Speed Force

First Look at The New Reverse-Flash! [SPOILERS]

In addition to the climactic showdown between Flash and Grodd for Central City and the Speed Force, today’s Flash #17 gave readers the first look at the new Reverse-Flash!

Speculation on the villain’s new identity has been rampant since the announcement that there would be an all-new Reverse-Flash for the New 52. Kelson presented an analysis of the possibilities and guest writer Scott Timms made the case for erstwhile Flash Wally West as the new opposite number for Barry Allen’s heroic identity. While the identity remains a mystery, today’s issue provided the first look and at least answered a couple of the up-front questions. Follow the jump for the reveal!

Beware, SPOILERS for FLASH #17′s reveal of the new REVERSE-FLASH are after the jump. You’ve been warned!

DC Collectibles New 52 Flash Available!

Hey Speed Readers,

Just wanted to let you all know (if you didn’t already) that DC Collectibles New 52 Flash is now available at the DC Collectibles website, Comic Book & Collectible Shops and various online dealers. Oddly enough DC Collectibles website is only taking preorders for October 31st, 2012 at the moment while the figure has already been released worldwide.

I myself have not yet picked up Flash or ordered it. I’m really on the fence on whether I want to support this figure or not. The completist in me definitely wants it in my collection but to support it would be to support this new direction DC is going in. Although I can’t lie, I already caved and purchased the New 52 Flash Heroclix and DC Squinkies which are based on New 52 Designs. So really who am I kidding? For some reason it just feels different when you are giving money directly to the publisher as in the case of DC Collectibles. Plus the aforementioned figurines are so small in scale that in most cases it isn’t even that evident that it is the New 52 design. Yes, I know I’m rationalizing.

For those that do plan on purchasing the figure or are also on the fence Toynewsi.comhas a great review of the action figure, HERE.

Here is one more picture courtesy of Toynewsi.com:

So who plans on picking this guy up or has already? I’m curious to hear what you all think of it.

Thanks for reading,

-Flash Johnson

Original Article

I wish this was real so I could read it. John Trumbull for CSBG’s The Line It Is Drawn.

Flash Annual Spotlight at The Source

As part of a weeklong look at the upcoming New 52 Annuals, DC Comics’ Source blog has a new post up with some new information on the upcoming Flash Annual #1, by Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato and a cast of artists working from Manapul’s layouts. From Brian Buccellato:

“We couldn’t be happier with the collection of talent we assembled to work from Francis’ layouts. Broken up into chapters, on art duties we have Marcus To, Diogenes Neves, Marcio Takara, Wes Craig, and FLASH legend Scott Kolins! We just had to offer Scott the Rogues ‘flashback chapter,’ and were delighted that he accepted. His take on ‘The Old Rogues’ is new and fresh, yet pays homage to the gang’s history. It might sound clichéd, but it’s truly everything we hoped for and more.”

In the post, Buccellato also promises that the Annual will deliver the first Rogues team-up of the New 52 Flash series, as well as the much-anticipated tale of their journey from “…the old ‘gun-toting’ Rogues that everyone remembers from previous continuity, and the new meta-powered incarnations. In the Annual, we finally reveal HOW the Rogues got their super powers and at what cost.”

Check it out at The Source! Flash Annual #1 is in stores August 29.

Original Article

Quick Thoughts: DC’s New 52 Wave Three

So, along with the #0 origin issues in September, DC is also launching four new ongoing series. Here are my first thoughts:

Talon - Spinning out of “Court of Owls.” Sorry, but I tuned out right there. I’ve never been a big fan of the Bat-verse (heresy, I know), so a Batman spin-off doesn’t really do much for me.

Sword of Sorcery - A genre book similar to All-Star Western and G.I. Combat. At least to start with, it’ll be headlined by a revival of Amethyst, with backup stories about a post-apocalyptic Beowulf. This is the one I’m most interested in, not for Amethyst or Beowulf in particular, but to see what DC does with the fantasy genre. Demon Knights has been a fun read, and is currently the DCU book I’m most eager to read when a new issue comes out.

Team Seven - Set shortly after the Justice League’s debut, about a special-ops team put together to counteract superhuman threats. The team features characters from all over DC and Wildstorm, including younger Deathstroke, Grifter, Amanda Waller, and others. This seems like something I would have been fascinated by 10-15 years ago when I was more heavily into the DC Universe itself, rather than seeing the DCU as just the setting for some comics I read.

