Meanwhile..

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Originally uploaded by thechrishaley

Wouldn't you love to have The Flash come live with you?

Well, now YOU CAN!

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110420752...

Every single holiday..

The Flash is basically great at running.

This is a sketch of The Flash I did at karaoke one night.
Then the incredible Justin Stewart was kind enough to drop some CMYK on it. (That's colorist lingo, right?)

Steel cable! Just what I need!

Superhero Video Posting Week : Part 7!
Wednesday is Flash Day!

There's a time for us..

The Weekly Crisis explores The Pros & Cons of the Return of Barry Allen.

I feel like the list they put forth is pretty much right on the money.

Also, if you're the type of person who's reading this and cares enough about comics and The Flash to click on the link and read that list, be sure to read the comments section too.

To go along with this post, I have two thematically/titularly* related songs for you to enjoy:

Phoenix - Run Run Run

OK Go - Return

* = I am told that this is a real word.

You know I'd be the king..

Final Crisis : Rogue's Revenge #2 preview is up at Newsarama.

I cannot wait to watch Captain Cold eat this guy alive.

Not literally, of course.

Comin' down fast..

This is an old one, but there are always new people showing up around these parts, and I need them to understand that I love The Flash.

I'm a huge fan..

FINAL.

CRISIS.

NUMBER.

THREE.

TOMORROW!

You're gonna kill us all..

He's the God of the modern world. People are doing more everyday, moving faster and I think the Flash can be their hero. I do think he's a superhero for now. - Grant Morrison via The New York Daily News (via Newsarama)

Summer's for the summer..

Just a little Flash sketch I did on a grocery list.

Stupid actin' smart...

Ahh-ah!

Well then let's still do that...

So over at Newsarama there's a preview up of the next issue of The Flash.

Following the preview is a good bit of debate over Daniel Acuña's art.

A lot of the people posting in Newsarama's forums don't care for his art for some reason. I don't know that the Newsarama forums are any kind of indication of the real feelings of the entire comic buying populace, but it's still really surprising to me that everyone isn't a huge fan.
I wonder if the people who don't like Acuña are the same people that defend the artistic ability of Michael Turner or think Ed Benes' Justice League looks incredible.
I think some people are scared of how Acuña's art isn't just black lines with colors then neatly applied inside those lines. Comic fans tend to be a cowardly, superstitious lot.. wait. Comic fans seem to be afraid of changes. New things. Things that are different. As far as comics go, I mean.

I wonder if Newsarama had been around back when Alex Ross hit the scene if people would have been complaining about his take on the Human Torch not being red with black lines all over him the way Kirby did it.

Walking out on you again..

There are 2 notes on this picture if clicked upon.
Dedicated especially to Sean.
This is one of my self-rejected Flash redesigns for Project Rooftop.
This is based completely (as far as the pose, attire, and attitude go) on a guy I saw jogging by the coffee shop I was in working on Flash redesigns.
100% true story.

Always should be someone...

So here's the final inks for my Project Rooftop failing Bart Allen Kid Flash.

And here's the finished, colored version.

There are 3 notes on this picture if clicked upon.
You'll notice there were a few subtle changes to the picture, most noticeably the emblem.
Failure or not, I'm still pretty proud of it as a drawing by me, and I like the design.
I've got a hundred (give or take) other abandoned costumes that I might finish up for fun and put up here.
I've got a real comic I need to be working on though.

It's Flash week.

A sketch from back when I was working on a redesign for Kid Flash (Wally) last year.
Of course, like a month or two after I was working on this idea, Wally/Kid Flash shows up on the Teen Titans cartoon and is awesome.

Flash #0 Concluded.

It's Friday, and so I conclude my posting of one of my all time favorite comics, Flash #0.
In preparing to post this, I've re-read the issue again several times this week, and it still never fails to spark something inside me.
The last two pages give me goosebumps everytime.







The end.
Maybe I'm a dreamer, but if you didn't enjoy this comic, you are empty inside.

I know some of you that show up here could care less about reading this, or about me being upset that Mike Wieringo is no longer with us, but I felt like I had to do something to honor/remember this man who's been such an inspiration to me since I was 12 or 13 years old.

And honestly, I couldn't care less about what you think. This is important to me.
I think those of you who know me know I'd never begrudge anyone else their grief over losing someone important to them, whether it be someone they were close to or someone they were inspired by.

I actually checked his site Monday morning (as I did every MWF) and saw the picture from Friday was still up and thought to myself, "Oh, he must be running behind today. I'll check back in a little bit."
Then I went to Newsarama and saw the headline, "MIKE WIERINGO PASSES AWAY".
You may think I'm being dramatic, but this is as honest as I can possibly be.
I read his name and then couldn't even comprehend the words that followed it.
I sincerely couldn't make that sentence make sense.
It still doesn't.
I can't believe I'm never going to see all the ideas and stories he was working on or the comics he was planning with Warren Ellis and Mark Waid.
I can't believe I'm never going to get to meet him in person and tell him how much I loved his work.

I think that's all I've got for now.
I wish I was more eloquent in trying to explain my feelings.
I wish I could do more to honor his memory.

Flash #0 Continued..

Here's the second installment of pages from Flash #0.
Today it's pages 7-12.





To be continued and concluded tomorrow.

In Memory of Mike Wieringo.

I don't know who made this banner, but I liked it, so here it is.

I imagine the rest of the week at least, any posting I do will just be in tribute/memory of Mike Wieringo.

I decided the best thing I could do would be to share my favorite comic of his with you a few pages at a time over the next few days. He was still a rookie to mainstream comics when this issue came out, and the work he would eventually produce would show him growing above and beyond this by leaps and bounds, but this comic will always hold a special place in my heart.

I had just started reading Flash a few months earlier because Mike's art had caught my eye and had been in the process of trying to find some of the older issues since he had started on the book.
Then this came out amid all the Zero Hour revamps, reboots, restarts and was absolutely magical.
To me at least.

This comic solidified my love for the character and made sure that for me, Wally West will always be THE Flash.

I've been trying to think since yesterday if there's been any other single issue of any comic ever that I've read and re-read more than this, and if there is, I can't think of one.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.





More tomorrow..

It's so dark.

So here's one of the Flashes Jason Latour drew for me that I have now colored.
Below are 3 alternate versions of the same coloring job.. the backgrounds are different.

Feel free to tell me which of the 4 you prefer.

You're runnin' away!

Speaking of The Flash, as I was two posts back, Tom Foss has got a great write up on Bart Allen's death as well as a great way to bring him back.
Nice job, Tom.

Is it because I'm very young?

So, how'd you like to hear about something that's made me really mad at myself?
Good, because I'm in a mood to talk about it.
Check out these two pictures of The Flash by Jason Latour..




Awesome, right?
Well, here's the deal, Jason did both of those for me. This was 2-4 years ago. He mailed them to me along with a great mini-comic he'd done. You can imagine how excited I was to have these.
Somehow I've managed to have no idea where they are.
I mean, I know they have to be in the house somewhere, but I can't find them for the life of me.
This makes me literally angry with rage.