Tag Archives: Rogues Revenge

Upcoming Flash Collections: Rogues’ Revenge & Flash of Two Worlds

Collected Editions has spotted more DC collections for 2009, including two Flash hardcovers.

DC Comics Classic Library: The Flash of Two Worlds (HC)

Writers: Gardner Fox and John Broome Artists: Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella and Sid Greene
Collects: The Flash v.1 #123, 129, 137, 151 and #173 $39.99 US, 144 pages

Flash #123 is, of course, the classic “Flash of Two Worlds.” The other issues feature further cross-dimensional team-ups between Barry Allen and Jay Garrick from the 1960s, as they go up against Golden-Age classics like Vandal Savage and the Shade, and Silver-Age villains like Captain Cold and the Trickster. Wally West co-stars as Kid Flash in the last story in this collection.

Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge HC

Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Scott Kolins, Doug Hazelwood and Dan Panosian Collects: Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1-3 and The Flash v.2 #182 and #197 $19.99 US, 144 pages

DC has decided to round out the Rogues’ Revenge miniseries itself with two of the Johns/Kolins Rogue Profiles, featuring the origins of Captain Cold and Zoom.

According to Amazon, both are scheduled for July 7, 2009.

Flash Down, Rogues Up in October

Comics sales continued to drop in October, and The Flash was no exception.

02/2008: Flash #237     —  37,719 (-  9.0%)
03/2008: Flash #238     —  35,606 (-  5.6%)
04/2008: Flash #239     —  33,741 (-  5.2%)
05/2008: Flash #240     —  31,944 (-  5.3%)
06/2008: Flash #241     —  30,810 (-  3.6%)
07/2008: Flash #242     —  30,325 (-  1.5%)
08/2008: Flash #243     —  29,647 (-  2.2%)
09/2008: Flash #244     —  29,180 (-  1.6%)
10/2008: Flash #245     —  28,085 (-  3.8%)

The combined effects of the recession, poor reaction to the current run on the book, and a feeling that everything from now until April is just filler* — Flash: Rebirth was announced just days after this issue was solicited in July, so this is likely the first issue for which sales responded to the announcement — have combined to produce the largest drop in several months.

Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, on the other hand, actually saw a slight increase in sales over the previous issue after the standard second-issue drop.

07/2008: Rogues Revenge #1     —  62,482
08/2008: Rogues Revenge #2     —  54,404 (- 12.9%)
10/2008: Rogues Revenge #3     —  55,056 (+  1.2%)

Given Geoff Johns’ presence on both mini-series, this looks promising for Flash: Rebirth.(link via The Beat)

*You know what else was “just filler” prior to a relaunch? Alan Moore & Curt Swan’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” Now considered a classic Superman story. I’m not saying the current storyline compares, I’m just pointing out that “filler” isn’t always mediocre, and the current trend among fans to follow only “important” books can cause us to miss out on good stories.

Review: Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #3

The conclusion of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins’ villain-centric mini-series was everything it could have been, with all the threads set up over the last two issues coming together in one explosive confrontation. Unlike “Rogue War,” which took a 90-degree turn half-way through and turned into a very different story, this delivers exactly what it promised, following through on elements that seemed to be given little attention during the previous two issues.

After the mess that was Countdown, Johns and Kolins have successfully rehabilitated the Flash’s Rogues as effective villains. They’ve also established the current status of the supporting cast from their run on The Flash and reconciled the characterization of Pied Piper across Flash, “Full Throttle,” and Countdown. (Speaking of Countdown, it’s hard not to read the line, “This is for one &@#^%# year!” as a bit of meta-commentary about that year-long series and the way it mischaracterized the Rogues.) In a sense, you could look at Rogues Revenge as Rogues: Rebirth, and in fact there is a teaser for the upcoming Flash: Rebirth built into this issue.

Clearly, DC — or, specifically, Geoff Johns — has set out on a three-step plan to get the Flash Franchise back on track:

  1. Reestablish the villains in Rogues’ Revenge.
  2. Revitalize the Flash mythos in Flash: Rebirth.
  3. Relaunch the ongoing Flash series.

Step one is complete. Any writer who wishes to use these characters in the next few years would do well to read this story and really understand what makes them tick.

Spoilers after the cut: Continue reading

This Week (Oct 15): Flash #245 & Rogues’ Revenge #3

It’s a big Flash week, with both Flash #245 and Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge hitting the stores.

Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #3

Written by Geoff Johns; Art and Covers by Scott Kolins

Captain Cold and the Rogues only want one thing – revenge. But with the Secret Society hitting the Rogues where it hurts, that revenge is being kept at an arm’s length. Not to mention, the subject of their revenge is now under Libra’s protection. It’s do or die time for the Rogues as this villainous mini-series concludes! Plus, what’s up with…Barry Allen?

40pg. | Color | $3.99 US

Note: This miniseries has been excellent. You can read my reviews of issue #1 and issue #2 here.

Flash #245

Written by Alan Burnett; Art by Paco Diaz and Drew Geraci; Cover by Brian Stelfreeze

Flash learns that nothing is safe anymore as Queen Bee causes an attack on his house and Linda. Guest-starring Black Lightning!

32pg. | Color | $2.99 US

Note: Rather than being a lame-duck arc, the first issue of this storyline was surprisingly good. With any luck, that will continue.

Team books and more after the cut. Continue reading