FLASH FILES 04.
Flash issues #10-#12. The Shade! For paid subscribers along with some end of the week updates.
HELLO! Hope all had a great week!
Before we dive into FLASH FILES, here are a few small updates!
+December is off to nutty start so far. Working on some really exciting projects and hustling to get scripts in. The home remodel is moving along really well. I actually was just able to walk into my new office upstairs for the first time. It’ll be months before it will be finished but was pretty cool to see how much it has progressed in the last 6 weeks.
+My hope is to actually take some time off during the holidays this year. But that means I’ve been working like a mad man recently. An intense schedule. I’ve been working ahead on all my DC work. I turned in the work I needed to this last Monday and so this week I’m starting work on another #1 for a book that hasn’t been announced yet. If I say too much it will give it away, but I will say it’s a sequel of sorts to something I wrote before. That alone is probably too much.
I’m a few issues into Green Arrow and Superman now. Working on plans for other DC projects. Along with building out some creator owned books. Spent a lot of time fleshing out the next Dark Ride story arc.
Trying to be better about working/writing far ahead. This last year really taught me that the further you can plan and work ahead the better. In a perfect world I would like to have all the scripts of an arc completed before the artist starts. If I were to ever do an event like Dark Crisis again, that is something I would do.
+I watched TROLL on Netflix. That was a really fun movie. Weird but just going for it with the weird. I love movies that just embrace the concept and don’t try to make jokes about it. Take that weird thing and run with it.
There is this great Jordan Peele quote that I think about way too much that applies here: “I want more Hitchcockian tales; I want more Brian De Palma; I want more Kubrick; I want more Spielberg. So I’m continuing in the direction of genre. Specifically, I love B-movie premises that are executed in as elevated a way as possible. That’s what Jaws is to me. The best movies of all time are that. Alien — things that you could read in a pulp magazine. That’s Hitchcock, right? Done with finesse and as much artistry as possible.”
That quote haunts me every day because I agree 100% and its the thing I look for in a lot of the media I absorb but also in want I want to create. I think ROGUES is probably the DC book that I hit it the most. And Birthright for creator owned.
Most of my creator owned work leans a bit more into the Sam Raimi style of “fun horror.” But I still try to aim for that “elevated B-movie” vibe. Nailbiter was a mix of those ideas…speaking of which…
+Last Saturday we launched another of the NAILBITER TALES, so be sure to check that out if you’re a Paid Subscriber.
Okay, on with the show! Let’s get to the Flash Files!
FLASH FILES 04
WELCOME TO FLASH FILES! My monthly annotated breakdown of every issue of my 100-Plus issue run of the Flash. Now before I begin, this is based on MY experiences on the Flash. I can’t speak for others. This is my own personal point of view on working on the Flash for almost 5 years. There will be some insights that I have now as I look back at the series along with behind the scenes notes you might not know. Working on the Flash was one of the BEST times of my life, but it was also a roller coaster with some ups and downs. I’m going to look at each issue. One by one. It’s a LOT of comics. So we better get started! I’m sure these will be full of typos that I will correct and update. Oh, one last thing before we begin… please don’t reproduce this newsletter without our permission.
Starman is one of my favorite comics of all time. James Robinson, Tony Harris, Peter Snejbjerg and co created a comic that’s influence on our industry is still being felt today. And not just in the comics, but the media side as well.
When I was younger, I used to talk to James Robinson at cons to the point that I know I annoyed him. But Starman shaped a lot of my thoughts on DC and it’s characters, so I always wanted to chat with him about it.
Originally the 2nd arc of Flash was going to be about the Rogues, but it was too soon. The run before us had JUST done a Rogues story, so I had to throw something together FAST. And I had this idea for an arc called “The Speed of Darkness” with the Shade. The editors liked the title, so I was off to the races.
But there was a problem…
The Shade hadn’t been used in New 52. The question then was…do I stick with pre-Flashpoint continuity or do something new with him?
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