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Dan Didio spilled the beans (here on Newsarama) about who will take over the writing reins on The Flash when it reboots with a new #1 issue. In case you weren't keeping score, there was plenty of speculation as to who this might be; Mark Waid and Grant Morrison were two of the names mentioned. Who is it really? Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo. Wha-huh? I knew the names right away--they were the producers/creators of the Flash TV series which I reviewed just the other week. Talk about serendipity, getting an 16 year old TV series (which they probably never thought to see another dime from) collected on DVD and then getting to write the comic book series a few weeks later! Ken Lashley will be doing the artwork (click to expand his developmental art work on the right), although it might be cool if Bilson and De Meo were paired with Howard Chaykin (their co-producer on the Flash) as the artist. Lashley is just fine, but Bilson and De Meo had better be freaking outstanding. Interesting comments from Didio on the Flash's role in generational change within the DC Universe. I totally agree. Nuff said.
Flash Facts: January 2006 Archives
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Flash #230, written by Joey Cavaleri, marks the last issue of the Flash's current run. Instead of wrapping up 20 years of history with a touching farewell, it is just pointless filler material. It tries to bring Wally's adventures full circle, by having him fight the same villain from Flash #1: Vandal Savage. I couldn't get into the story. Savage is so over the top, with his little space cult, and dropping names like Chairman Mao. It really has no meaning or impact on Wally's life and really suffers in comparison to Johns' last two years on the book.
Long time Flash fans will remember Flash 350, which was the final issue for the Barry Allen character. Written by Cary Bates and appropriately drawn by Carmine Infantino (the greatest silver age Flash artist), this issue wrapped up two years worth of plotlines and reunited Barry with his wife Iris--who we all thought had been killed by Professor Zoom! It gave Barry and Iris a brief bit of happiness in the future--enough time for them to conceive twins. The ominous caption in the last page read "They all lived happily ever after...for a little while."
DC should have ended the series with Geoff Johns' final issue, which had a great sendoff to Wally West. It eerily paralleled Flash V1 350, by resolving the most tragic event in Wally and Linda's marriage--losing her unborn babies. Wally undid the tragic event in a near-fatal confrontation with Zoom. He ran off down the road with memories of his past adventures, like a cowboy riding off into the sunset.
The events in Infinite Crisis #4 are really intriguing. The Wests are leaving Earth for another place, but where? A new Earth? Or perhaps the future, where Barry found refuge? I can't wait to find out. On the other hand, I'm not too excited about Bart becoming the Flash, but I'll give it a chance. Wally becoming the Flash was a big event, but it felt like he earned it with numerous Flash appearances, short stories, and as a founding member of the Teen Titans. I'm sure younger fans can say the same about Bart. Flash #1 with Bart feels weird. Nuff said.
Now you gotta know, based on my name, that the Flash is my all-time favorite character. I love the Broome\Fox\Infantino version, the Baron\Guice version, the Waid\Weiringo version, and the Johns\Kolins version. And this was way before 1990, but I had fairly good memories of the TV show that premiered that year. Yesterday I received the Flash DVD set and watched the pilot episode. Oh my god. It stunk worse than a crate of thousand year old eggs. All the characters dress in the excesses of the 80s. It's like all the extras and rejects of Miami Vice and MTV showed up on the Flash set. Paula Marshall plays Iris Allen and wears clothes that might have looked good on Boy George. The sets were decorated in primary colors (blues, purples, etc.) which reminded me of Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy movie. The pilot features the threat of a--gasp--motorcycle gang, who peddle around the studio set very slowly lobbing lime green balls that are powerful enough to explode buses and set cars aflame. The actors don't seem to have much enthusiasm, except for John Wesley Shipp as the Flash and Tim Thomerson as his brother. When you see ol' Jack in a piece like this, the quality speaks for itself. Although I think he's probably the best actor in the pilot!.
Watching this, you see how far technology has come in modern TV shows. In some of the action scenes, the movement of all the actors and stunt men is way too slow. The way they portray the Flash running around the streets, they just took some film and sped it up. The Smallville episode with Kid Flash had small Matrix-like effects to convey the sense of speed. Kid Flash could run on the water with no difficulty. His race with Clark Kent at the end looked pretty good, too. I don't know if I can watch anymore 1990 Flash. I had some good memory of the Trickster episodes...but it's Mark Hamill. Nuff said.
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