Tag Archives: Geoff Johns

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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DC Focus: Geoff Johns – Live at Comic-Con 2010

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If all goes well, a few minutes after this post goes live, I’ll be live-blogging the panel! Once it gets started, the view here should update automatically as I add to it.

2:01 Geoff Johns has just walked onstage. “I’m supposed to have a moderator. He didn’t show up.”

2:02 Big Green Lantern (movie?) logo on screen.

2:03 “Oh, yeah, I also worked on…” YJ, DCUO

2:03 1/2 second of Blue Beetle footage – “Oh, wait, pause that!” “Nooooo!”

2:04 Says his job as CCO is to bring as many of DC’s characters as possible beyond comics – and do it *properly.*

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Geoff Johns Talks Flash and Flashpoint

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CBR has posted a new installment of Geoff Johns Prime, the recurring question-and-answer feature with DC Comics’ Chief Creative Officer. In this one, he talks about Green Lantern, Brightest Day, what comics he reads…and of course the Flash.

Some of the speedy topics covered include working with Francis Manapul, writing Barry Allen vs. writing Wally West, and untangling the Reverse Flash’s timeline.

As for what’s coming up in The Flash:

Coming up, we’ll see a new supporting cast member, a new villain, the return of the Pied Piper, more on Captain Boomerang and, of course, the Flash Family as we race towards “Flashpoint.”

It’s nice to know we’ll see Piper again. He was set up to be a major player in Rogues’ Revenge, then sort of faded into the background. And I’m all for seeing more members of the Flash family.

He even dropped a little information about Flashpoint, the mysterious Andy Kubert-drawn story that was teased at the end of The Flash #1

“Flashpoint” is five-issue series that’s going to introduce a lot of new and familiar characters, focus on Barry Allen and the DCU and it’s out sometime next year.

Head over to CBR to read the whole feature.

Review: The Flash #3 – “The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues Part 3” *SPOILERS*

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First off I know the reviews are usually Kelson’s thing (and you can expect to see his later in the week) but I decided to share my two cents and take a shot at it. This is my first time reviewing a comic book online so all feedback is most assuredly appreciated. Now on to the review:

Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Francis Manapul & Scott Kolins
Color: Brian Buccellato
Letters: Sal Cipriano
Cover: Manapul w/Buccellato
Variant Cover: Greg Horn
Assoc. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza

Ok, this is the way a Flash relaunch needs to be done; Fast and Furiously. Through the last two issues we’ve been on a nonstop action-packed, roller coaster ride that shows no signs of letting up with Part 3 of The Dastardly Death of The Rogues.

As many of you may be aware I was not the biggest fan of Barry’s return. I love Wally and he has been a character that I loved reading about and identified with for years. He was the Flash that I got into and despite the once off story featuring Barry (JLA Year One, The Secret of Barry Allen, and Rogue War), he seemed like a distant memory of a character that died an awesome memorable death. I’m also a huge fan of legacy characters in general. It’s what made DC kind of stand out on it’s own. They had characters that got older, retired, or died and then a new hero would take their place. When Barry died and Wally took his place as The Flash this was huge. It was the first time we had seen a character developed as a sidekick take on the role of their mentor, the first time the inherent promise had been fulfilled. In other words this was ground breaking and it stands out as one of DC’s defining traits. Allowing their heroes to age and move on (quasi) organically while still allowing the character’s previous developments to shine is what DC has been doing pretty well for years.

Just one reason why I don’t like all the back tracking. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve done some great stuff with Barry Allen and Hal Jordan since their returns but I feel like nothing is making them that unique other than that they are older heroes returning to take back their mantles from their previous sidekicks (or letting them co-exist like the superhero equivalent of Gallagher Too). I loved the steady progression we were seeing in the DC Universe and it really made me feel like I was growing up alongside these characters. I wouldn’t be disappointed if a newer younger version would take his place, I would expect it. It needs to happen in order for others to have that feeling as well. Of course as I said, it needs to happen organically; when a character has without a doubt outlived their usefulness and needs a shake-up. The problem is that this is mostly subjective, but certain things like sales, the ability to hold a solo title, etc, etc can (and should) be factors in whether a character is worth keeping around.
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Retro Review: Flash #2

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Sorry this review is so late. Things just kept coming up, and I pushed it further and further back. Then my local comic store didn’t receive their order of The Flash #3 on time (Diamond sent them extra copies of Deadpool Team-Up instead), so I haven’t had a chance to read the new issue…and it occurs to me that this is my last chance to review The Flash #2 before reading issue #3!

