DC Comics’ Source blog has revealed Mike Choi’s variant cover for “The Flash” #6, on sale Feb. 22.

“’The Flash’ is one of my favorite books right now, so it was a real pleasure and honor to get the chance to work on a cover for the title,” Choi told The Source. “I’m good friends with both [series writers and artists] Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, whom I’ve known pretty much my entire career, my first professional gig being the follow-up to Francis’ run on WITCHBLADE for Top Cow, with Brian being my colorist on the book, so of course this was a title I was definitely rooting for. Hopefully I’ve done just a little bit to add something to their book and its run.”

As hinted at in this variant cover to issue #6, Captain Cold returns in issue #7 of “The Flash.”

- Matt Price

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) announced today the upcoming launch of its second Downloadable Content (DLC) pack for DC Universe Online.  “Lightning Strikes,” set to be released worldwide later this year, will include  a new adventure with super-speedster The Flash.

The pack will launch simultaneously on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC, and will also introduce the game’s eighth power set: electricity powers.

“In this DLC pack, fans have the opportunity to immerse themselves in another great character and action-packed story from the DC Universe,” said Jens Andersen, Creative Director for DC Universe Online, in a news release. “With exciting gameplay, a new power set and new locations to share with your friends, we packed a whole new kind of fun into this DLC pack and are eager for our players to dive into another legendary adventure.”

The pack will also feature The Flash-themed characters and content with new maps and features, including, as described by SOE:

Central City – An all-new map that offers players a more open world experience that provides on-going gameplay, with solo and group missions.

The Flash Museum Duo – Players can now experience the Central City of today and tomorrow. In The Flash Museum Duo, players can travel back in time to the very moment when Barry Allen became The Flash and battle foes inside the Central City Police Station!

Electricity Powers – Players now have the opportunity to get the new Electricity Power set for current and new characters. The new Electricity Power set allows players to leverage the lightning power of electricity and use new types of attacks in combat. Electricity Powers include the Tesla Ball, which creates a floating ball of electricity that zaps nearby enemies; the Shockwave, which shoots streams of electric bolts at enemies; and Ionic Drain, which drains energy from the environment to replenish a player’s health while simultaneously damaging surrounding enemies.

New Gear – Players can earn all-new gear sets including the new Zoom-inspired gear set for villains, and the new Black Lightning-inspired gear set for heroes.

New Characters – Lightning Strikes brings players new iconic DC Universe characters including Livewire, Black Lightning, The Top, The Trickster, Static and more. New characters — such as Livewire — will be featured as new “Inspired By” options for players who can choose to create a new character inspired by some of DC Universe’s legendary characters. Additional new characters — such as Black Lighting — serve as a bounty mission that players can fight if they choose to be a villain.

The pack will be free for “Legendary” players, and available for $9.99 for free and premium players through the PlayStation Network Store, through the in-game Marketplace and on PC from the DC Universe Online website.

- Matt Price

Superman gets a new No. 1 as George Perez sets up the Daily Planet as a news organization that’s now a branch of a larger multimedia corporation.   For possibly obvious reasons, I love the Daily Planet part of the Superman mythos, and I’d love to see Perez dig into modern journalism.   Aquaman #1 is also a treat, as Geoff Johns puts the potential questions of the readership in the mouth of a semi-obnoxious blogger who questions the King of the Seas.

Here’s the list of releases that are part of DC Comics’ The New 52 hitting shelves today:

# ALL-STAR WESTERN #1

# AQUAMAN #1

# BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1

# BLACKHAWKS #1

# THE FLASH #1

# THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1

# GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #1

# I, VAMPIRE #1

# JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1

# THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1

# SUPERMAN #1

# TEEN TITANS #1

# VOODOO #1

- Matt Price
Click past the cut for the Superman theme, which you can play along while you read “Superman” #1 if you like.

