A postella.

That's like a novella. It's shorter than an actual post.

Since Flash Rebirth #4 releases today (finally!) I would just like to state once again my extreme and utter dislike for the Kid Flash costume which looks exactly like the costume of the Reverse Flash.

Okay, that's it. More later. Big day in DC, with TEC, Rebirth, the Secret Six TP, and Sirens out today. And possibly more zombies. I really don't know.

(Still no Marvel titles I have any interested in...)

Bart Allen is back. More back than he was before!

Comic Book Resources did an interview with Geoff Johns here that's mostly about his work on various Flash-related things, and a little bit about Blackest Night. But only as it's related to Flash-related things.

During the interview, which I've got mixed feelings about (more on that later), he mentioned that Sterling Gates is going to be writing a new Kid Flash ongoing. Yay, Bart! Boo, Kid Flash, but yay, Bart!

I love Bart. I think I've been pretty clear about my love for Bart before. He's definitely my favorite Speedster by far, and as one of the six people that actually liked him as the Flash, I was pretty sad to see him die. But he's back! And after Flash: Rebirth he's getting his own ongoing.

Of course, he's stuck with being Kid Flash. Meh. That's just never anything I'd imagine Bart would settle for. But I've written about that before. I'm looking forward to seeing him grow up some at the hands of Gates, who's done a great job on Supergirl.

Johns also mentioned in the interview that Blackest Night takes place after Rebirth, which means Barry is... fine. Well okay then, so much for that cliffhanger. And since we're seeing a new Speedster by the end of it, one who may not actually be new, and Barry sticks around as the Flash, I'm guessing Wally takes a new name, gets a new uniform, and on we go from there. I'd actually rather have that happen than have some brand new speedster introed (or have someone like Owen Mercer become prominent or whatever), because with Barry back we've got plenty.

Meh, Barry's back. Whatever.

Anyway, things I'd like to see from the Kid Flash ongoing, in case anyone that has any say in these things stumbles across my blog, decides I have decent ideas, and feels like listening:

Bart grows up. Not in a complete, lose -his-Bartness sort of way. But let him adapt and change and move beyond just being the guy who used to be Impulse that's now stuck being Kid Flash even though he's not a kid... but he is again. Ahem. Tim's doing this over in Red Robin, and hopefully Kon will do this in Adventure Comics. I want Bart to move forward, not just stay the same old Bart.

Bart deals with his death. Not just "hey, cool, I'm alive!" but in a legit way. He was brutally beaten to death. I don't care if they brought him back with no memories of the incident. That can be retconned.

Bring back Arrowette! Hey, Mia's over in England doing nothing in particular (or so I like to pretend). And Arrowette was first introduced in Impulse back in the day. Last we heard she was going to school with Cassie, who's still out heroing. And while it's nice to see a hero walk away, she's one I want back. She's a good foil for Bart (Don't believe me? Check out canon to the left!). And I think this could relate well to the first two requests: she's had to deal with both Kon and Bart's deaths, and we haven't really seen any of that. We focus on Cassie, but not Cissie, because Cassie is Wonder Girl and Cissie is just a retired hero. So that could be cool. Also it is my personal fanon that they would be a great couple. But that's really just a side-issue, I swear. (No, really, canon. I don't want this to turn into a Bart/Cissie post, but I'm just sayin'.)

So my favorite Speedster is back in his own title, written by a writer I already know I like, and I'm excited. I'm also excited that the entire Flash family is getting more attention (even though, again, I'm meh about Barry). I'm excited that they're all going to be involved in the upcoming Flash title, even Bart.

Some more positivity! Not bad for a Monday.

And the DC Universe breaks my brain.

So I only had two issues for my pull list this week (the fact that I bought Uncanny X-Men First Class 1 and the Superman Last Son TP is completely unrelated), and both managed to blow my mind in completely different ways.

UXM mostly managed to annoy me by being vague about whether I was supposed to take it seriously or not. I decided not. The rest was just a mish-mash of quasi-origin stories, some of which were well written with bad art, like Piotr's, and some of which were stupidly written with okay art, like Sean's. And the rest were fine.

So, right, Flash: Rebirth #3. I've never liked Barry Allen, but - wait, did I talk about this already? I can't remember. The point is, despite never liking Barry Allen, I'm enjoying what this title is doing to the speedsters of the DCU. Issue #2's reveal of Barry as the new Black Flash was pretty awesome. After that, I expected this week to be slightly anti-climactic. Which it was and it wasn't. First off, I wish my local shop had the variant cover, which I'm posting here. Because the main cover sucked. I don't know, it just reminded me of something from 1988, and I like my art to evolve. See how awesome that variant cover is? Yeah, word.

Anyway, there were four things I liked about this issue that made it a page turner. First was the description, by Wally, of Linda being his lightning rod so he didn't get lost in the Speed Force (and then saying that Iris ought to be Barry's). I like the idea of the speedster's emotional connection to someone being able to anchor them. It's good stuff. Second: Barry's thoughts about Wally ("the suit fits him") and Bart ("proof I'm past my time"). More good stuff. Third was the description of the Speed Force itself, which I've written about before, and which I found very... I don't know. Resonent. I'd reproduce it, but I'm afraid DC might sue me. Anyway, the idea that you become a part of everything but have to give yourself up in the process is an interesting and scary one. And that's what exists in and for all speedsters.

And the last thing I liked, which is a huge spoiler I guess so stop reading this sentence right now if you don't want to be spoile, okay? Good. Max!

Yay!

Sorry, I like Max Mercury, so it was nice to have confirmation of his existence, and the hope that he may be integral to solving this whole Barry Issue (personally, whatever, Barry can be the Black Flash and I don't care).

Also, the appearance of the Reverse Flash (meh) just reminded me again why I hate the Kid Flash uniform. Way too similar. If Bart can't be Impulse again (why not?) why can't he be someone else? In my fanon he's taken the name Inertia and is more adult without losing his Bartness (the way he did in FMA). Then again, in my fanon he's dating Cissie King-Jones, and DC seems to have abandoned her. Also I make no claims that my fanon may be realistic at all. But there we have it.

And then the other reason I went into the shop today was for Red Robin #1. I have to say, I'm liking the whole Batman aspect of the DCU now that Bruce Wayne isn't Batman anymore. Everything seems fresh and new, and I can start from scratch with some titles (and, hi, Paul Dini is writing two of them and one features Harley Quinn, so... I'm there).

I had no idea what to expect with this. I have a vague idea of what happened during the Jason Todd run, and I know there was supposed to be some new reveal of a shocking Red Robin, so I figured I'd pick up the issue and see if it engaged me.

It did. Tim Drake as the darker Robin seems like such a fantastic turnaround, without being completely based in nonsense. It also answers my I-didn't-realize-I-was-thinking-this question of "where the hell is Tim Drake?" I'd assumed he'd pop up somewhere, eventually, but not like this. Though a friend has just informed this was "obvious," as someone who has not been following the Batman titles at all, I can say that it was a nice surprise and now I will be following them. So there.

And here again there were two distinct parts of the book I liked. One was the flashback to his argument with Dick and his treatment and the hands of Snottian (erm, Damian), and the other was Tim's inner monologue about why this costume and this name. The Red Robin crosses lines, and Tim's ready to cross them to find Bruce.

And the last panel reveal of Ra's al Ghul worked for me. It sets up a good dichotomy with Damien living as Robin and Tim living with Ra's watching him with a potential for an alliance and daddy issues (yeah, Tim shouting that he's "Tim Wayne" at Damian was awesome) and all sorts of interesting storytelling.

Or possibly not. I'm optimistic.

That's a pleasant change.