So, on to the review!

I’m still enjoying this series a lot more than I did Flash: Rebirth. Francis Manapul’s artwork has a lot to do with that, but also the fact that they’re just telling stories about a guy with super-speed instead of trying so hard to justify why they’re telling stories about this guy with super-speed.

Admittedly not a whole lot happens in this issue, but it continues to move as quickly as the previous chapter did. I expect that when “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” is finished, pairing it with a collection of Silver-Age stories like Flash vs. The Rogues will provide a great example of the change in comic-book storytelling styles from 1960 to 2010.

The expected confrontation with the Renegades is cut short, leaving the rest of the issue divided between the mystery aspects (presented through Barry Allen’s civilian life) and a visit with Captain Boomerang, providing the Brightest Day connection advertised on the cover. Also: the Flash evacuates, then rebuilds an apartment building at super-speed. Once again, the issue ends on a cliffhanger, only this time it has to do with Barry Allen, rather than the Flash.

Francis Manapul’s artwork continues to stand out, especially in sequences like the apartment evacuation, though there are some places where it seems a bit more static than last issue. Last issue I thought his faces seemed a bit off, but this time I started noticing the way he handles expressions. There are a couple of sequences where he really makes use of changing expressions with similar panel layouts. The last two pages stand out, as does a sequence earlier in which a girl complains that she lost her doll in the building collapse. (His attention to detail holds as well. If you flip back a few pages, there she is…and there’s her doll.)

Okay, spoiler time!

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Thoughts on JMS’ New Wonder Woman Direction

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Today, DC released some major Wonder Woman news: a new costume designed by Jim Lee and a new direction for the series as J. Michael Straczynski takes over.

To sum up: Persons unknown have altered Wonder Woman’s history so that Paradise Island was wiped out 20 years ago. Diana has no memory of the original timeline, doesn’t have her full powers yet, and needs to survive, help other refugee Amazons, find out who destroyed Paradise Island and find out whether the timeline can be restored.

All-New, All-Different!

I’m always apprehensive when a new writer picks up an established character and the first thing he does is to remove some key element of the character. Like the Flash’s speed (Geoff Johns’ first Flash story, “Wonderland”). Or Superman’s flight (JMS’ first Superman arc, “Grounded”). I understand it might help the writer get inside the character’s head: what is he or she like without the powers? But it always feels like shoehorning some other idea onto the character. Why did you want to write the Flash if you didn’t want to write about a guy who runs fast?

That said, for all that DC is pushing this as a “new direction,” to me this description reads more like a major story arc. I mean, there’s an end point right there in the description: find out who did it and see if it’s possible to change things back. Given the timing of the comics themselves and the time-travel elements to the story, I suspect this is going to be linked to Flashpoint. [Update: Comics Alliance asked JMS about this and he said it’s not related.]

Retcon Fever

It’s worth comparing to Flash: Rebirth, actually. In both cases, someone within the fictional universe has gone back in time and altered the main character’s history. With Diana, we know before the first issue is out. With Barry Allen, only long-term readers knew anything had been changed to begin with. It wasn’t clear that there was an in-story explanation for it until the miniseries was almost over. Even then, the prospect of undoing the changes was only floated long enough to be dismissed as impossible.

Most importantly: changing Diana’s history drastically alters who she is today. That’s a story. Once you get past the doom-and-gloom Barry of Flash: Rebirth #1-3, the changes to his history don’t seem to have made much difference in the present.