The new “Flash” series, written and drawn by Francis Manapul, ships Sept. 28, and the DC Comics blog has revealed these teaser images.   Click past the cut for some cool icon-style teasers.   While I still find myself missing Wally West, I do think this new Barry Allen Flash series will be worth a look!   And like Collected Editions wrote: Wally West will be back.  We may not know when, but that’s the good thing about comics: Almost everybody comes back around again.  As it is, Mr. West can celebrate having one of the most consistent ongoing series of all time with the post-Crisis “Flash” series.

- Matt Price
Click past the cut for more images.

The two-plus-year storyline “Trial of the Flash,” primarily by Cary Bates and Carmine Infantino, was collected in a black-and-white Showcase edition by DC Comics last month.

The Showcase edition collects The Flash #323-327, 329-336 and 340-350.  When the Flash attempts to save his fiancee from the Reverse-Flash, the Reverse-Flash is killed.   The Flash is put on trial for manslaughter, in one of the longest-running storylines of the time.

I can see how fans would have tired this a month at a time, especially in an era where continued storylines were more rare.  And the legal fallacies in the series are rather extreme.  But the series does have a soap opera type charm, as the Flash deals with attacks on his lawyers, the deteriorating mind of his fiancee, and the return of his rogues gallery.

With 24 issues collected for  $19.99, it’s a good value for the money.  And though some issues in the run were left out, the story flows cleanly for the most part.  However, one issue that’s primarily a Kid Flash reprint is included, so you kind of wonder why to include that and not some of the trial subplots in the excluded issues.

You can find a summary of what was left out of the Showcase in this Speedforce post.

While there’s plenty you could criticize about the story, or the exclusion of issues, it’s an interesting snapshot of a different period in time for a character that has had a recent resurgence of popularity.

- Matt Price
Comics read in 2011:  1,316. Still to go: 695.

With DC Comics’ The New 52 about to kick off, DC has revealed two new variants for “The Flash” #1.  Ivan Reis and Tim Townsend drew the above-pictured cover. Click past the cut for the variant by Francis Manapul, which is an alternate-color scheme variant of the main cover.

- Matt Price

Tulsa-born Sterling Gates has his first comic-book release since the end of his acclaimed “Supergirl” run today, with the release of “Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost” No. 1, the first in a three-part limited series.   The series has ties to DC’s “Flashpoint,” the large summer event written by Geoff Johns.

“KID FLASH LOST is a FLASHPOINT mystery, as Bart and the mysterious character known as Hot Pursuit try to unravel what has happened when the world they wake up in is not their own. Bart will deal with many of the character threads set up in Geoff Johns’ “Road to Flashpoint” storyarc even as he confronts the greatest danger the 31st century has ever seen,” Gates said at DC Comics’ Source blog.

“Kid Flash Lost” is one of 16 “Flashpoint” miniseries.  The first issue of each is shipping with a promotional button featuring the series’ logo.

The issue is illustrated by Oliver Nome and Trevor Scott.

Gates, who graduated from the University of Oklahoma, has also written “Green Lantern Corps” for the publisher, and co-wrote the 2010 miniseries “War of the Supermen,” which spun out of DC’s Free Comic Book Day issue.

In September, he’ll write “Hawk and Dove” as part of DC’s relaunch of its line.  That book will be illustrated by Rob Liefeld (“Youngblood”).

- Matt Price

Flashpoint: Citizen Cold 1.
In this Flashpoint mini, written and drawn by Scott Kolins, Captain Cold is instead Citizen Cold, supposed protector of Central City. But this celebrated hero still has what appears to be a cold heart. And even though it’s an alternate world, you may be surprised by this issue’s ending.  The dialogue’s a little awkward, but Kolins’ art remains solid.    And Kolins has a good handle on the Rogues, so Flash fans will probably want to check this one out.

Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #1
King Brion of Markovia must decide whether to ally himself with Aquaman in the first issue of this Flashpoint miniseries by Tony Bedard.  This gives you an insight to the Aquaman of the Flashpoint universe, who bears some similarities to Marvel’s Namor at his darkest, plus some.

Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1
The patchwork creature Frankenstein leads a small group of mutated humans during world war 2 against the axis powers. After the war, the group is put in suspended animation against their will before accidentally being released in 2011. By Jeff Lemire and Ibraim Roberson.

