gailsimone:

Here’s a map where DC creators will be on @freecomicbook day: 

http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/05/02/celebrate-free-comic-book-day-with-your-favorite-dc-comics-writers-and-artists#2

fastestfanalive:

The Fastest Fan Alive’s 500th Post featuring more Heroes and Villains than you can shake a stick at!

So long story short after the DC Universe started collapsing in on itself with the New 52 I was pretty indifferent towards DC Collectibles until they announced the “We Can Be Heroes” 7 pack box set. Featuring the New 52’s Big Seven (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Cyborg) in one fell swoop was a great move as once I had them up on my shelves I couldn’t stop. Next came Darkseid and a couple of Parademons and then I just had to dig my old Teen Titans figures out of storage and then came all of the rest. Fed up with DC’s New 52 for the most part I took what I’ve liked here and there and built my own iconic version of what the DC Universe should be for the most part. I have a bunch of stories swirling about in the back of my head and I will definitely get around to filling these in as I go. I still have quite a few heroes left to acquire for my own personal universe but as you can see I have the basic framework set up as far as teams and alliances go. Some are just placeholders until other figures arrive or are released and others are pretty much final. For example I’m pretty anxious to add Black Manta and Black Adam to my Injustice Gang but they have new figures coming up before the end of the year. No point in going out and buying older versions if newer ones are right around the corner (that is unless I prefer the older versions). 

I actually have not decided on whether Wally West will find his way into my universe yet. The more I think about it the less speedsters I want in my universe. It is a world-breaking power and the less people with access to the enigmatic speed force the better. Not only that but it just sounds better when there are only one Flash and one Kid Flash running around. I thought about possibly giving Wally a different identity altogether but for now he is just not going to be represented. On that same note I still wanted to show you all a glimpse of the classic New Titans together, Miss that team.

I ran into a similar problem when it came to the Justice Society of America, Hawkwoman, and the New Gods. I’m not sure if I’m going to go the Earth 1/Earth 2 route ala current DC or leave the Justice Society firmly in the past as a stepping stone. I’m pretty sure if they release Earth 2 figures I’m going to be getting them so perhaps I will just leave this bit of history hazy for now. Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl however (especially after rewatching Justice League and Justice League Unlimited on Netflix) had to be on one of my League’s. I especially wanted to continue the alien origins she has from the series into my own universe as it gave her awesome depth. I haven’t even begun to think about the New Gods yet except that I need to get some version of them. Thankfully the ones in the comics look to be quite similar to Kirby’s original designs. 

As far as The Teen Titans/Titans go I decided to go a somewhat different route with the Titans. Essentially the only iteration of the Teen Titans in this universe was never really officially called that. Back when each of them was a teen sidekick they would unofficially team up from time to time. Roy Harper was the oldest of the team (and is only a few years younger than Oliver Queen in my universe) and when he left Green Arrow he convinced the rest of the sidekicks/partners to do the same. The history is pretty murky for now but they would eventually officially become known as The Titans.

The Teen Titans are now known as Justice League Academy. The best and brightest of the young superhero community working and learning together. I, like many of you, loved Young Justice and I also liked the idea of a junior Justice League team. I personally think that Teen Titans has too much history behind it and that Young Justice just doesn’t sound as official as what Justice League Academy is going to be. Tim Drake has moved on and semi-graduated to the next step as a senior member of the JLAcademy. Supergirl in this reality is a more mature superhero who has been around as long as Clark and has a similar fanbase and presence. After Clark discovers her “brother”, Kon-El, she is tasked with the role of helping him develop his burgeoning Kryptonian powers. Tim and Supergirl are the more experienced vets keeping the rest of the team in line. 

Batwoman and the Outsiders is my homage to Batman and the Outsiders from my childhood. I recently acquired both Metamorpho and Batwoman and I saw it instantly. Especially since I don’t really see a role for Batwoman anywhere else in my universe. In any case The Outsiders, like they have often been portrayed in the DCU proper, are the more proactive heroes. Seek and destroy pretty much. They go after villains who are actively wanted and bring them to justice as opposed to waiting for some stuff to go down. I kind of dug the partnership of Black Lightning and Blue Devil from DCU Presents so I decided they were going to be teaming together in this covert ops team with Blue Devil providing a lot of the technological skill and know how. This is prior to him becoming an actual demon (a development I’m not sure I’m going to follow). Owen Mercer in this reality isn’t literally Digger Harkness’ son. Digger dated Owen’s mother on and off for years and Owen came to see him as a kind of father figure. Of course Digger showed him quite a few things with a boomerang (usually when Digger was wasted) and when Owen turned 18 (a year or so after Digger walked away for good), Owen decided to try his hand at being a Rogue. After a few weeks of him pulling jobs similar to Digger’s (and driving both The Flash and Digger crazy), Digger finally tracks Owen down and nearly beats the kid to death for impersonating him before realizing who it is. Digger still angry breaks the kid’s throwing arm and sends the kid home to his mother on a train (you didn’t think Digger would spring for a plane ticket would you?). Owen of course swears revenge and ends up joining up with Batwoman and the Outsiders.

