Sunday, January 30, 2011

Holy Crap, DC Has Gone Nuts!!

Wait a minute wait a minute.

So the Flashpoint event is going to include not only the 5-issue series itself (50 quatloos says it expands to 6, as most Geoff Johns projects end up expanding...)? There are going to be 15--yes, FIFTEEN--3 issue tie-in mini-series!! 15???? Plus "several important one shots"????

It seems almost beyond the realm of possibility that DC would have to capacity to come up with 900+ pages of material in addition to what they already publish. Plus, is it really wise to flood the market with so much excess product?

Now, before I get too upset, this post on the DC Source blog makes it sound as if maybe, just maybe, these mini-series will be taking the place of some of the regular DC titles for those months (a la what happened with the X-Titles during Age Of Apocalypse, except seemingly on a grander scale. ). "This isn't a parallel Earth. This isn't a mirror world. This is home."

While on the one hand, if true this would might sense (and at least salvage my wallet a bit). So maybe we will see, for example, The Secret Seven published in place of The Secret Six for three months.

On the other hand, Age Of Apocalypse aside, isn't it completely nuts to scrap a good chunk of your entire line of comics for "alternate universe" versions for the whole summer?? Especially when Flashpoint is by Johns and Andy Kubert, and you know damn well it will finish months late!! (Then again, maybe a 3+ month break will enable Flash's own comic to approach being on time again...)

Obviously, I should wait until more information...and the specific solicits and dates and such ...before I mouth off anymore.

But either way...Holy Moly, has DC gone completely mad??

Below is a list of the scheduled mini-series, with the fifteenth being kept a secret by DC for now...

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

5 comments:

Eyz said...

Exactly what I was thinking this would turn out like.

This will be the "House of M" of DC.
With the same kind of universe-alterning plot, the same kind of repercussions and the same type of one-shots/on-goings altered published under the banner of the event.

Martin Gray said...

I'm really not looking forward to this one. Give me
my imaginary stories as one-off, occasional treats, not in massive great lumps. Every series should be compelling without the need for line-wide stunts.

Siskoid said...

Flashpoint was the title of an Elseworlds mini, wasn't it?

Mark Engblom said...

It's as a fan of Geoff Johns that I regretfully say: This may be his first major "black eye" as DC's resident Wunderkind. The scope of this story far exceeds the general appeal of a "House of M" style temporary switcheroo, and pushing the Flash so far into metaphysical/cosmos-altering territory is incredibly risky and, frankly, very premature. The Barry Allen Flash is still pretty "new" to the modern DCU to be pulling stuff like this.

Yeah, I know, Snell....Johns is a favorite pinata of yours. But, in the case of the bloated and overwrought Flashpoint, it looks like you're right to be skeptical.

snell said...

Well, Mark, I think it's premature to call it a black eye. For all we know this will outsell Blackest Night. And heck, since Johns' and Morrison's books are the only ones that sell well for DC, you can hardly blame them for trying to ride those coat tails--and it may not even have been Johns' idea to go so nuts.

But, for what it's worth, I agree about the wisdom of pinning so much on Barry Allen right now. Both through curious story choices and deadline problems, virtually nothing has been done to rebuild and develop Barry as a character (heck, he wasn't even in the last two issues!!). Premature is putting it lightly.