Tag: DC

Posted on
by

Flash poster by Alex RossDC Comics released their July solicitations today, along with some of the books due in August. They managed to say absolutely nothing informative (or, to be honest, particularly interesting) about Flash #14—just that it’s going to be big. C’mon, show, don’t tell!

On the plus side, we now have a cover and a confirmed date for Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told: August 15. The table of contents hasn’t changed from the initial announcement, so it sounds like it’s final. At least for promotion, they’re using Alex Ross’ portrait of the Flash.

Tangent ComicsOddly enough, the one thing on the list that actually got me excited was the first collection of Tangent Comics, due August 29. (Edit: I’ve updated the image at the left to the final cover. Originally, DC posted the cover from Tangent Comics: The Atom)

Tangent Comics was a fifth-week* event back in 1997 that built an entirely new fictional universe using only the names from DC’s stable of characters. The Atom became a nuclear-powered Superman type. Green Lantern became a mysterious figure whose lantern could bring souls back from the dead to complete unfinished business. The Flash was a human made of light. The event consisted of nine books, each designed as if it were the first issue of an ongoing series, and was successful enough that they followed it up with a second round in 1998. Continue reading →

Posted on
by

For all the griping and complaining about the way DC Comics managed the Flash relaunch, I’m beginning to think maybe Wonder Woman fared even worse. At least Flash has stayed monthly, and has never been delayed by more than a week (unless you count the shipping mishap in December that prevented the book from reaching the west coast).

Wonder WomanWonder Woman launched with a 5-part story, “Who is Wonder Woman?” involving both Diana, Amazon Princess of Themyscira and Donna Troy. Flash launched with a 6-part story, “Lightning in a Bottle,” setting up Bart Allen to take over as the Flash. Flash is already up to #8. Wonder Woman has gone bimonthly, and is only up to #4. And it’s so far behind, DC has scheduled a fill-in story for #5. The conclusion “will be rescheduled at a future date.” Naturally, the book collecting the story has been delayed as well.

So here we are, nearly a year out from One Year Later, and one of DC’s flagship characters is still mucking about with a semi-origin story. It’s kind of sad, because I picked up #1 out of curiosity, and thought they did an admirable job of simplifying Donna Troy’s backstory for new readers. It’s complicated—but it doesn’t have to be, if you can focus on just what’s necessary.

On the plus side, Wonder Woman fans knew where Diana was by the end of issue #1, unlike us Flash fans who had to wait until #6 to get a hint of Wally West’s fate, and it’s been clear from Justice League of America and other books, that Diana would be coming back, so they probably haven’t had to deal with the great schism that’s divided Flash fans over the past year.

Posted on
by

[Flash Logo]In 1991, DC released The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told, part of a series of hardcovers collecting classic stories about their signature characters. It was reprinted in softcover a few years later, but both editions have been long out of print. When DC started releasing new “Greatest Stories…” books last year, I figured it was only a matter of time before they released a new edition. Yesterday, DC announced that Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told will appear in July of this year:

THE FLASH: THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD TP
Writers: Robert Kanigher, Gardner Fox, John Broome, Cary Bates and Mark Waid.
Artists: Lee Elias, Carmine Infantino, Ross Andru, Irv Novick, José Luís Garcia-López, Kurt Schaffenberger, Alex Saviuk, Mike Wieringo, Joe Giella, Wallace Wood, Joe Kubert, Frank Giacoia, Mike Esposito, Murphy Anderson and José Marzan Jr.

Collects stories from FLASH COMICS #86 and 104, THE FLASH #123, 155, 165 and 179, DC SPECIAL SERIES #11 and THE FLASH (Second Series) #91.
$19.99 US, 208 pages

I pulled out my copy of the 1991 edition, and it’s fair to say this is an entirely different book. There are only two stories in common: “Stone Age Menace,” and “The Flash—Fact or Fiction?” The new book is also about eighty pages shorter than the old one.

Here’s the character breakdown:

Flash  1991 book  2007 book 
Jay Garrick 4 2 / 4
Barry Allen 12 5
Wally West 1 1 / 2

Both books are very heavily focused on Barry Allen, and each includes just one story with Wally West as the Flash. Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told includes two crossover stories: “Flash of Two Words” features both Barry and Jay, and “Beyond the Super-Speed Barrier” features all three during Wally’s days as Kid Flash.

So, assuming the contents are final, do they hold up to the title’s promise? Continue reading →

Posted on
by

Bart as Impulse in 'Justice'With Bart Allen returning to Smallville tonight—alongside Cyborg, Green Arrow, and Aquaman—I find myself wondering about the best way to hang onto just a few episodes. Last night I went looking for my tape of “Run,” the first episode in which he appeared, and I couldn’t find it.

I have no interest in buying full seasons of Smallville, but I’d like to have copies of the two episodes with Bart (partly for character research, partly for completism). Warner Bros. has no reason to release individual episode DVDs, but downloadable episodes (as in iTunes) might be an option.

Another possibility: themed collections. There have been enough episodes guest-starring other DC heroes that WB could do something similar to Buffy‘s Slayer Collection, or The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror” set. A single disc featuring, let’s say, the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman episodes (Green Arrow might need his own disc), followed by tonight’s big team-up, “Justice.”

Hey, I’d buy it.

Posted on
by

[Flash Logo]A post on the Comic Bloc Forums the other day made me think about the question: Which Flash had the longest solo career?

It depends on how you measure it. The original Flash, Jay Garrick, has of course been around the longest: 1940–today. He’s got more than 65 years on his successors. But a more useful question is: How long was each Flash around before DC replaced him as “the” Flash?

The easiest measurement: years in publication.

Name Start End Span
Jay Garrick 1940 – 1951 11 years*
Barry Allen 1956 – 1986 30 years
Wally West 1986 – 2006 20 years
Bart Allen 2006 just starting

Barry is the clear winner by this measure, at three times Jay’s career, and 1½ times Wally’s.

But what about sheer number of comics**? Continue reading →