor Zoom, the Speed Force, Flashpoint and Kid Flash, and even the background between Barry Allen and Patty Spivot. Scott Kolins’ art looks better as well — whether he had more time, or whether the super-heroics is just better suited for his current style, I couldn’t say — and Francis Manapul’s cover (revealed just yesterday) is great.
Still, the whole “Road to Flashpoint” arc feels like something’s missing. The biggest problem, I think, is that everything from Flash: Rebirth to this point was supposed to be a steady build toward Flashpoint, but the combination of slowly-paced long storylines and publishing delays meant that instead of progressing from A to B to C to D to E to Flashpoint, we instead spent a lot of time on A and then a lot of time on E without actually following the steps to get there.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think maybe making a clean break at this point and starting fresh after Flashpoint is exactly what the book needs.
A bit about the art:
I mentioned that I liked Kolins’ art better in this issue than last. One sequence that stood out was the way he portrayed Zoom and the negative speed force. It looked more like flowing energy streams within Zoom’s body than the usual lightning leaking around it, which was a nice change, and a good way of showing that Thawne was using the powers differently. Still, I miss the background details that Francis Manapul works into his art, like the fire extinguisher behind someone who’s still carrying a flame.
Further discussion will require SPOILERS! Continue reading