Screamland #1
In a world where old-style movie monsters were real, they’ve now been replaced by cgi and twilight-style stars. They make their living going to conventions and signing autographs for old-time fans. But when the invisible man threatens to release a sex tape from the group’s glory days, the wolf man fears what might happen.  Writers Harold Sipe and Christopher Sebela and artist Lee Leslie have created a mystery that will appeal to horror movie fans.

Ka-Zar #1
Ka-Zar attempts to stop capitalistic exploitation of the Savage Land in this Paul Jenkins series.

Mystery Men #1
David Liss and Patrick Zircher create this murder mystery set in the Depression-era with the pulp-inspired Marvel “mystery men.”

Ultimate Spider-Man #159
A good examination of Peter Parker’s heroism as the “Death of Spider-Man” looms.

X-Men Legacy #250
Mike Carey and Khoi Pham are the creative team in this issue, which features the X-Men attempting to track down and subdue Legion’s miscreant personalities.    The team of Xavier, Magneto, Rogue, Gambit and Frenzy, along with Legion himself, is potentially an interesting lineup.

From 6/1:

Flashpoint: Abin Sur, the Green Lantern #1
In the Flashpoint universe, Abin Sur didn’t die, and thus never bequeathed the ring to Hal Jordan.

Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance #1
The “100 Bullets” team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso explore the seamy world of this world’s Batman.

Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1
Peter Milligan again writing “Shade, the Changing Man” is interesting, even if it’s a little unclear what’s going on.  George Perez illustrates.

Flashpoint: World of Flashpoint #1
It’s a primer for the world of Flashpoint, sure, but it’s intertwined with the story of a father and his daughter who can’t overcome their personal tragedy to reconnect.

From the back issues:

Tiny Titans 28. (July 2010) Art Baltazar and Franco create an issue focusing on the super-pets.

Geronimo Stilton Vols. 1-3 (NBM/Papercutz): Geronimo Stilton, a newspaper editor on Mouse Island, time-travels to stop the machinations of the Pirate Cats, who seek to remake history in their own image.

- Matt Price
Comics read in 2011:  788 Still to go: 1223.

Kyle Roberts and Matt Price have a giveaway of “Thor: Tales of Asgard” with this week’s Planet 46 Comics podcast. Just leave a comment below with your favorite Thor character.

Also this week:
Matt and Kyle discuss the DC Comics relaunch (we say “reboot” a few times because we filmed this before the “this is not a reboot” e-mail). We look at the Marvel Comics death in Fear Itself #3 and its possible impact. We discuss the planned 2012 return of Valiant Comics with former Marvel Comics CEO Peter Cuneo. And we discuss X-Men: First Class.

REVIEW FILE: Flashpoint #2, Amazing Spider-Man #663, Criminal: Last of the Innocent #1

Comics read in 2011: 741. Still to go: 1270

Tulsa-born writer Sterling Gates has been announced as the writer for the Flashpoint tie-in miniseries”Kid Flash Lost Starring Bart Allen” No. 1.

The announcement, at DC Comics’ Source blog, also shares that the covers for the series will be by Francis Manapul and the art by Oliver Nome.

Gates, a University of Oklahoma graduate, was originally tapped to write a Kid Flash series in 2009; the book was sidelined in order to allow DC Comics to focus solely on the Barry Allen Flash.

Gates was the writer of “Supergirl” from 2008 to 2010, working primarily with artist Jamal Igle.  Gates has also written issues of “Green Lantern Corps” and “Adventure Comics,” among others, and wrote the 2009-2010 mini “World’s Finest.”

With James Robinson, Gates wrote DC Comics’ 2010 Free Comic Book Day issue, “War of the Supermen,” and the following miniseries.

- Matt Price

DALLAS, Texas — Announced at the ComicsPRO Annual Members Meeting and at the Source blog, the Flashpoint series coming from DC Comics will feature incentives including a Flash ring and logo buttons for the 16 tie-in miniseries.

Flashpoint #1 will go on sale May 11.  The first issue will feature a black-and-white 1:25 variant and an Ivan Reis and George Perez variant.

