Tag Archives: Geoff Johns

Remember That Twitter Contest?

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Way back in April, DC ran a Flash trivia contest on Twitter for a signed copy of The Flash #1. A new question each day for a week, with winners chosen from the first few correct responses. I won one of the days with the answer to a question about “Flash of Two Worlds,” and immediately sent in my mailing address.

And waited.

And waited.

After about a month, one of the other winners contacted me through Comic Bloc trying to get us all together to write to DC and ask what was going on. DC wrote back, assuring us that the signed books would be out within a few weeks.

Eventually, September rolled around, along with a second or third round of, “Hey, what happened?” This time, they assured us all that the books would be sent out by the end of the month.

Guess what?

Last Friday (October 8), I came home and found an envelope from DC Comics! In it was not only a copy of The Flash #1, but a copy of the Blackest Night hardcover to make up for the long wait time!

When I checked in on Comic Bloc, it turned out that they’d sent Blackest Night to some of us, and Flash Rebirth to others.

I remember last year telling someone that I wasn’t planning to read Blackest Night because I had no interest in it, but I’d read it if someone else bought it for me. It’s weird that not only did someone end up buying it for me, but it was DC themselves! I guess they really want me to read this book! 😀

Another funny thing: Back in July, I got Francis Manapul to sign my copy of The Flash #1 at Comic-Con International. So now I have two signed copies: one signed by the writer, and one signed by the artist!

Flash Omnibus to Reprint Geoff Johns’ Wally West Run

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Now this is unexpected news! Just a few days ago, I was grumbling about how DC seemed to be ignoring a potential market by keeping Geoff Johns’ first run on The Flash out of print. It seemed like a sure thing: DC’s current superstar writer (not to mention Chief Creative Officer) on one of the books that made him famous (the other being JSA) — and one that he’s returned to with a high-profile relaunch.

Well, DC has posted a list of summer 2011 collections, including this surprise:

The Flash by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol.1 HC
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Angel Unzueta, Scott Kolins, Ethan Van Sciver, Doug Hazlewood, Jose Marzan Jr. and others
Collects: THE FLASH #164-176, THE FLASH: OUR WORLDS AT WAR #1, THE FLASH: IRON HEIGHTS #1 and THE FLASH SECRET FILES #3
$75.00 US, 448 pages
Scheduled for release in May

Compared to the trade paperbacks, that reprints Wonderland and Blood Will Run (the second edition includes Iron Heights) and the never-before-collected Our Worlds At War tie-in.

Admittedly, $75 is a pretty steep price, but it’s comparable to the Starman Omnibuses and still cheaper than the typical Absolute hardcover. Also it’s usually easy to find these books at a discount. (The $50 Archive books can usually be found online for around $35, for instance.)

And considering that you have to spend about that much for a copy of the out-of-print Crossfire or Blitz trade paperbacks anyway, it’s starting to look like a good deal!

So it looks like DC has plans to bring Wally West’s Flash stories back into print after all, even the incredibly-hard-to-find Crossfire and Blitz. Judging by the length of this book, it will probably take them four volumes to cover all of Geoff Johns’ run.

(The image I’ve used here is from the cover of Flash Secret Files #3. It’s not from DC’s post, which doesn’t include any covers.)

Geoff Johns’ New Flash Villains

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In his post on re-using old characters, David Brothers mentions that in 6 years writing the Avengers, Brian Michael Bendis created only one new villain. That started me thinking about Geoff Johns’ original run on The Flash (2000–2005). Johns created a wealth of new enemies for the Flash during the first part of his run, particularly in Iron Heights, but I couldn’t think of any from later.

It turns out, that’s because there basically aren’t any.

This run can easily be divided into two main pieces: Flash #164–200, from Wonderland to Blitz, and then Flash #201–225, from Ignition through Rogue War. The dividing line: the moment when the Spectre erases everyone’s memory of Wally West’s and Barry Allen’s identities as the Flash.

Here’s a list of the new villains who were introduced before that moment:

Ten entirely new enemies, and two new versions of old villains. Not bad for a roughly 50-issue run!

