Tag Archives: Linkblogging

Speed Reading: Secret ID, Impulse Alumni, and More

At CBR, Geoff Johns wants your questions! Submit questions for the next Q&A by Monday, June 29.

Scans_Daily demonstrates how Barry Allen kept his secret identity. Or, rather, didn’t.

Comic Bloc has Noah Van Sciver’s comedic recap of Flash: Rebirth #3.

An old post turned up on my other blog a few days ago, reminding me of those “world’s fastest man” commercials for MovieTickets.com. Remember those, with the superhero who had wings on his head, a round symbol on his chest, yellow boots, and a lightning motif (but the website was still faster)? Okay, so the costume was blue, but still…

Beyond the Flash

I’ve written a guest review of Perhapanauts: First Blood at Collected Editions. Perhapanauts, an adventure series about strange creatures like Bigfoot, chupacabras etc. created by Impulse alumni Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau.

Robot 6 reports on Katelyn Rae Rochelle, first winner of the Ringo Scholarship. The Ringo is named after the late Mike Wieringo, who co-created Impulse during his run as Flash artist.

Lots of sites have linked to this guide to comic book message boards. Seems pretty accurate for the boards I visit from time to time. The DC Message Boards really are that scary, and Newsarama is only marginally better.

Tickets are now available for the Long Beach Comic-Con coming up in October. I’m going to have to figure out which day I want to go!

Speed Reading — Flash: Rebirth #3 Review Roundup

It’s been a week since Flash: Rebirth #3 arrived in stores. Here’s a round-up of reviews I’ve found online.

Flash: Rebirth #3 VariantWeekly Crisis – “I don’t think this book is written for me or other readers like me. It’s clearly being aimed at long time Flash fans who would appreciate the return of Barry and could draw on emotional baggage associated with his Silver Age stories to carry an otherwise unremarkable issue.”

Ryan the Iowan at the Weekly Crisis – “a pretty issue that fails to engage me as a reader thanks to a lackluster plot, odd characterizations, and a ‘twist’ ending that feels pretty played out.”

Comic Book Revolution – “I would not recommend Flash: Rebirth to anyone outside of hard-core Flash fans. I just don’t think Johns has made it that interesting for new readers. If you want a tightly written and exciting read then Flash: Rebirth may not be for you. However, if you love the Flash family continuity and history then this is the title for you.”

Flash-Back Podcast – very much liked the issue.

The Homeworld – “So, essentially, the book is now beat for beat just like ‘Green Lantern: Rebirth’….Now, don’t get me wrong: the book is still good. I’ve always been a Flash fan, so I am enjoying Rebirth, but it certainly feels like there is something missing, some piece of polish that should be in place but is gone.”

IGN – “The mystery is heightened, the characters sharpened, and the stakes upped significantly. I can’t wait to see where the ride takes us next.”

Comic Book Resources – “for every great moment we get a few that don’t work at all. It’s certainly not a lumbering, slow comic, but its speedy pace comes at a price: we don’t know what its racing toward, or why any of it really matters.”

Major Spoilers – “It’s a puzzling issue, frought with doubt and darkness and portents of great evil, and I’m still interested in where it’s going, but so far this series just isn’t running on all cylinders for me.”

Mania – “After the sheer awesomeness of the last issue, I was really expecting this one to blow my doors down and it didn’t.”

Weekly Comic Book Review – “Ethan Van Sciver’s art continues to be absolutely amazing….Johns needs to stop it with the filler.”

Read/Rant (1) – “This is the best issue yet. As a Barry fan, I’m happy and touched to see Barry alive and running again. I just worry about the Wally and Bart fans. Johns has tried to please them, but I’m not sure they’re sold yet.”

Read/Rant (2) – “Flash Rebirth just feels like a jumble of scenes that pander to hard core Flash fans. But even on that level, I think the book misses it’s mark. It’s a Barry Allen book featuring a character who doesn’t act very much like Barry Allen and it requires extensive knowledge of the Wally West Flash run.”

POW Comics – “it’s a comic about the Fastest Man Alive, I can’t help but feel like the plot is dragging and almost going nowhere.”

Legion of Super-Nerds Clubhouse – “I think at the end of the day the Flash legacy has become so bogged down in continuity that the character can be a turn-off to new readers.”

Bureau 42 – “a few nice moments, but if we don’t start to see more of the old, heroic Barry soon I’m going to start losing interest.”

Clever Name – “Finally this book picks up, but my main problem still hinders my enjoyment of this book….I’m just not that big of a Flash fan.”

Reilly2040 – “I’m glad to see things pick up pace over the slow first two issues, and I’m definitely feeling a bit more into the storyline this issue than last.”

T’Pull’s Weekly DC Comics Reviews – “this is a beautifully drawn book, and if you just nod and smile at their attempted explanations, the rest of it reads well.”

Comic Book Bin – “The only bothersome part for me is the way another super-speedster was killed off rather casually, just to show how ‘bad’ the supervillain is. Oh well, guess they need more Black Lanterns.”

Comix 411 – “I’m enjoying this series so far. It’s not been the best Flash storyline I’ve ever read, but its a good story by Geoff Johns and amazing artwork by Ethan Van Sciver.”

Panels on Pages – “Despite not knowing much about Barry outside of his reputation, I have become riveted by him in this mini-series thanks to Johns and Sciver.”

Dead Brain – “Van Sciver’s art adeptly portrays a body shaken by intense high velocity in the second half of the book; although, some of the fluid panels are marred with clunky flashback segments…”

Giant Killer Squid – “Johns has a gift for keeping me into the story even if it is a little worn out. The thing that stands out above the rest on this series is the art by Ethan Van Sciver.”