A Flash ring will be tied to ordering “Flashpoint” #2.   Logo buttons for each of the new series logos – which feature altered versions of DC Universe characters – will be offered with the 16 3-issue miniseries.   These will be available in the direct market only.

The solicit for “Flashpoint” was also released today:

Everything You Know Will Change in a Flash!

Not a dream, not an imaginary story, not an elseworld. This is a Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it? It’s a place where America’s last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of the Outsider, the Secret 7, S!H!A!Z!A!M!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces.

It’s a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can’t find the villain who altered the time line!

Welcome to FLASHPOINT!

- Matt Price

DC Comics announced via its Source blog 14 miniseries that will tie into the “Flashpoint” event.  No information at this point on the 15th series, or on the creative teams for these miniseries.   The miniseries are broken into subcategories with labels beginning with “Whatever Happened To…”   The main “Flashpoint” 5-issue series is to be written by Geoff Johns with art by Andy Kubert.

Click past the cut for the list.

Whatever Happened to Gotham City?

FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #1-#3

Whatever Happened to the World’s Greatest Super Villains?

FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: DEATHSTROKE & THE CURSE OF THE RAVAGER #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: THE OUTSIDER #1-#3

Whatever Happened to the Aliens?

FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: PROJECT: SUPERMAN #1-#3

Whatever Happened to Science & Magic?

FLASHPOINT: FRANKENSTEIN & THE CREATURES OF THE UNKNOWN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: SECRET SEVEN #1-#3

Whatever Happened to Europe?

FLASHPOINT: EMPEROR AQUAMAN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: WONDER WOMAN AND THE FURIES #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: LOIS LANE AND THE RESISTANCE #1-#3

Everything You Know Will Change in a Flash

FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT #1-#3

DC Comics' 2011 Free Comic Book Day comic book

DC Comics has announced via its Source blog what its comic book for Free Comic Book Day 2011 will be: A Green Lantern special edition also featuring a preview of the new series “Flashpoint.”  Both will be written by Geoff Johns.

Ivan Reis is the artist for the “Green Lantern” story, which reprints “Green Lantern” #30.   Andy Kubert is the artist on the “Flashpoint” preview.   Free Comic Book Day is May 7, 2011.   The “Green Lantern” film is set for a June 17 release.

- Matt Price

Flash expert Kelson Vibber of SpeedForce.org shares a guest post with Nerdage readers to find out six things you never knew about DC Comics’ speedster The Flash!

1. Honesty is the Best Policy

The Flash was one of the first super-heroes to be honest with his love interest about his dual life. While Lois Lane spent decades caught in a love triangle between Clark Kent and Superman, Joan Williams was the first person Jay Garrick told about his super-speed — way back in 1940! She would often bring him cases or help conceal his secret identity.

At first, Barry Allen kept his life as the Flash secret from Iris West, but he told her the truth on their first wedding anniversary.

It turned out that she’d known for a year…because he talked in his sleep!

2. Renumbering Goes Way Back

Barry Allen didn’t make his first appearance in The Flash #1. In fact, there was no Flash #1 until 1987! During the 1940s, Jay Garrick’s adventures appeared in an anthology called Flash Comics (like Action Comics, Detective Comics, Sensation Comics, etc.), where he co-starred with Hawkman, Black Canary and other heroes.That book ended in 1949 with issue #104.

Years later, DC tried out a reboot of the Flash in Showcase, testing the waters with four issues before they felt confident enough to give him his own series in 1959. Even then, they decided to make it look like a long-term success rather than a new, untested feature…by picking up the numbering where Flash Comics had left off with #105.

3. Lost Tales of the Golden Age

Flash Comics was canceled so abruptly in 1949 that several finished stories were left unpublished. “Journey Into Danger” and “Tale of the Three Tokens” were printed twenty years later as backup stories. Two pages of “Strange Confession” were printed in a 1970s Lois Lane comic book featuring Rose and the Thorn. Panels and a few pages survive from two more stories: “The Garrick Curse” and “King Arthur in a Connecticut Yankee’s Court” (reversing Mark Twain’s original title).