Now, here’s a list of new villains introduced after that moment:

Just one legacy villain, in the very first story, and he died at the end. OK, maybe you can count the Rainbow Raiders, but they never made more than a single cameo appearance in the book.

As much as I love Geoff Johns’ writing on the classic Rogues, I’ve got to admit I miss seeing new villains. The Renegades sort of count, but I’m definitely looking forward to the new villain Francis Manapul mentioned will debut in the second story arc on the new series.

Review: The Flash #4

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I’ve been really enjoying the ongoing Flash series despite the frustration and disappointment of Flash: Rebirth. It’s as if “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” is being written by Geoff Johns, and Flash: Rebirth was written by the mirror Geoff. Or in a multiverse context, the Geoff Johns of Earth-3.

Also surprising: Johns seems to have remembered an old saying about writing comic books: Every issue is somebody’s first. A few deftly placed lines of dialogue spell out the key details of the story so far: Boomerang’s status and new abilities, who the Renegades are, what file is missing and why, etc. Considering this is part 4 of a 6-part story, I suspect most writers today wouldn’t have bothered.

Francis Manapul’s artwork continues to be the highlight of this book. The Flash stands or falls (runs or stumbles?) on pacing and the reader’s perception of speed, and Manapul delivers. This time around, the stand-out panels are splash pages in an effort to rescue pilots from a damaged helicopter. (One nice easter egg: in the background of that double-page spread, we see the bridge that Wally West rebuilt back in “Crossfire.”)

I’m neutral on the “Flash Facts” pages, though if they’re going to keep using them to spotlight the villains, I like the way they link the real tech with the comic-book tech. Last month it was “How Boomerangs Work” and “How Captain Boomerang’s Boomerangs Work.” This month it’s mirrors and Mirror Master’s mirrors.

Some of the luster is beginning to fade, though. The structure is starting to feel formulaic: Barry Allen keeps fighting the Renegades, and every battle gets cut short one way or another. Every issue has a major super-speed feat, which individually manages to be extremely cool, but gets repetitive four issues on.

I think the main thing that disappointed me about this issue was the revelation behind the murder mystery. Sure, it’s one of the few explanations that fits Barry Allen’s character, but it also violates the expectations set up in the first half of the story. To say any more, I’ll have to break into….

SPOILERS!

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Flash: Speed Force Book Planned

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OK, this’ll have to be quick, because I’m between events.

At the DC Nation Special Edition Panel, Geoff Johns revealed some plans:

For all you Wally fans and Bart fans, we’re doing a second Flash book next year called Flash: Speed Force

COOL!

*ahem* Sadly, that’s the most I’m letting myself get excited about it. Plans change, and even when they go through as planned, they don’t always happen when planned. If I were to guess, it probably spins out of or into Flashpoint (probably out of, given the timing), and since he mentioned both Wally and Bart (and talked about Jesse, Jay, John Fox, and even XS when answering other questions), it’s probably a Flash team book or rotating cast — either of which I could get behind.

Anyway, I’ve got to get going. I just figured this should get a little more attention than being buried inside the live blog.

(Thanks to comics.org for the cover of the 1997 Speed Force one-shot. And a shout-out to the High Five Comics crew, whom I finally met in person after the panel!)

» Full index of Comic-Con coverage

DC Nation (Friday) – LIVE!

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It took me a while to get into this panel, but I’m here now!

Featuring: Dan Didio, Jim Lee, Grant Morisson, Geoff Johns and J. Michael Straczynski with fans dressed as Darkseid, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.

4:32 Whew- made it in!

4:32 Grant Morrison is talking about the Joel Schumaker Batman movies & liking the “obscene rubber costumes.” Alfred: “I took the liberty, sir….”

4:33 Onstage: Dan Didio, Jim Lee, Geoff JOhns, Grant Morrison, JMS, with Darkseid, a female Green Lantern, and…Gypsy? [edit: it’s new-costume Wonder Woman]

4:34 Batman and the Kathy Kane Batwoman Costume…wait, Batman’s *wearing* the costume?

4:35 Grant’s talking about liking to create new characters for the Batman universe

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