Phantom Stranger - His origin and connection to Pandora. Um…no. In my opinion, the Phantom Stranger should be left mysterious. He’s the Phantom Stranger, not the Phantom Guy that the Audience Gets to Know Well. The fact that they decided to re-introduce him by giving him a definitive origin suggests they’ll be taking the character in…I don’t want to say the wrong direction, but certainly a direction I’m less interested in reading.

IGN contacted DC and confirmed that they won’t be canceling four books right away, though in a Newsarama interview, Dan Didio reiterates the plan to stick with 52 ongoing series in general, so we’ll probably see a brief bump in September followed by a few books getting canceled in the next couple of months.

I’ve noticed lately that the less connection a book has to the mainstream DC Universe, the more appealing I find it. That’s kind of sad, but I think it’s partly the fact that DC is actively courting an audience I’m not part of, and partly a consequence of my slow drift away from the super-hero genre and toward sci-fi/fantasy.

So how about you? Which of these books do you find most interesting?

Original Article

Media Blitz! Flash Team Talks Rogue Makeovers, Wally West and the Law of Congestion (via CBR)

In an interview posted on Friday, Flash co-writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato talked to comic book resources about the arc of their speedster saga. Going into this week’s first New 52 Grodd story, and upcoming reintroductions of Weather Wizard, Heat Wave and (Golden) Glider, the Flash team delved into the existing relationship between the Rogues and the road to September’s Flash Annual.

Manapul kicks things off by explaining the crescendo of the series thus far:

Francis Manapul: I think there’s a theme that the book is really about overwhelming the Flash. In the first arc, we created this villain who could really be in multiple places at once, so in that sense, the Flash is overwhelmed physically and also overwhelmed emotionally because of the fact that he’s [fighting] an old friend, a guy that he grew up with. It’s kind of an overwhelming time for Barry Allen, having discovered that the weight of the world is on his shoulders. On top of that, the Rogues are slowly starting to get back together; we’re slowly showing what kind of a threat they would be to Barry Allen.

For highlights, including choices made during the redesign of the Rogues and the team’s answer to the Wally West question, follow the jump!

On the change of pace from the “Mob Rule” story:

Manapul: The first arc we really felt it was really rich in subtext, whereas with the current Rogues [story], we’re taking more of a direct approach. I’ll admit it — we read how people react to the issues, and we noticed there was a lot of stuff in the first arc that kind of flew over a lot of people’s heads. So with the Rogues, we’re taking a direct approach on how we’re handling them emotionally and how they reflect Barry Allen. And also, having done a five-issue arc, we thought it was necessary for us to create tighter, shorter stories, to help move things along! [Laughs]

On the much-discussed Rogue redesigns:

Manapul: Captain Cold was really the one that took the most back and forth in terms of where we wanted him to be. The rest of the Rogues were really quite easy. A lot of it stemmed from trying to keep things from the past but also making the way that they look part of the story. They look like they do for certain reasons. Of course, with characters like Heat Wave, he looks drastically different. A lot of those changes to their physical attributes stem from the story, so as we get further along, that they look is going to make a lot more sense.

… I don’t feel like we’re reinventing them, except for Turbine and Gorilla Grodd. A lot of readers say they want change, but really, they don’t. They want the characters to stay the same, so the way the Rogues have been written in the past is always writing them exactly the same. Emotionally, they didn’t progress, but they changed everything around them so they would have this illusion of change. The opportunity Brian and I have with the New 52 is, “Where did the last story of the Rogues leave off? Lets take that story and move forward emotionally in a way we wouldn’t have been able to pre-52.”

On the relationship between Captain Cold and Heat Wave, as it stands now:

Manapul: I think issue #11 has one of my favorite scenes of interactions between the Flash and Captain Cold — spoilers! — and Heat Wave. It’s a lot of fun! The issue is going to feel a little like a modern Western. The joke is Barry Allen walks into a bar — and Captain Cold and Heat Wave also walk into a bar. There’s going to be some great interaction between Barry Allen and Leonard Snart, and it’ll be really interesting to see Heat Wave interact with Captain Cold. With regard to the singular event that Lisa Snart mentioned, no one has been more negatively affected by it than Heat Wave. That’s where his emotion lies and why he very much would like to get rid of Captain Cold.