The Flash Companion reprints seven pages of this lost artwork. You can find an excerpt from the article describing these lost stories at http://speedforce.org/2008/07/lost-gold/

4. Successful Flashes end with Y

Jay Garrick’s solo career lasted for 10 years with 200-odd stories spread across 3 different series. Barry Allen’s original run lasted 30 years and nearly 250 issues. Wally West was the lead speedster for 23 years and 247 issues, with a year off near the end. The odd man out?

Bart Allen, whose solo career lasted just one year, a paltry 13 issues…which ended with him being killed. And the first thing DC did when they brought him back was shave 5 years off his age and stick him back in the Kid Flash outfit.

5. Barry Allen is a Comic-Book Geek

The very first time Barry Allen appears on panel, he’s reading a Golden-Age Flash comic book. The same comic book inspires him to call himself the Flash when he gets super-speed. Later *ahem* flashbacks showed a young Barry Allen dressing up as Jay Garrick in a homemade costume with a helmet made from a pie tin.

Years later, Barry still kept his comic collection and would read through it when stressed out. A neighbor kid would sometimes visit to look at the old comics and talk about them with Barry. According to The Life Story of the Flash, that neighbor kid went on to draw the DC Universe’s version of the Justice League of America comic book!

6. It Wasn’t Just Lightning

Oh, sure, you’ve heard about the Speed Force being the source of the Flash’s powers…until Flash: Rebirth retconned it into being the source of everyone’s powers except Barry Allen. So where did Barry get his powers from? According to a 1967 story called “The Real Origin of the Flash,” he was actually granted his powers by a nerdy-looking imp named Mopee, a tenth-level “Heavenly Helpmate” who directed the lightning bolt toward Barry’s window.

The story was reviled so much that it was quietly swept under the rug and forgotten. Mopee was never mentioned again in continuity. The original Who’s Who series in 1985 made a point to mention that the story was “entirely incorrect.”

Nostalgia for Silver Age goofiness, however, continues to sneak in references. The humor comic Ambush Bug gave Mopee a hand in the origins of a dozen other DC and Marvel heroes. Super Friends put him in a one-page gag with Mr. Mxytzptlk, Bat-Mite and Qwsp. Even the otherwise serious Life Story of the Flash shows Barry analysing a drug called monoglycetic peptide enzyme, known on the street as “mopee.”

- Kelson Vibber

http://Hyperborea.org - http://SpeedForce.org

Superman races Flash

I’m running as fast as I can again today, which often inspires me to post a cover of the Flash.  Here, he’s racing Superman in this Treasury edition that reprinted the two Superman-Flash races that had been printed up to that time. Find out more about the issue, and other super-cool Treasury editions, at TreasuryComics.com.

- Matt Price

Like Wally West, I’m running as fast as I can today.  So, thanks to Once Upon a Geek, here’s a fast look at an old favorite.   This summer, Once Upon A Geek took a look at some of the 1987 DC Comics advertisements, where I found the promo for the new Wally West series by Mike Baron, Jackson Guice and Larry Mahlstedt.  The Baron “Flash” run is a nostalgic favorite for me, so it was cool to see this ad again. Check out advertisements for other DC 1987 launches in the link!

- Matt Price

Warner Bros. recently announced that a Flash movie was nearing a green light.  But which Flash should be the focus?  Given the comics’ recent refocus on Barry Allen, that’s the most likely result.  But Jay Garrick, Wally West (shown) and Bart Allen have all worn the guise of the Flash at different times.  Who would you like the “Flash” movie to feature?  Vote below!

- Matt Price

From Speedforce.org, a fantastic blog about the Flash:

In celebration of the Flash relaunch, the Flash blog Speed Force has teamed up with jeweler Arroba Silver for a contest: Design and win your own Flash Ring! It won’t be like the plastic rings that DC is shipping with The Flash #1, either: we’re talking sterling silver.

