Wally West: The Flash Appreciation 2019

[married guy]

Panel at SDCC with King and Gerards.

https://www.cbr.com/sdcc-tom-king-ba...acle-catwoman/

"I'm fucking sorry for what you're about to hear," King said to kick things off.

Ok then. I'm sorry I've read most of what you've written so I'm used to it.


Regarding Heroes in Crisis, King said, "People fucking hated it so much. I've never written something someone hated so much. But I love it. I think I got the message I wanted to get across. I think, killing Wally, it was a tough hill for people to climb."

Glad he knows and admits how much people "hated" it. Though I think he's in denial why or that he's at fault.
"But I loved it". Didn't realize you were writing consumer products for your own enjoyment. Not sure you know how this is supposed to work.
What message? That everything sucks and is depressing.

"It all made sense," Gerads added. "When bad things happen to characters, it's earned, in a way. Everything led to that moment and it had to be that. That's the point of that story -- when you break, you do it out of character. You don't break in character."

So when "bad" things, his family is missing, happens these superhero's should all break down? At least he admits it was out of character. "You don't break in character." Yup.

"Wally was my Flash growing up," King continued. "He was the Peter Parker of the DCU. It was tough on him because it was like the symbol of Rebirth killing people. First of all, Wally doesn't murder anyone, that doesn't happen. There's heroism in being vulnerable. To always say I'm strong is not to be strong, it's to be arrogant."

But you did make him murder people. So...shock value? So covering up the murders and framing others is being vulnerable?

Eza then asked how King feels about doing shorter story arcs, such as "Rooftops."

"You go back and read Alan Moore's stories in he does more in three pages than most people do in 30," he said. "So yeah, I like doing short stories."

So now your Alan Moore? lol. ok buddy.

The next fan asked what King and Gerads would be doing if they weren't in comics.

In response, King revealed that Gerads used to design cereal boxes, including the Cinnamon Toast Crunch box featuring anthropomorphic pieces of cereal jumping into a bowl.

"I'd be in the CIA," King added.

So you answered for Gerads that he would just be designing cereal boxes while you would be in the CIA. Nice.

"I've had huge failures," King added. "I've had national security failures. The funny thing is I had a big breakdown in 2016 but I didn't see it as a failure. It was like a necessary failure."

National security failures? Yikes.
Yeah we can tell you had a big breakdown. Please go get help and stop ruining beloved icons.

Why not start with - "Hey guys. Sorry you didn't enjoy the story. I missed the mark on that one. Here's what I was aiming for....."

[Jekyll]

Why not start with - "Hey guys. Sorry you didn't enjoy the story. I missed the mark on that one. Here's what I was aiming for....."

Because he’s a one trick pony and he is now being exposed for what he is.

[WallyWestFlash]

2019-07-21 09.14.16.jpg
10char.

[Kyer]

Tom King interview post.

I...

I can't even.

Going to leave it at that because already had enough of a seriously emotional week.

[Badou]

Why not start with - "Hey guys. Sorry you didn't enjoy the story. I missed the mark on that one. Here's what I was aiming for....."

Creators will never admit they written something bad or messed up a story. I guess it doesn't benefit them to do that, especially when the book is still technically selling. Would look bad for a product DC is trying to still sell to have its writer say it was a mistake. Maybe in a few years when no one is buying this book anymore King will change what he said, but probably not.

I can think of very few instances where someone was willing to admit something they wrote was a mistake. They will just say things like King did where they are sorry that you didn't like it or claim the audience didn't understand it. Maybe in a few cases they will blame editorial. Just never themselves. Reflects bad on them to admit they have a **** story on their resume. One recent case where a writer took responsibility was when Snyder said he regretted what he did to Mr Freeze in the New 52 and said it was a mistake afterwards. Though originally he said he didn't regret it and that the old Mr Freeze no longer worked in modern comics so what he did to him had to be done for the betterment of the character, but after being further removed from that story Snyder backtracked and said he messed up.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

I'm sorry, I see no reason why creators shouldn't stand behind their work - especially when it's as personal as HiC was to King. It doesn't change that I hated it and I strongly disagree with his take on Wally there's really nothing wrong with his being proud of it.

Also, is it just me or are some of the attacks here going from professional criticisms to personal attacks? I thought the latter was rather frowned upon here.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Because he’s a one trick pony and he is now being exposed for what he is.

Sure seems to be, judging from his latest Batman issue. King, IMO, is like a worse version of Grant Morrison on X-Men. Grant had an idea of where he wanted things to go and certain symbolism he wanted to us, but ignored internal logic often ("Cyclops can't shoot his beams because it symbolizes impotence! Even though his whole character is his inability to control it!").