I’ve always liked the idea of multiple League teams and with the announcement of Justice League of America I decided to create my own version to tide me over until they release more of the official members (Vibe, Catwoman, Simon Baz). Green Arrow is approached by Waller as the leader and face of the team while Martian Manhunter is one of the heavy hitters and provides intel. Black Canary was placed on the team by the government, Hawkman basically has the JLU background right now of being a former Archaeology professor driven mad by Thanagarian discoveries (resident loose cannon), Dr. Light II (physicist), and Green Lantern John Stewart (Will be explained why Earth has so many eventually).

Now on to the bad guys. While I’ve gotten a lot more than I even thought I would I’m still missing quite a few big bads like Lex Luthor and the Joker. But here are what I have so far: Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, The Shade, Dr. Light, Amazo, Despero, Psycho Pirate, The Black Hand, Anti-Monitor and Superboy Prime, Ocean Master, Sinestro, Deathstroke, Mongul, Darkseid w/ Parademons, Vandal Savage, Circe, Professor Zoom,  Lord Kobra, Deadshot, Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold, and Solomon Grundy.

My apologies for the lack of updates lately. You can now see what I’ve been working on and why I’ve been staggering my posts so much. :) I do want to give a special “Thank You” to all 261 of my followers who check in no matter what. 

-Flash Johnson

Impulse #67 remains the best comic book fake-out I’ve ever seen in the era of online solicitations and spoilers everywhere. DC didn’t write a fake solicitation or block out parts of the cover art. All they did was post the artwork showing Max Mercury (I’m such a digital packrat that I still have it) and state that heroes gathered together to honor him. Then the next two issues put Bart off-planet on Rann for the Green Lantern/Adam Strange guest spot, so there was literally no way to know whether Max would survive “Mercury Falling” until the conclusion hit the shelves.

Warner Bros. has released box art and further details for the July 30 release of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, the home video animated feature based on 2011′s Flashpoint miniseries. Casting was announced yesterday, with Justin Chambers and Kevin McKidd as Flash (Barry Allen) and Batman (Thomas Wayne).

According to comicbook.com, the special features include:

• A Flash in Time: Are there other dimensions? Can time travel get us there? And if The Flash existed, could he really travel through time? Interviews with experts in mythology, theoretical physics and top DC writers will examine the science and legacy of the storytelling behind the fiction.
• My Favorite Villians! The Flash Bad Guys: Acclaimed DC Comics writer Geoff Johns and others share their favorite Flash villains in this short film that gives viewers a glimpse into the Flash’s world through the eyes of some of the nefarious characters he has encountered over the past 70 years!
• A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe animated movie: An in-depth look into the next DC Animated feature film, spotlighting the cast and crew.
• From the DC Comics Vault: Bonus cartoon episodes
• The Flashpoint Paradox Audio Commentary

Update: World’s Finest has more details including a synopsis:

When time travel allows a past wrong to be righted for Flash and his family, the event’s temporal ripples prove disastrous, creating a fractured, alternate reality where the Justice League never formed, and even Superman is nowhere to be found. Amidst a new world being ravaged by a fierce war between Wonder Woman’s Amazons and Aquaman’s Atlanteans, Flash must team with a grittier, more violent Batman and government agent Cyborg to restore the continuity of Flash’s original timeline.

Jim Krieg (Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Batman: The Brave and the Bold) adapted the script, with Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) directing and James Tucker (Superman: Unbound) producing.

So, what episodes from the vault would you like/expect to see? I’m hoping for “Speed Demons” from Superman, “A Mirror Darkly” from The Batman,“Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold,and of course “Flash and Substance” from Justice League Unlimited. Though I can imagine they might go for alternate reality stories instead.

Original article at Speed Force.

Found on instagram: Mark Waid Was Right/Long Live Wally West.

Remember those “Mark Waid is Evil” shirts from the Irredeemable launch?

Please bring back the same old Wally West! @markwaid @osmo777 @ckonanz @chrislopa @dccomics #theflash #markwaidwasright #dccomics - @bielero- #webstagram

DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation released new details this week on their upcoming feature Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox exclusively to Newsarama.  In addition to the release formats and confirmation of some casting details, the news came with the official description and the first image from the film.  Check it out below!