The contest is simple: send in your design for a Flash ring by noon EDT on Monday, April 26. If you win, Arroba Silver will send you an actual ring made from your design. The winning design may also be produced as a limited edition ring.

You can see some of the entries so far here:

Submissions are due by noon EDT on April 26 – That’s just two weeks away!

Contest details and rules are available at Speed Force.

Heritage Auctions has announced a high-grade copy of “Flash Comics” No. 1 has sold for $450,000 on March 12.   A service called “Make Offer to Owner” allows buyers to make offers to buyers from previous Heritage Auctions.

The seller had originally obtained it for $273,125 in a January 2006 Heritage auction, and the buyer initiated this latest purchase directly through the new feature at HA.com.

“This is the finest known copy of the 1940 DC Comics first appearance of the Flash and Hawkman,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions, in a news release.  “It’s graded by CGC as Near Mint Plus 9.6, and it was part of the famous Edgar Church ‘Mile High’ Collection, universally considered the finest comic book collection of all-time.”

The buyer’s and seller’s names were not released.

For more information, visit www.ha.com.

- Matt Price

Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss record prices for Action Comics 1 and Detective Comics 27; Captain America casting rumors including John Krasinski; and reviews of comic books from this week including Flash: Rebirth 6, Dark Wolverine 83, Blackest Night 7 and X-Men Forever 18.

At a video statement at Newsarama discussing plans for 2010, DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio states that the Kid Flash series, which was to be written by Tulsa native Sterling Gates, has been put on hold.  Additionally, a planned co-feature with Wally West has also been sidelined.  DiDio indicated that the “Flash” plan for next year was to focus solely on the recently revived Silver Age Flash.

“Your ‘Flash’ fix will be Barry Allen, pure and simple, for 2010,” DiDio said in the video.

Gates still has several DC projects in the works for the coming year – he’s involved with in a four-issue arc on “Adventure Comics” and he’s writing “Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton” with James Robinson.   And Gates is still the regular writer on “Supergirl” with artist Jamal Igle.

- Matt Price

Like Pete Sampras in the 1996 U.S. Open against Alex Corretja, I fought off illness and exhaustion to bring you this week’s NewsOK Comics Podcast with Kyle Roberts. We talk about the excellent week DC Comics had, with new issues of Supergirl, Adventure Comics and Flash Rebirth, and about Spider-Man’s trip into the Gauntlet with Amazing Spider-Man 612. Check it out.

- Matt Price

At Newsarama, Dan Didio talked about the upcoming “Kid Flash” series to be written by Sterling Gates.   He revealed Gates will be working closely with Geoff Johns to keep continuity among the “Flash” franchise.
He also revealed (SPOILER WARNING) that Max Mercury would appear in the series.

Didio says at Newsarama:

I think Sterling’s already doing such a great job on Supergirl, and he’ll bring a lot of those same sensibilities to Kid Flash. That’s one of the reasons we chose him for that series. Also, you’ll still see the dynamic between Kid Flash and Max Mercury, if I’m not mistaken. And I think that’s new information, so you did get something out of me. But Max will be featured in this series as well. So if somebody’s a fan of Impulse, they’ll get that relationship back in the Kid Flash series. Because of the Max/Bart relationship, I think they’ll be very pleasantly surprised about what the plans are for the book.

Kid Flash looks to be a great fit for what Gates does well, and I look forward to seeing what’s in store for the series!

- Matt Price

SAN DIEGO — An Oklahoma writer is hitting the fast lane.

Sterling Gates, an OU graduate who was born in Tulsa, was named the writer of a new Kid Flash ongoing series at Comic-Con International.  The series will star the character Bart Allen and will tie into Geoff Johns’ Flash series.

“It’s too early to talk about specifics, but I’m really psyched to be working closely with Geoff Johns. We want to make the two Flash universe books as exciting as possible,” Gates said, “and I think we can do it.”

Gates is the writer of “Supergirl” and is writing a “World’s Finest” miniseries featuring characters from the Superman and Batman families of characters.

- Matt Price

Wally West, aka the Flash, will be one of the superheroes in “DC Universe Online,” the massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the DC Comics Universe.

