Wally West: Flash Appreciation 2018

[Dred]

Why is the dude posting about how Wally West deserves to be treated like shit posting in the Wally West Appreciation thread? There are other places to argue this, but saying how DC is totally right not to appreciate Wally is not really the subject matter.

All that said, just to show how wrong he is:

DC might be making some other speedsters, but are they making more Flashes? Like, ones that exist in the same time and in the same universe as Barry? Not to my knowledge, and I can understand why.

Yes. Avery Ho's title is The Flash.

Jay Garrick was reintroduced in issue #123.

Barry's comic started at #105, dude. More importantly, it was 3 years in real time from Barry's comic taking over Jay's numbering to Jay returning.

[WallyWestFlash]

Love the DC Rebirth Suit. Though I think Sliver Boots could make it look much better. I don't think he needs to wear a suit that closely resembles Barry's. The Flash isn't a character that needs people to believe that its the same person throughout the years.

Silver boots would look really cool. Not sure it would look better though since I really like the DC Rebirth one. It would make it look flashier though. Lol.

I think this is probably one of the better depictions of the suit I've seen.

Ivan Reis is one of the greats.

That's funny, I think that was the very first Flash issue I bought off the stands.



I did like the post-Barry's-return suit; it was still the "Flash" suit but tweaked just enough to make it Wally's. But I always felt it was still a little too close to Barry's and a art team that didn't have any attention to detail might screw it up, especially when he and Barry were together. Obviously the greats like Reis were never a problem in my mind. The differences are definitely there but I thought a few extra (minor) alterations wouldn't be too bad. For the brief time Wally wore the suit I had no idea what those small changes could be, but looking back I think if they had gone with the silver instead of gold it might've been enough.

That is one of my favorite covers.

I think the distinctions were enough. I'm always up for making Wally look more unique and further away from Barry as possible but I still think he should be recognizable as a Flash. The silver lightning instead of gold is a very good way of doing this.

I'm at work now but I'll post some pics of Barry and Wally in his Flash Rebirth suit later.

[JackDaw]

I disagree with your whole point of view (which is like, every excuse Dan Didio ever used) but I'm swamped in work right now and can't take the time to counter it.

But I have to address this little tidbit in quotes: it was not a very long time. Yes, Jay Garrick was reintroduced iin #123, but back in the 50's Barry inherited Jay's numbering. The first Flash issue Barry starred in was #105. There's only 18 issues between Barry taking over The Flash title and Jay coming back.

That (123) was a great comic.

For me, it was near perfect. But I must admit deep down I wanted Jay to win the “best of three” contest between the two speedsters.

This puzzled me at the time...because I’d read a few Barry A comics, and first time I’d come across Jay, just something very likeable about way Jay came across.

[WallyWestFlash]

Love the DC Rebirth Suit. Though I think Sliver Boots could make it look much better. I don't think he needs to wear a suit that closely resembles Barry's. The Flash isn't a character that needs people to believe that its the same person throughout the years.

I think this is probably one of the better depictions of the suit I've seen.

Blame EVS. He wanted to give a sucky, non-iconic as possible costume to Wally so Barry would look better by comparison. DC was not 100% confident on Rebirth, the complaints about Wally's treatment kept coming, so DC said no to EVS's designs to the point where he ran out of ideas. The post-rebirth suit was then designed sort of by committee, mainly per Johns instructions.

I didn't know all that. Thanks.

What do you mean by non iconic suit? Funny enough some of my best shots of Wally are from EVS from Flash Rebirth.

Makes sense about the committee coming up with the suit. It seemed to grab most of its influence from the JL show. Giving Wally that bergundy shade of red. The Flash insignia and the white eyes back. Which all looked fantastic.

The only other change, which I don't really know where it came from, was the cowl covering the nose, Batman style.

I liked that it was different than Barry's and it looked really cool but I don't know if looking like Batman is really a good fit for Wally.

[WallyWestFlash]

That (123) was a great comic.

For me, it was near perfect. But I must admit deep down I wanted Jay to win the “best of three” contest between the two speedsters.

This puzzled me at the time...because I’d read a few Barry A comics, and first time I’d come across Jay, just something very likeable about way Jay came across.

I always liked how Jay was written. Kind of a mix between Superman and Jonathan Kent.

Confident and comforting at the same time. Always knew what he was doing and had the answers but was approachable and friendly.

We need Jay back soon.

[JackDaw]

I always liked how Jay was written. Kind of a mix between Superman and Jonathan Kent.

Confident and comforting at the same time. Always knew what he was doing and had the answers but was approachable and friendly.

We need Jay back soon.

That description of Jay is spot on, I think. I shall commit it to memory..and doubtless use it on a future occasion.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I didn't know all that. Thanks.

What do you mean by non iconic suit? Funny enough some of my best shots of Wally are from EVS from Flash Rebirth.

Super-hero costume designs usually have a lot of visual conventions to represent what the character is about. Capes represent nobility, horizontal lines power, diagonal lines youth and speed, centered insignias on the chest give the status of "main hero" while badge style insignias indicate "sidekick" or "noobie" and so on.

(One of the reasons I dislike the rebirth suit, BTW. They took everything they could away)

EVS design motto in this case was to have Wally be "not as cool as Barry" (his words, not mine). His first attempt had as it's first measure to remove Wally's insignia from his chest and put it on his shoulders. From there on, it got worst.

But you don't need to take my word, see for yourself:

The only other change, which I don't really know where it came from, was the cowl covering the nose, Batman style.

That was the one EVS idea that remained. Acording to himself, he wanted to give sort of a medieval knight flavor to it since now Wally was "Lancelot to Barry's King Arthur".

