Tag Archives: Geoff Johns

Speed Reading: Prime, LEGO, Reborn

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Some weekend linkblogging…

Interviews

CBR is readying a new installment of its Geoff Johns Prime Q&A column. If you have a question for the Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night writer, you can submit it through Monday at 5:00 PM PST.

CHIU-stream is holding a contest for original art by Francis Manapul, and will be interviewing the upcoming Flash artist on December 10.

Art Finds

Crimson Lightning is back from its Nanowrimo-imposed hiatus with a Foxtrot Flash Find.

Ulises Farinas draws a LEGO Blackest Night (via Robot6). Brickest night?

Augustine at Comic Bloc found a probable Flash reference in Ultimate Spider-Man.

Commentary

Also at Comic Bloc, a discussion on the origin of Wednesday as new comics day.

I haven’t decided yet whether to put together a list of Blackest Night: The Flash #1 reviews. If I do, it’ll probably just be major sites and those that I follow, plus anything I stumble across. Searching does take time, even with Google Alerts.

Geoff Johns: Already the Longest Run on Flash Since 2005

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Something just occurred to me: Between Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night: The Flash, DC has scheduled 9 Flash comics in a row by the same writer. This hasn’t happened since 2005, when Geoff Johns finished his previous run on The Flash. We’re looking at the most creatively-consistent period the Flash has had in four years, even though we haven’t seen a single issue of the regular series!

The Flash has historically had very stable writing teams. The Golden Age was mostly Gardner Fox; the Silver age mostly John Broome. Robert Kanigher contributed to both. The Bronze Age was almost entirely Cary Bates. William Messner-Loebs did several years in the late 1980s, Mark Waid had the 1990s sewn up, and Geoff Johns took the first half of the 2000s.

But since 2005, the longest run had been just 8 issues by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo.

It’s nice to finally have some stability back for the Flash. Even if we didn’t already know Geoff Johns would be sticking around for the new series, it already feels like a minor miracle.

Review: Blackest Night: The Flash #1

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Blackest Night: The Flash #1 (Standard)

Blackest Night: The Flash: #1 shows how to start a Flash miniseries: by hitting the ground running. Literally. While Geoff Johns took a slow burn approach for Flash: Rebirth, this time he starts in media res, with the Flash racing around the world to let everyone know what Earth is up against: the dead are rising from their graves, possessed by Black Lantern rings.

The one-page opening sequence, followed by a dramatic double-page splash of the Flash running, serves another purpose: filling in readers who might not be familiar with the main Blackest Night miniseries. As someone who hasn’t been following the main event directly, I found this page extremely helpful. Similarly, I imagine the two-page recap of Flash: Rebirth would probably help anyone approaching this miniseries from the Blackest Night perspective get “up to speed” with the current status of the Flash.

Once the recaps are out of the way, the issue alternates between high-speed Flash vs. Black Lantern action and interludes of the Rogues as they prepare to face their dead comrades. It’s effective pacing, providing both contrast and a sense of weight to an issue that, despite the battles, is still mostly setup (more about that later).

Rogue Artist

I’ve probably said it before, but Scott Kolins’ art is a perfect fit for the grizzled Rogues. He proves equally well-suited to the undead Black Lanterns. Kolins also does a great job of conveying motion and stillness — important, since that contrast is one of the issue’s major themes. On the downside, there are places where his art comes off as too rough. A one-panel appearance of the Titans stands out as an example.

Connected

The story is surprisingly connected to Flash: Rebirth, following through on several elements established in that miniseries but not (at least as far as issue #5) resolved. It seems that Blackest Night: The Flash will be exploring the fallout from Rebirth‘s changes, paving the way (one hopes) for more stand-alone stories in the new Flash ongoing that launches next year.

Even so, this issue feels less like setup and more like an actual story than the five issues of Flash: Rebirth that we’ve seen so far.

Okay. It’s spoiler time. If you don’t want to know specifics, stop reading now. Otherwise, keep reading after the cut.

Continue reading →

Flash: Rebirth #5 Ranked #9 for November

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Full sales estimates aren’t available yet, but the November top 10 list shows that Flash: Rebirth #5 took the #9 spot (The Comics Chronicles, via Robot6). That’s lower then the debut issue (ranked #2 for April), but considerably higher than Flash: Rebirth #4, which had dropped to #14 for August.

DC Comics took seven of the top ten slots…four of them written by Geoff Johns: Blackest Night, Green Lantern, Adventure Comics and Flash: Rebirth.

Geoff Johns Talks Flash’s Future

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Geoff Johns posted on Comic Bloc this morning about plans for the Flash through 2010. He recommends that Flash fans read Blackest Night #5, says he’s seen Blackest Night: Flash #1 and goes on to reveal:

  • March sees the release of Flash Secret Files 2010.
  • April features “not one, but two new Flash titles. There have been a few minor top secret alterations that will be revealed soon, I think, about the books.”

Presumably that means The Flash and Kid Flash will both debut in April. The top secret alterations may include a backup feature in Kid Flash, or perhaps an artist change. (I suppose it could mean two Flash books in April and then Kid Flash in May, but that seems unlikely for now.)

He talks a little about the new series:

The first arc of THE FLASH is called THE DASTARDLY DEATH OF THE ROGUES and should be self-explanatory…kind of. 🙂 Other arcs will include MURDER IN GORILLA CITY, THE RETURN OF ### ######## and a brand new Rogue with a power unlike anyone in comics, but perfect for the Flash.

Johns also addresses the delays with Flash: Rebirth, saying it’s “as frustrating for [him] as anyone” and adding that “after much debate, we didn’t want to hand the series over to another artist or spilt up the book.”

There’s a lot more, particularly about Blackest Night: The Flash. He notes that “the ending [of the first issue?] might be my favorite line Captain Cold has ever uttered.”

Creator Catch-Up: Geoff Johns at Baltimore, Mark Waid is Incorruptible

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Geoff Johns is among the first guests announcd for next year’s Baltimore Comic-Con. The show will run August 28-29, 2010. (For fun: Say that out loud and pronounce 2010 as “twenty-ten!”)

Mark Waid talks to CBR about Incorruptible, his Irredeemable spinoff that looks at the question from the opposite side: What happens when a villain decides to become a hero?