Information from Sony Online Entertainment on the Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, Wally West easily runs at light speed, vibrates through objects, create explosions through friction – and, when at agonizing top capacity, can manipulate time and bridge dimensions.

The Flash is a time-honored member of the Justice League. The latest in a long line of Flashes, each with their own unique way of tapping into the primal “Speed Force,” Wally is determined to live up to the noble legacies of speedsters such as Barry Allen, Max Mercury, and Jay Garrick.

Flash’s enemies call themselves the Rogues Gallery. This deadly collection of brutal foes includes Captain Cold, Heatwave, Mirror Master, and the lethal speedster Zoom – villainous threats not just to Keystone City, but the world.

The New Mutants team up again, and Spider-Man works around the clock in this week’s comics. Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss those highlights, plus two comics about running: Final Crisis Aftermath Run and Flash Rebirth 2.

WORD BALLOONS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Flash and Green Lantern will be the “cornerstones” of the DC Universe in the coming year, said writer Geoff Johns, speaking at the ComicsPRO annual members’ meeting last week.

ComicsPRO is a nonprofit organization of direct-market comic store retailers.

Johns is the writer of the upcoming “Flash: Rebirth,” slated for release on April 1, and “Blackest Night,” which kicks off with a free No. 0 issue on May 2, Free Comic Book Day. “Blackest Night” No. 0 is the first original story created by DC for a FCBD giveaway. The first half of the book will be by Johns and Ivan Reis.

“It’s a 12-page story that’s a lead-in to the DC Universe through Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Barry Allen (Flash),” Johns said. “I look at Hal and Barry as very different in how they’re coming into the DC Universe.”

The Flash died a hero in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” saving the world from the Anti-Monitor, before returning in “Final Crisis” last year. Hal Jordan was turned evil by the entity Parallax and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps before dying in the “Final Night” series. In the 2004 series “Green Lantern: Rebirth,” Hal Jordan was purged of the entity and returned as a hero.

“There’s a line in (“Blackest Night” No. 0) where Hal says, ‘You died a saint and I died a sinner,’” Johns said, referring to the different situations in which the two close friends now find themselves.

Barry Allen returning from the dead is “the worst thing that ever happened to him,” Johns said.

“I think a lot of people are wondering why we’re bringing Barry Allen back,” Johns said. “But really ‘Flash: Rebirth’ is knee-deep in doing what we do best.”
“Flash: Rebirth” is from the creative team of “Green Lantern: Rebirth,” Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver.

DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio announced that, based on pre-orders, “Flash: Rebirth” No. 1 will be DC Comics’ top book for April.

“Blackest Night” No. 1 will launch July 15, written by Johns and drawn by Reis.  It will tie in with “Green Lantern” and “Green Lantern Corps.”

“I’ve been working really hard on Green Lantern for the last few years,” Johns said.  “When we did (the) Sinestro Corps (storyline), it was kind of a surprise for a lot of people,” Johns said.  “But now that we’re headed toward ‘Blackest Night,’ the fact that readers, retailers, DC, everybody’s really excited about it, that gets me excited, because I’ve been wanting to tell this story for a long time.”

By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

I have to showcase the talents of Multimedia Editor Mike Koehler here, with his Flash haikus.  (We were discussing an easy way to teach kids superhero origins.  Once I said “haiku,” he was off and running.)  Want to share your own Flash haikus?  Hit the comments section, I’d love to see ‘em.

Barry Allen runs

Upon the cosmic treadmill.

Can’t he just stay dead?

—

Chemicals hit you.

Then covered Wally West, too.

What are the chances?

–

Barry Allen thought

yellow was cool until he

met Professor Zoom.

Today’s really quick update brought to you by Wally West, who became the Flash following the death of his mentor Barry Allen in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”  I think the first year of the new “Flash” series, written by Mike Baron (“Nexus”) did a good job of setting up Wally for solo success, even if he was sometimes unlikeable.   Baron did a good job of setting up a Flash that was going to be different from his predecessor while still trying his best to honor the legacy. 

– Matt Price