[Ascended]

The only other change, which I don't really know where it came from, was the cowl covering the nose, Batman style.

I always assumed that came from the Walter West/Dark Flash design. Its the first (and only) time that I personally can recall a Flash wearing a cowl like that, with the nose covered and more of a "helmet" shape to the profile rather than conforming to the bridge of the nose and all that.

Walter was a divisive topic during his storyline, but at least on the old DCMB we all seemed genuinely interested in where the narrative was going, who the Dark Flash was, and even those of us who just wanted to get back to the adventures of Wally (or even those who wanted Barry back) seemed to like the costume design (even if they didnt want it as the regular look for Flash).

So when Johns brought Barry back and Wally got the new threads, I just figured they pulled from the DCAU and Walter's mask. >shrug<

I still wish they had given Wally the Dark Flash costume after Barry returned. Make the red brighter, and you've got a solid Flash costume that is clearly Wally's, pulls from his era as the Flash, and the lightning bolt insignia is similar to Jay's, only flipped around, so it felt (to me) like it honored both Jay and Barry equally, while giving Wally a look all his own.

[JackDaw]

That was the one EVS idea that remained. Acording to himself, he wanted to give sort of a medieval knight flavor to it since now Wally was "Lancelot to Barry's King Arthur".

I sincerely hope not...since King Arthur's and Lancelot's love for the same woman was part of the reason Camelot fell.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I sincerely hope not...since King Arthur's and Lancelot's love for the same woman was part of the reason Camelot fell.

There's a WordBalloon podcast from around the time Flash: Rebirth was published with him as a guest. These are pretty much his words.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

4. Flash Rebirth suit.
Attachment 74848
Probably my favorite Wally suit. A great mix of classic Wally suit with some upgrades to make him stand out. The dark red, different lightning emblem, different cowl is such a cool look. Really wish this would have stuck around longer and wouldn't mind it coming back.

It looks good here but I generally don't like the more closed cowl. The rest off the costume is cool, though.

[WallyWestFlash]

That description of Jay is spot on, I think. I shall commit it to memory..and doubtless use it on a future occasion.

Lol Thanks.

Super-hero costume designs usually have a lot of visual conventions to represent what the character is about. Capes represent nobility, horizontal lines power, diagonal lines youth and speed, centered insignias on the chest give the status of "main hero" while badge style insignias indicate "sidekick" or "noobie" and so on.

(One of the reasons I dislike the rebirth suit, BTW. They took everything they could away)

EVS design motto in this case was to have Wally be "not as cool as Barry" (his words, not mine). His first attempt had as it's first measure to remove Wally's insignia from his chest and put it on his shoulders. From there on, it got worst.

But you don't need to take my word, see for yourself:




That was the one EVS idea that remained. Acording to himself, he wanted to give sort of a medieval knight flavor to it since now Wally was "Lancelot to Barry's King Arthur".

Interesting. Yeah I don't think.EVS is the biggest Wally fan and I'm sure he was getting orders from Didio and co.

Thanks for sharing that pic. Yeah that design is pretty bad. Especially the whole torso area.

The Lancelot look idea is..........interesting.

[WallyWestFlash]

I always assumed that came from the Walter West/Dark Flash design. Its the first (and only) time that I personally can recall a Flash wearing a cowl like that, with the nose covered and more of a "helmet" shape to the profile rather than conforming to the bridge of the nose and all that.

Walter was a divisive topic during his storyline, but at least on the old DCMB we all seemed genuinely interested in where the narrative was going, who the Dark Flash was, and even those of us who just wanted to get back to the adventures of Wally (or even those who wanted Barry back) seemed to like the costume design (even if they didnt want it as the regular look for Flash).

So when Johns brought Barry back and Wally got the new threads, I just figured they pulled from the DCAU and Walter's mask. >shrug<

I still wish they had given Wally the Dark Flash costume after Barry returned. Make the red brighter, and you've got a solid Flash costume that is clearly Wally's, pulls from his era as the Flash, and the lightning bolt insignia is similar to Jay's, only flipped around, so it felt (to me) like it honored both Jay and Barry equally, while giving Wally a look all his own.

Yeah that kinda makes sense. Don't know why I didn't see that before.

I remember when the Walter West story was coming out. I was very young and very worried about Wally. It was right after he disappeared in Chain lightning and I wasn't sure if he would come back. I know, I know I was young and naive .

But I did really like the suit and the story in general. Also loved the Flashes new, harsher persona. Plus there was the big myself of who was behind the mask. I remember my father bought the comic for me and told me I wouldn't be disappointed by the reveal. Great story.

I wouldn't have minded if they gave Wally that suit by FR but i think the one they went with is slightly better. Never connected the lightning design to Jays but nice find.

[Jekyll]

That (123) was a great comic.

For me, it was near perfect. But I must admit deep down I wanted Jay to win the “best of three” contest between the two speedsters.

This puzzled me at the time...because I’d read a few Barry A comics, and first time I’d come across Jay, just something very likeable about way Jay came across.

I always liked how Jay was written. Kind of a mix between Superman and Jonathan Kent.

Confident and comforting at the same time. Always knew what he was doing and had the answers but was approachable and friendly.

We need Jay back soon.

As most know, Jay has always been my favorite Flash. Such a fantastic and vital character to be gone for so long now! I keep hoping he will be released from DC purgatory soon.

[Jekyll]

Fun question:

If the 1990's Flash had run more than one season and eventually introduced Wally West & Jay Garrick, who would you have wanted to be cast for those roles?

Not sure on Jay, but how fun would it have been to see a young Neil Patrick Harris as Wally? Now he is a big name, but in the early 90s he was pretty much only known for his role in Doogie Howser.