When time travel allows a past wrong to be righted for The Flash and his family, the ripples of the event prove disastrous as a fractured, alternate reality now exists where a Justice League never formed, and even Superman is nowhere to be found. Teaming with a grittier, more violent Dark Knight and Cyborg, Flash races to restore the continuity of his original timeline while this new world is ravaged by a fierce war between Wonder Woman’s Amazons and Aquaman’s Atlanteans. With breath taking action and an all-star voice cast, it’s a bold, emotional vision that will forever change the landscape of the DC Universe.

Given the outcome of the Geoff Johns/Andy Kubert series, could this mean future DC animated features will be set in the New 52 universe? What moments from Flashpoint are you most looking forward to seeing brought to (animated) life?

The movie is due to be released July 30, 2013.  Check out the full details, including early casting information, over at Newsarama!

DC Reveals Details on Upcoming ‘Flashpoint Paradox’ Feature (via Newsarama) is a post from Speed Force. .



Hello Speed Readers,

As many of you are aware the last episode of Young Justice aired this past Saturday. I finally got a chance to watch it this morning and wow, what a heart breaking episode for Flash Family Fans.



Spoilers for Young Justice Season 2 Episode 20 “Endgame”

****SPOILERS*****

Wally West is dead, again! For those who have not been keeping up with the show for whatever reason, Wally returned from semi-retirement last episode to help take out The Light (Earth’s top super-villains united under Lex Luthor) and The Reach (a group of aliens who were attempting to conquer the Earth) once and for all. The battle left The Light and The Reach alliance in shambles and as a final move to destroy key evidence of The Reach’s tampering with the Earth’s populace (lest they violate a treaty in place with the Guardians of the Universe), their top agent, Black Beetle attempts to destroy the Earth.



Part of The Reach’s endgame are drones that disrupt and destroy the Earth’s magnetic field and the Earth itself eventually. The heroes split off into teams of two to immobilize the drones and they succeed for the most part only to realize that one had remained undetected in the artic. Flash (Barry Allen) and Impulse (Bart Allen) attempt to stop the device but they are seconds late. In a bid to counteract the effect of the device on the Earth they run counter clockwise to the energy attempting to reverse it but their kinetic energy is not enough. Hearing this Kid Flash zeta beams (or teleports) down to the battle and joins his uncle and cousin in trying to destroy the weapon. They start to succeed but as a result of Wally’s decreased speed the excess energy siphoning off of the weapon starts to target his body and batters him into nothing. Wally West dies.



In the aftermath, Artemis (Wally’s girlfriend in this continuity) visits Wally’s parents and gives them the heart-breaking news. Wally gets a memorial where it is revealed that Bart Allen has taken up the mantle of Kid Flash and Artemis has decided to shed her old identity to become Tigress once again.

*****End Episode Spoilers*****

Well I guess that pretty much brings the Flash Family in line with the New 52. *Sigh*. Extremely sad that we are not getting a third season and also a little perturbed at the way this episode ended. There is nothing to to say that Wally would not have returned from the Speed Force a more powerful hero and would eventually go on to take on the Flash mantle in the third season (Why else play up his reduced speed so much?). Only problem with that is as far as I know the writers have explicitly stated that there is no Speed Force in this universe. Just seems like a low blow at the end of the day. It was nice to have one Wally in continuity that kind of still existed and with him still alive we could have imagined all kinds of possibilities. With his death that chapter is closed. Permanently.

I was pleased to see Impulse evolve into Kid Flash. I was one of the few fans that thought Impulse’s evolution into Kid Flash made perfect sense in the comics and it is nice to see the show mirror that. I will say that the motivation in this continuity is stronger but really what beats death?

I know not everyone was in love with this show but I really, really wanted a third season. Especially after this ending and all the loose threads they just left dangling. It is really too bad that they ended the Young Justice tie-in comic book series a few months back as I could have seen their adventures continuing on in comic book form after the series ended similar to Smallville and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Not to say that they still couldn’t restart the series but I’m not betting on it. There is also the small possibility of a direct to home release movie but again I won’t be holding my breath.

At least we have Young Justice: Legacy to look forward to in September (hopefully).

What did you all think of Young Justice’s series finale? Do you feel cheated, hurt, shocked or indifferent? Please, let us know in the comments below.

-Devin

Screencaps courtesy of GothamKnightsOnline

And Then There Were None…*Young Justice: Invasion Spoilers* is a post from Speed Force. .

This issue of Teen Titans continues the “Death of the Family” story arc that has hit the Bat-titles with the Joker’s return to Gotham after a year’s absence.  He is creepier and more dangerous than ever before.  The Outlaws and Titans have begun to work together to stop the Joker’s attacks, but as we start this issue, Red Robin has been captured by the Joker and finds himself waking up next to Jason Todd!  As noted in the solicits, this issue also brings us the return of…Raven!

SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD – PLEASE READ THE ISSUE BEFORE CONTINUING HERE!

The Joker has a terrible (and brilliant) plan to pit Jason and Tim against each other in a fight to the death, and much of this issue contains a fantastic battle between the two former partners of Batman.  The Joker believes he has left the former Robins (okay, a former Robin and a present Red Robin) no choice but to kill each other.  But, just as everyone has seemingly underestimated the Joker in this arc, the Joker has also underestimated at least one of the combatants here – possibly both?  Telling how it ends would be simply spoilering too much here, but it is a terrific fight.

Elsewhere in the Titans’ world…Solstice has noted that both her power levels and those of Kid Flash were recently boosted, meaning that Kurt Lance has been hanging around nearby.  One note here – that’s about all we see of Bart in this issue.  Some earlier issues of Teen Titans have centered on Bart, and I’m sure we will see more from him again before long.  But as with most team titles, there are times that different characters fade to the background and that is certainly the case for Kid Flash this issue.  As for Lance…

We find Lance trying to watch out for the Titans from a distance, only to find himself in a fight with Basilisk – a fight that doesn’t appear to end well for Lance.  And, in a cameo appearance we are introduced to a VERY different looking New52 Raven.  She is still Trigon’s daughter, and her costume still makes it tough to see her face…but for a very different reason than in the pre-Flashpoint DCU.  This design is certain to spark a lot of conversation among fans of the Titans, although it remains to be seen if this will be her permanent New52 look. 

In the end, this issue is meant to be a tie between Red Robin and the “Death of the Family” arc…and it does an excellent job of moving this terrific story line forward.  You may not have to read this particular issue to stay up-to-date with the main story line, but it would be a real shame to miss this part of the arc.  I have never been as totally creeped out by the Joker as I have been through this story line, and the resolution to “Death of the Family” will certainly have huge repercussions for all the Bat-family for some time to come. 

Scott Lobdell did the plotting for this issue, with dialog supplied by Fabian Nicieza.   A lot of the issue centers on the interior monologue of Tim Drake, and it is most effective in adding drama without taking away from the excellent artwork.

Speaking of the artwork, I’m a fan of Brett Booth’s work, and he doesn’t disappoint here.  Norm Rampund handled the inks and Andrew Dalhouse took on the colors for this issue.  They convey the Joker’s insanity and the heat of the battle between Tim and Jason in a way that was gripping from beginning to end.

SUMMARY: Overall, this was an excellent read.  Yes, it was much more a “Red Robin” issue than a true “Teen Titans” mag, but this was the most logical title in the New52 to tie Tim Drake into the overall story arc, and it works very nicely (if that word fits with such a creepy story arc).  And not to forget, with the re-introduction of Raven (even in this cameo appearance), Teen Titans #16 will certainly have a special place in the New52 Titans lore.  It is well worth the read!

About the reviewer: Ed Garrett is a long time Flash fan, having collected The Flash and other comics since the 1960′s (when they were only 12 cents).  He is a fan of Jay, Barry, Wally, Bart, and all the other speedsters who have graced the pages of DC Comics over the years.  Ed uses the handle xBarryxAllenx as the administrator of The Fastest Forum Alive, a Flash fan forum.

This Joker Will Be The Death of…Someone…But Who? (Review of Teen Titans #16) is a post from Speed Force. .

ourvaluedcustomers:

To his friend…

18 character-focused fan blogs have teamed up for this DC Halloween crossover featuring the 1998 “Ghosts” annuals and more!

• “Ghosts” @ The Aquaman Shrine
• “Bough Breaks” @ Batman: Gotham Knights Online
• “Swamp Thing’s Ghost Dance” @ The BLOG from the BOG – Swamp Thing
• “Seeing Ghosts” @ Boosterrific
• “Life Itself” @ Captain’s JLA Homepage
• “Ghosts’ – The Corpse Corps!” @ Corps Conjecture
• “What Creeps Out The Creeper?” @ DC Bloodlines
• “The Distance Gone” @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• “Shoe Shine.. Back from the Dead” @ Firestorm Fan
• “The Death Sentence” @ Great Krypton!
• “Happy Halloween” @ I Am The Phantom Stranger
• Martian Manhunter in “Heart’s Afire” @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• “Legend of Driq” @ Indigo Tribe
• The Vixen in “Role Model” @ Justice League Detroit
• “Ghosts” @ Power of the Atom
• “Ragman – Ripped to Shreds!” @ Ragman – DC’s Tatterdemalion of Justice
• The Spectre in “Zor” @ Siegel & Shuster: Mythmakers
• “High-Speed Hauntings” @ Speed Force