On the theme of the Law of Congestion, a driving force from the first issue of the series:

Buccellato: It’s something that’s really reflective — if you go back to issue #1, we talk about it, and it wasn’t just some passing conversation. There’s a reason why we chose to have Dr. Elias talk about that specific thing. So if people would go back and look upon that issue and then reflect on the issues that have come out afterwards, they can, hopefully, see that there’s more at play than what’s on the page.

Manapul: I think the stories we’ve been putting out have been a continuous study of that theory. In a way, what we did in issue #2 by visually overwhelming — we weren’t just overwhelming Barry Allen, we were overwhelming the readers. If you’re following the concept of the Law of Congestion, right now, a lot of highways are being built. The Law of Congestion says, in order to fix it, destroy all of them.

On Wally West:

Manapul: The thing is, it’s coming from a pure fan perspective. I grew up with Wally West, but it’s one those things that, within the context of the story and the world we’re building, he doesn’t really fit. Really, just focusing on Barry Allen has allowed us to do a more streamlined story and give a very good character study on Barry. Especially since, when you think about it, a lot of people of this generation don’t know Barry Allen that well. I sort of feel it really ties everything together. Here are Brian and I on this journey, writing our first ongoing comic book, and we’re reintroducing Barry Allen and his journey in terms of self-discovery — and it’s the same things the readers are going through. They’re on a journey of discovering who Barry Allen is. Introducing Wally West might murky up the water. It’s not our decision, but I think it’s better that we just focus on Barry Allen. At the end of the day, our mission statement is to make Barry Allen as cool as possible. So we’re putting all our effort into doing that.

For much more, head over to CBR for the full interview!

Original Article

Flash #12 and Flash Annual Solicitations

THE FLASH #12
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale AUGUST 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• Setting up THE ROGUES as a team as the next major storyline for the series begins!

• GLIDER takes center stage!

What a gorgeous cover. DC’s August Justice League solicitations are up at The Source. The cover for the Flash Annual was revealed last week.

For the full Annual solicit, plus Kid Flash solo and Jay Garrick’s Earth 2 adventures, follow the jump…

THE FLASH ANNUAL #1
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL, MARCUS TO and others
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T

• The Rogues – victorious? If THE FLASH had trouble with them individually, together they’ll kill him!

• Something worse than The Rogues is just waiting for the right moment to attack….

Marcus To was recently announced as the artist for issues #10 and 11, and it appears he’ll be working on the Annual as well.

EARTH 2 #4
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by IVAN REIS
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• THE GREEN LANTERN, THE FLASH and HAWKGIRL in action!

• The debut of the all-new ATOM SMASHER!

• A monstrous evil claws its way out of the poisoned soil of EARTH 2!

Jay is not included on the cover, which features the new Hawkgirl.

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #12
Written by FABIAN NICIEZA
Art by JORGE JIMENEZ
Cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale AUGUST 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• KID FLASH stars in his first solo adventure, racing against time as he deals with the prehistoric trouble the TEEN TITANS brought back from MYSTERY ISLAND!

Original Article

Flash Annual Cover: More Revamped Rogues Revealed! (via Newsarama)

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are featured in a new interview over at Newsarama where they discuss the title’s next steps on the road to the one-year mark of the New 52. Within, the cover for the upcoming Flash Annual, due in September, is revealed. It features the first looks at new versions of Mirror Master, Heat Wave and a re-imagined Golden Glider, alongside Captain Cold, Turbine and the new Weather Wizard, forming a Gauntlet of Super Villains for the New 52 Flash.

Check out what the duo had to say about thematic ties to Flashpoint, the new, “crispy” Heat Wave, Weather Wizard: Drug Lord and the reintroduction of the Pied Piper (and much more!) after the jump…

The interview is pretty substantial, so we’ll highlight the big moments here. Be sure to check out the full version, including more on the Speed Force and other recent developments, over at Newsarama!

On their vision of the Speed Force, versus previous incarnations:

Buccellato: First of all, we wanted it to be something coherent and something that you can actually visualize and get a grasp on. So for us, a lot of it was practical. I think in the past it had been just, like, some blurry lines and speed force lines. And that’s really nebulous and sort of confusing. So when we decided that the speed force was literally going to be the forward motion of time and space, then we needed a visual representation. And that’s what we tried to come up with.

