Tag Archives: Geoff Johns

Flashpoint: Questions and Answers

Over at The Source, Geoff Johns answers three questions about Flashpoint. Key items: “Flash will learn what the universe would be like if the world’s greatest super-heroes never became the world’s greatest super-heroes.” “You won’t just see the DC Universe shaken up, you’ll see characters you’ve never met who’ve come into existence because of the historical damage done to the past,” such as Element Woman [different from Element Girl?], Blackout, the Outsider [presumably not the Silver Age Batman villain, then], and the Resistance. [Interesting that “The Resistance” is a character, not an organization.] S!H!A!Z!A!M!

Most importantly: You don’t need to have read any specific stories to understand Flashpoint. “The Flash series and The Flash: Rebirth give you the foundation for Barry today, but even then Flashpoint #1 will tell you everything you need to know.” Familiarity with the normal DC Universe may help you appreciate the differences more, but “You’ll meet the world and characters as you enter the story.”

Head over to The Source to read the full answers.

If you have more questions, DC wants to hear them. They’re soliciting questions on The Source, on Twitter (post with the #Flashpoint hashtag), and on the Facebook pages for DC Nation and The Flash. They’ll pick the top questions and answer them on The Source as part of upcoming Flashpoint Fridays.

DC also unveiled a Flashpoint-style Green Lantern logo (at least I don’t remember seeing it before) and asked some leading questions:

Whatever *did* happen to the World’s Greatest Heroes?
Was Cyborg created to be their leader?
Who will the Resistance summon?
When do six become one?

Armchair Quarterbacking the Flash

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Today’s guest post is by Perplexio.

Perhaps it’s because Geoff Johns has done such a brilliant job writing Green Lantern, or maybe it’s that he did such an excellent job writing Wally after Mark Waid had passed the torch and moved on that many fans are still reserving their judgment on how Geoff has been writing The Flash since Barry’s resurrection.

I’ll be honest I’ve found some of what Johns has done with the Flash title since Barry’s resurrection to be inspired. However, some of the things he’s written have left me scratching my head in bewilderment or nodding my head in chagrined disbelief. Continue reading →

Review: Flash #7 – “What Goes Around, Comes Around”

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Those unfamiliar with the Rogue Profiles from Geoff Johns’ previous Flash run might dismiss a whole issue focusing on Captain Boomerang as filler. And while it’s true that this issue and the next were added to the schedule to get the main story back on time, it feels like an integral part of the mythos (if a bit more related to Brightest Day than to the story building to Flashpoint), and leads directly into next ~~week’s~~ issue’s profile of Professor Zoom.

Like the earlier profiles, this issue follows the featured villain as he goes about his business and thinks back about what made him the criminal he is today. It serves both as an origin story for new readers and a way for the writer to explore just what makes him tick. In this case, it doesn’t add anything really new to his background, but rather collects and crystallizes the key elements that have been established over time: a troubled family life (what Rogue didn’t have that?), coming to the States as a toy mascot, and then embarking on his life of crime.

I’ve raved before about how well Scott Kolins’ art is suited to the ruggedness of the Flash’s Rogues Gallery, and that remains true here. Yet his art is transformed by Brian Buccellato’s painted-looking colors, making it blend perfectly with Francis Manapul’s work and revealing just how much of the look of this series is due to his contribution.

Continue reading →

Quick Hits: Geoff Johns Talks Flash, Movie Coming 2013?

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Newsarama is running a series of interviews on the theme, “Geoff Johns Still Writes Comics.” today’s installment focuses on his work on The Flash. As usual, he drops a few hints, but remains mostly cagey about the details. He does make the interesting point that while he’s trying to build up the Flash universe (similar to his success with Green Lantern), he’s not trying to build it up in the same way. “Flashpoint is nothing like any of the Green Lantern events. It’s not a Flash army vs. a Reverse-Flash army.”

Also of note: IESB reports that the movies Green Lantern 2 and The Flash are planned for Summer 2013.

Rogue Profiles: Keeping the Flash on Schedule

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This is probably a crazy idea, but it’s something I thought about while writing up my thoughts on Flash #6:

DC should plan for the book to get delayed.

I really like Francis Manapul’s art, and Geoff Johns, when he’s at the top of his game, can be a great writer. I’d rather not lose this team on the book right now. But it’s been a while since The Flash managed to release twelve issues a year. To catch up, they’ve planned a couple of Rogue Profiles before the next story arc: done-in-one issues that tie into the ongoing mythology but focus on a different point of view, namely one of the Flash’s villains. These were great during Geoff Johns’ run on the Wally West Flash series, and I’m glad we’re seeing more.

Meanwhile, the pacing of the series seems a little bit more decompressed than it needs to be. As much as I enjoyed it, “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” felt like it could have been told as effectively in four or five parts instead of six. Flash: Rebirth definitely could have – it seemed like half of the final issue was epilogue. But six issues is the standard length for a collection, so that seems to be the story length that they’re shooting for.

My suggestion: Make the story arcs five issues long instead of six, and schedule a Rogue Profile in between. Put another artist on the profile, one suited to the villain getting the spotlight. If Geoff Johns is busy, let another writer work from his outline, or hand it outright to someone who understands the current take on the Rogues.

That way, the star creative team is only committed to ten issues a year instead of twelve, and we get some great stand-alone stories that DC can either include with the main story collections or save up for a couple of years and put in a collection as “The Flash: Rogues Gallery.”

What do you think?

Review: The Flash #6

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Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Francis Manapul

The long-awaited conclusion of “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” is here! And while it doesn’t exactly end with a bang, it does race to a satisfying finish. Mysteries are revealed, conflicts are resolved, and events that seemed unrelated turn out to be connected, with teases for upcoming events.

It’s been a fun story, one I really didn’t expect going into this series. I do think it could have been told just as effectively in less time — maybe 4 parts instead of 6. This storytelling style isn’t going to lose much when DC drops the page count from 22 to 20 next year.

Francis Manapul’s artwork is amazing, as always. I really can’t add more to what I’ve already said about it, so I’ll focus on the story, and since this is the conclusion, it’ll be hard to say much without spoilers…