Tag Archives: Grant Morrison

Morrison/Millar Flash Hardcover in 2016

Flash #130 square (Emergency Stop)Amazon has a listing for The Flash by Grant Morrison & Mark Millar, a hardcover collection coming in April 2016. Morrison and Millar co-wrote one year of Wally West’s series back in 1998-1999, while Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn took time out to do JLA: Year One. Paul Ryan and John Nyberg did the art on the first few stories, with Pop Mhan and Chris Ivy taking over for the final story, “The Black Flash.” Steve Lightle did the covers for the full run.

The timing is undoubtedly related to Morrison’s upcoming Multiversity Too: The Flash OGN.

Back when the softcover collection was announced, this site’s very first news post (after the “Welcome!” article) featured a quick run-down of the contents: Continue reading

SDCC: Grant Morrison to write “Multiversity Too: The Flash” OGN

Lost in all the Flash TV news on Saturday was this announcement from the Grant Morrison spotlight panel at SDCC: Morrison will follow up the success of Multiversity by writing a series of original graphic novels called Multiversity Too, set in various realms of the DC multiverse. The first is planned to be Multiversity Too: The Flash in 2016.

There’s no word yet on an artist, or which reality, or which Flash the book will focus on. DC is playing up the possibilities.

It’s been a while since Morrison wrote a Flash solo story, back when he and Mark Millar co-wrote the main series for a year back in the late 1990s. He has of course written the character in plenty of team-up books, most recently a number of Flashes in the pages of Multiversity.

UPDATE: As JasonV points out in the comments, Morrison spoke to CBR about the project, explaining:

[I’m] doing the Flash almost as a sci-fi story where it’s a guy getting faster. Really simple, a Richard Matheson idea like “Shrinking Man,” or Stephen King’s “Thinner” where you just take a really simple notion — bigger, smaller. This one, he’s someone getting faster. What does that mean? And seeing how The Flash would emerge from just this very simple scientist getting faster story. So I’m doing that, and to a certain extent it’s a revamp, but it’s happening outside the main continuity.

He went on to add:

I love Wally West, but this one I want to be Barry Allen. He fits in better. I like the idea of the police forensic scientist. And I know they’ve done a lot more of that in the recent [comics], but back in the day that was barely looked at. And I want to do the Iris relationship, the idea of this girl who’s like super fast in this city who’s obsessed with fashion and they all drink coffee. It’s just a fast city and [all that] information. And she can’t stop talking — like me, I can’t stop talking. And Barry’s this methodical guy and suddenly he’s like he’s on speed all the time and it’s just getting worse and worse and worse. And she’s kind of having to deal with her boyfriend who she quite liked as being the slow, methodical guy is suddenly turned into this pop star, this fizzing as if he’s on coke constantly. And there’s there’s also a tragedy of what happens as we start to approach the speed of light.

Multiversity Flashes

Wally West in Morrison’s Multiversity

MTV Geek has an extensive write-up of a Grant Morrison talk in which he discussed (among other things) his long-in-the-works Multiversity. Each issue will focus on a different reality in DC’s multiverse, surrounded by a pair of bookends tying the story together.

One issue focuses on…

“The Just”, taking place on Earth-11, showcasing the return of the Super-Sons and the children of other superheroes. Surprisingly citing The Hills as an inspiration, the disaffected super-kids will be introduced in ways similar to that program, and the utopian world brought on by their parents will be echoed by their dull, meaningless, “shallow” conversational patterns. We’ll also see the remnants of a bored Justice League, filled with nearly-forgotten 90s characters with nothing to do but superhero/supervillain battle re-enactments. When asked who would be appearing, Kyle Rayner will be the Green Lantern featured in the book, but Guy Gardner will be present. Other 90s characters set to appear include Bloodpack, Bloodwynd, Anima, Walker Gabriel and, yes, Wally West, amidst a host of other legacy characters introduced in the era, hinting at appearances by Azrael and the “replacement” Supermen. Knowing that it would always come back to the most iconic versions of the characters, such as Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, Morrison wanted to give these heroes “a world they did inherit, but they didn’t inherit anything” worthwhile.

Odd Cameo in JLA: Vibe #1: Krakkl

Krakkl of Kwyzz

Did you read Justice League of America’s Vibe #1 yesterday? There’s a collection of cameos near the end, one of which is a character who hasn’t been seen since the yearlong Grant Morrison/Mark Millar run on The Flash back in 1998.

Flash: The Human RaceIn The Human Race, we meet Krakkl of Kwyzz, Wally West’s childhood imaginary friend from Radioland, who turns out not to be quite so imaginary after all. In the story, the Flash and Krakkl were chosen by a pair of cosmic-powered gamblers to race along a four-dimensional track twisting through the past, present and future of the whole universe. (Krypton’s explosion is one of the obstacles.) The loser’s homeworld would be destroyed, and the winner’s would be spared…long enough to begin the next race, against another world’s speedster champion. Wally managed to break the cycle with a new wager, and even though the world of Kwyzz was destroyed, its inhabitants were able to migrate to Earth, living alongside humans but outside our perception.

If you’re interested in reading more, I reviewed the collection as a guest writer at Collected Editions.

Anyway, near the end of Justice League of America’s Vibe #1, we see a collection of “dimensional anomalies,” including an energy being who looks a little less like Sonic the Hedgehog than he used to. Continue reading

Digital Flash in Grant Morrison Sale

ComiXology is running a 99-cent sale on Grant Morrison comics, including the nine issues of The Flash he co-wrote with Mark Millar in the late 1990s.

I think all of these have been available for a while now (several months ago I bought Flash #134, the incredible Jay Garrick solo story, to check out the image quality at the normal $1.99 price), but if you’ve been waiting for a chance to read Wally West in “Emergency Stop” or “The Human Race” for cheap, now’s your chance.

Note: For some reason, the issues aren’t visible right now if you go to the series page. You have to go through the Grant Morrison sale.

Wanted: The Flash: Earth One

Today’s guest post is by Brandan of Speedster Site.

What does it take to make a character memorable? Is that what it takes to make a character iconic?

When DC Comics announced that writers Geoff Johns and Joe Michael Straczynski would be writing 100+ pages each about Batman and Superman respectively, I couldn’t have been happier. I immediately thought that this “The Perfect Chance”. Johns and Straczynski are writing Batman: Earth One and Superman: Earth One. Two original graphic novels that have their own unique spin on DC’s icons. Why was this the perfect chance though? Simply because DC Comics has about 7 specific characters that could thrive under this type of release.

Of course the most important of those I’m speaking of is our favorite hero, The Flash! Let us look at the math of this perfect chance. One of the most recognized characters in comics, plus a symbol that’s known to many outside of comics, subtracting the monthly wait and occasional artist deadline rush, adding a highly capable artist, and to top it all off, its over 100 pages of new content. I was never good at math, but I am pretty sure that equals a sure fire success story.

But why The Flash? I know what you’re thinking. “Surely you must be happy with the relaunch of the series, and excited about the upcoming Flashpoint event. Why waste time on 100 pages of Flash?” Why? Because while that first issue of Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul’s The Flash may be new comic reader friendly, its not going to bring in more readers like The Flash: Earth One could. Still not convinced? Well how about the idea of a Barry Allen story that defines the character you have come to love and respect? Yeah, I thought that might change your mind.

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