Manapul: The mechanics of how it works, even though this is new, it’s actually a combination of the ways it’s been explained in the past. It’s been explained as outside time. And now, it’s what’s running time forward. And it’s been mentioned that Barry Allen was the engine. And now, this shows Barry Allen to be the runner. So he’s still the chosen one. So we took a lot of the elements of the past.

On the possible lessons learned from Flashpoint:

Buccellato: We’re sort of saying that Flash innately learned his lesson from Flashpoint, like, without saying it. He just knows, somehow, that if you go back in time, you can screw everything up. It’s our little way of acknowledging the New 52 and everything that happened.

Manapul: Let’s be honest. We both gave a chuckle when he says, “We can’t go back in time and mess things up!”

On the Pied Piper, Hartley Rathaway (tip of the iceberg, here):

Manapul: He’s going to be a recurring character. He’s going to become part of the supporting cast. One of the things that Brian and I are really working on doing is having Barry’s supporting cast reflect the journey that he’s experiencing.

The conversation and the conflict that David Singh and Hartley are having are reflective of Barry Allen’s journey right now. But to answer your question, yes, Hartley will be coming back as a key character in the supporting cast.

On Weather Wizard:

Manapul: Issue #10 is Barry Allen dealing with the ramifications of all the things he just learned. So the issue really deals with the burden of this responsibility.

This will take our story to Guatemala, where Weather Wizard is currently residing. He is also reimagined a little bit. He’s a Guatamalan. And he’s currently running his family’s drug cartel business. And what happens is Patty’s inquiries and investigation lead her there.

On Heat Wave and (Golden) Glider:

Nrama: Before that, you have issue #11, which introduces the new Heat Wave. What kind of guy is he?

Buccellato: He’s a crispy guy.

Manapul: And Heat Wave hates Captain Cold. He hates him. He absolutely, absolutely hates Captain Cold.

…

I don’t think we’ve announced this before, but issue #12 focuses on Lisa Snart. She’ll be the last rogue that we’ll be putting the spotlight on before the Annual.

Nrama: Ah, the Golden Glider. Can you give us any hints about her?

Buccellato: Well, she’s not Golden Glider. She’s just Glider. And she’s the most different, probably, of any of the characters.

Manapul: But she’s still very much golden.

This is definitely one of the most revelatory interviews with the duo so far! Share your thoughts on the news and redesigns in the comments section, and check out the full piece over at Newsarama.

Original Article

Where’s Wally West? C2E2, Dan Didio, and the Illusion of Change

First off, sorry for the lack of updates last week. Sometimes, life gets too busy to blog.

There’s been a lot of talk about Wally West since C2E2 panels brought up the usual non-answers, and a Bleeding Cool reporter accidentally asked Dan Didio about Wally.

He explained that fans had grown up with Wally West, seen him get married and have children and with the de-aging of Barry Allen, it would cheat those fans who grew to love Wally to de-age him as well.

As a justification, it’s a bit disingenuous. “We shouldn’t do to Wally what we did to Barry” kind of suggests that maybe they shouldn’t have done it to Barry either. And while there’s something to “We’re making your favorite character go away because we know you wouldn’t like what we do with him,” it seems like it would rank right up there with “I don’t want to ruin our friendship by dating you” on phrases that people like to hear.

At Boston Comic Con, Francis Manapul mentioned a rejected a Wally cameo that he tried to put into an early issue of the New 52 Flash.

He doesn’t say how Wally would have appeared, and frankly, that’s a problem in itself. A few months ago when I met Brian Buccellato at a signing, he pointed out that having Barry Allen young and Bart Allen as Kid Flash kind of squeezes out Wally: Wally should be somewhere between Barry and Bart. But if Barry never died, and Bart’s already Kid Flash, where does that leave Wally?

There’s just no room for Wally West in the DCnU.

I kind of suspect that’s by design: A lot of Didio’s statements line up with that first panel of Comic Critics up above (though I’m sure he did watch Justice League Unlimited - and note the reference to the same nostalgia cycle I talked about recently), and he’s often talked about how Barry Allen is “more iconic” and otherwise superior to Wally West. I’ve long thought, cynically, that “more iconic” means “the version I grew up with,” but as I mull over the words reported by Bleeding Cool, I think it means something else.