King's worse. He handwaves away any internal logic to steamroll the story where he wants it to go. I mean, he never explained how Wally massaged the crime scene to fool two skilled detectives, how he recreated the data or how the speed force suddenly lashed out (among other things). Just handwaves for all of them ("I worked with Bruce and Barry, ergo I know their flaws!")

I guess a solid foundation is too much to ask?

[Badou]

I'm sorry, I see no reason why creators shouldn't stand behind their work - especially when it's as personal as HiC was to King. It doesn't change that I hated it and I strongly disagree with his take on Wally there's really nothing wrong with his being proud of it.

Also, is it just me or are some of the attacks here going from professional criticisms to personal attacks? I thought the latter was rather frowned upon here.

It depends what exactly you'd want to hear. He'll never say he regrets the whole thing but maybe certain aspects he might admit to. Him one day admitting that he was wrong to have Wally shove fake teeth into the corpse of a dead hero he killed to trick Batman might have been too much and he regrets putting that into the story. Things like that. Just like how Snyder regretted turning Mr Freeze into a crazy serial killer that never was married to Nora, which was just a single issue in his entire Batman run.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

It depends what exactly you'd want to hear. He'll never say he regrets the whole thing but maybe certain aspects he might admit to. Him one day admitting that he was wrong to have Wally shove fake teeth into the corpse of a dead hero he killed to trick Batman might have been too much and he regrets putting that into the story. Things like that. Just like how Snyder regretted turning Mr Freeze into a crazy serial killer that never was married to Nora, which was just a single issue in his entire Batman run.

Sure, he might well do that with a bit of time behind him. It's not exactly surprising to see him being defensive about a comic book that was (rightly) despised by so many people.

My main problem is fans feeling they're entitled to an apology from him, which they certainly are not.

[dornwolf]

It depends what exactly you'd want to hear. He'll never say he regrets the whole thing but maybe certain aspects he might admit to. Him one day admitting that he was wrong to have Wally shove fake teeth into the corpse of a dead hero he killed to trick Batman might have been too much and he regrets putting that into the story. Things like that. Just like how Snyder regretted turning Mr Freeze into a crazy serial killer that never was married to Nora, which was just a single issue in his entire Batman run.

My respect went up so much for Scott when he said that. It really was the only real thing that annoyed me during that run and for him to step up and admit it was a pretty big whoops was massive.

[Chubistian]

Spanish Flash Comics... lol?

A little late for this, but those are from Argentina, published in the 90s by Editorial Perfil. I don't recall the reason why they used the name Flush Man, but it certainly is a funy name

[WallyWestFlash]

FL-FORWARD-2.jpg

FLASH FORWARD #2
written by SCOTT LOBDELL
art by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
variant cover by INHYUK LEE
When the border between the Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse starts to buckle, who do you turn to? The answer: Wally West. Once the Fastest Man Alive, he’s now a man with nothing left to live for. Will Tempus Fuginaut’s chosen champion rise to the occasion and fight back the demons of the darkness, or will Wally’s own demons win the day?
ON SALE 10.16.19
$3.99 US | 2 of 6 | 32 PAGES

[Frontier]

FL-FORWARD-2.jpg

FLASH FORWARD #2
written by SCOTT LOBDELL
art by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
variant cover by INHYUK LEE
When the border between the Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse starts to buckle, who do you turn to? The answer: Wally West. Once the Fastest Man Alive, he’s now a man with nothing left to live for. Will Tempus Fuginaut’s chosen champion rise to the occasion and fight back the demons of the darkness, or will Wally’s own demons win the day?
ON SALE 10.16.19
$3.99 US | 2 of 6 | 32 PAGES

To be honest, doesn't sound like much to get excited for .

[SuperiorIronman]

It's amazing how DC does everything in its power to do the exact opposite of what Wally fans wanted. I get most of it is Dan Didio, but seriously King? I'm not going to say comics isn't for him, but perhaps this shouldn't be done with Wally.

Your consumer base asked for him to come back and be a fun Flash with the this rich history to build out of, nobody asked for a murderer whose history is for the most part irrelevant to things going forward.

[Jekyll]

FL-FORWARD-2.jpg

FLASH FORWARD #2
written by SCOTT LOBDELL
art by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
variant cover by INHYUK LEE
When the border between the Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse starts to buckle, who do you turn to? The answer: Wally West. Once the Fastest Man Alive, he’s now a man with nothing left to live for. Will Tempus Fuginaut’s chosen champion rise to the occasion and fight back the demons of the darkness, or will Wally’s own demons win the day?
ON SALE 10.16.19
$3.99 US | 2 of 6 | 32 PAGES

Sounds like I will be dropping after the first issue. Maybe I will be surprised?