Comic Per Day – “what Johns has given us is a neat little story about a guy who thinks his time has passed.”

And of course there’s my own review of the issue.

Speed Reading: Panels, Moments and Flash Facts

Some Monday morning linkblogging…

Images

Mark Waid reminds us all that Barry Allen discovered Earth-2 on June 14, 1961.

Groovy Superhero has a scan from Futurama Comics #34, in which Fry gets a job at Speed Force Burgers. It’s very fast food, and the employees’ outfits may look a bit familiar to this blog’s audience…

Friday’s Full Frontal Nerdity comic strip features a reference to Barry Allen’s return from the dead.

Weekly Crisis has a couple of moments of the week from Flash: Rebirth #3.

Comic Book Resources’ CBR Live has a bunch of photos from Saturday’s grand opening of Earth-2 Comics in Northridge, featuring co-owner Geoff Johns and a bunch of other Los Angeles-area comics personalities.

UPDATE: CBR has posted a photo parade from the Earth-2 grand opening which looks like a different set of pictures than the CBR Live stream.

UPDATE: What Were They Thinking?! is back online after almost a month!

Commentary

4thletter! is tired of re-runs in his comics.

UPDATE: The Annotated Flash: Rebirth has posted notes on Flash: Rebirth #3.

Flash Fact?

Researches now think that ADHD is linked to faulty perception of time: as far as hyperactive kids are concerned, time really does move too slowly. Comics Alliance likens this to being the Flash. Though maybe Impulse is a better comparison…

Speed Reading: Lightning Blades, Bronze Age, Variant Covers and More

RikDad identifies a precedent for those lightning-bolt blades seen in Flash: Rebirth…way back in the Golden Age.

Comic Bronze Age tries to identify…What IS the Bronze Age of Comics? Considering that many fans today are of the opinion that the Silver Age lasted through 1985, it’s a good question.

The podcast Views From the Longbox has their second installment of Views from the Speed Force, focusing on Flash: Rebirth #2.

Flash Rebirth #3 CoversNewsarama asks retailers, do variant covers sell more books? Personally, when a comic has alternate covers that are distributed equally (like they’ve done with the Final Crisis books) I’ll just pick the one I like better. When the variant is rare, like the 1-in-25 alternate covers they’re doing for Flash: Rebirth, I usually won’t bother. Though I am going to try to pick up the alternate cover for #3, which is 100% more interesting than the standard cover.

Speaking of variant covers, it looks like I forgot to link to the site updates I did last weekend: I updated the collections of variant covers and cover homages to include current and upcoming Flash: Rebirth covers. Still need to work through an email backlog of homages, though.

Crimson Lightning is back from a three-week hiatus with new posts.

Mania’s Top 20 writers of all time includes long-term Flash writers Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and Gardner Fox.

Fastest FirefoxSpeaking of foxes, and still somewhat relevant to this blog’s topic, Firefox is holding a video contest called “Show Us Your Speed to promote the upcoming Firefox 3.5 release. Submit a 30-second video of your fastest talent to www.fastestfirefox.com.

Speed Reading: Cool Moments, Jumping On, Coloring and Mor(rison)

Comics Should Be Good highlights more Cool Comic Book Moments from Mark Waid’s Flash story, Terminal Velocity. They’ve got two items from Flash #99: Wally’s sacrifice and Bart stepping up (which doesn’t go quite as well as he expects) — and one of two moments from Flash #100: Wally’s…return? One more coming up tomorrow. Update: the conclusion is up!

Comics in Crisis thinks that now is a perfect time for new readers to jump into the Flash.

Wally’s World: If I Ran DC Comics (Part 1)

iFanboy compares comic book coloring techniques from the 1980s and today, using pages from Secret Wars and The Flash: Rebirth as examples.

Lying in the Gutters, in its final column, cites conflicting rumors on the future of Justice League of America, with either a Grant Morrison/Jim Lee team-up or Geoff Johns. Earlier rumors had Geoff Johns and Jim Lee.

When Worlds Collide has put together a list of the Best and Worst of Grant Morrison, with a Top 10 and Bottom 5. I’ve only read about 1/3 of the combined list. Update: Comics Should Be Good fires back with another Top 10 Grant Morrison list.

Also interesting: my Google Alert for “flash comics” came up with this list of things about the (American) comic book industry that should be common knowledge, but aren’t.

Speed Reading: Mirrors and Rainbows Addicted to Crime

Some links of note before this holiday weekend:

Flashy Links

Comics Should Be Good’s Year of Comic Book Moments features Flash v.2 #73, Wally and Linda’s first Christmas together and a surprise visit from the man in red.

Somehow I missed this when it was posted, but Mightygodking has an off-kilter profile of the Rainbow Raider.

Comic Coverage looks at the time Mirror Master managed to transform the Flash into a mirror.

Silver Age Comics looks at the way crime was treated as an addiction in many comics of the era, particularly The Flash — again focusing on the Mirror Master.

Update: Karl Kerschl has posted a progress shot of the Flash being inked for Wednesday Comics.

Whirlwind Tour

The Source previews what’s in store for Justice Society of America as Bill Willingham, Matt Sturges and Jesus Merino take over the book.

Darcey McLaughlin of the Miramichi Leader notes that death has lost all meaning in comic books.

Scott’s Classic Comics Corner (Comics Should Be Good) has an interesting post on measuring scarcity in comics collecting.

Karl Kerschl’s (Flash in Wednesday Comics) webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher, has reached its 100th episode.

Finally, if you’ll excuse the plug, please take a look at my eBay auctions if you haven’t recently. I’ve got several DVDs and CDs up right now, as well as a promotional Star Trek T-shirt from San Diego 2007.