Such a cool shot, and so full of clues!  Below I’ve zoomed in on Ronnie and Jason so you can get a better look at what they’re doing.

JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM:

We see Ronnie and Jason working to either bury or uncover the Black Lantern Firestorm. Ronnie is standing on top of the rocks looking at the Black Lantern Firestorm, while Jason is on the ground standing in the shadows looking away from the Black Lantern Firestorm. Both Ronnie and Jason have flames around their heels. (There is also a shield and net near Jason’s foot, but I think that’s a clue for another character. I’m gonna ignore it for now.)

OKAY, NOW FOR A LITTLE SPECULATION:

What are Ronnie and Jason doing?

• Option 1: Ronnie and Jason are working together, rather than against each other, burying the Black Lantern Firestorm.  This could represent them working together to bury the past and put the tragedy of Gehenna behind them.
• Option 2: Ronnie and Jason are working together, rather than against each other, to dig out the Black Lantern Firestorm.  This could represent them working together to fully explore the Firestorm matrix.
• Option 3: Ronnie is burying the Black Lantern Firestorm, while Jason is uncovering the Black Lantern Firestorm.  If you look at the direction each character’s head is facing, an argument could be made for this interpretation.   Also, Ronnie is on top of the pile of rocks (as if he put the rocks there) and Jason is on the ground (as if he’s taking the rocks off).  This could represent Ronnie trying to bury what happened as the Black Lantern Firestorm, while Jason is trying to uncover the truth.

Why flames around their feet?

• This could simply represent them as Firestorm.  More likely it represents something else.   Perhaps something to do with an “Achilles heel” and fire? I really don’t know.

Why is Ronnie on top of the pile of rocks while Jason is on the ground?

• See Option 3 above.  Alternatively, this might represent that Ronnie is the person “on top” in the matrix, meaning he controls the body. Or it may mean nothing. I don’t think Jason in the shadows symbolizes anything.

What do y’all think?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!  By the way, I first became aware of this teaser image over on Luke’s Hawkman blog – thanks Luke!

*UPDATE* – Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, I read that this teaser image is an homage to an existing painting.  Click here to see the basis of this artwork.  With this knowledge it makes deducing the clues more difficult.  The fact that Ronnie and Jason were drawn to conform to the pre-set orientations of the characters in the original painting makes it all the more difficult to interpret.

SOLICITATIONS FOR UPCOMING ISSUES OF BRIGHTEST DAY:

Brightest Day #6 – On Sale Today!
Deadman discovers the truth behind the formation of the White Lantern and what it means to the twelve returnees and the rest of the DC Universe. Plus, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Firestorm discover the price for their resurrections…and why they may be doing more harm than good to the world.

Brightest Day #7 (on sale Aug. 4) and Brightest Day #8 (on sale Aug. 18)
There can be only one who wields the White Lantern…but is it truly Deadman? And what will happen when he attempts to charge the white ring? Meanwhile, Ronnie Raymond risks everything for Firestorm, Martian Manhunter uncovers more clues about the bizarre string of murders stretching across the country, Aquaman searches for the key to the ocean’s survival and the Hawks come face-to-face with the evil that lurks within the strange land known only as Hawkworld!

Brightest Day #9 (on sale Sept. 1) and Brightest Day #10 (on sale Sept. 15)
The resurrected have discovered their purpose for being back, but where will the knowledge lead them? Who is the new Aqualad? And what strange event is taking place around the White Power Battery in New Mexico?

Brightest Day #11 (on sale Oct. 6) and Brightest Day #12 (on sale Oct. 20)
The return of the Black Lanterns! Has time run out for our resurrected heroes? Plus, you must not miss the stunning origin of the new Aqualad, the battle between Aquaman and Black Manta, and the bizarre journey of Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond as they delve into the inner workings of the Firestorm matrix and uncover its secret!

Woo Hoo!  I’m looking forward to this story unfolding!

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I’m thrilled Firestorm rated enough to appear in this artwork, on the second row to boot!  I assume they chose the classic Firestorm look (as opposed to his current Brightest Day look) because the Consumer Products division focuses on the “iconic” versions of the DC heroes.  Other “iconic” characters appearing include: Batgirl, Blue Devil, and Martian Manhunter.  Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) appears in his current costume (post-Green Lantern: Rebirth), but that sort of makes sense as DC is pushing him and banking on his future popularity created by the upcoming feature film.  The oddball is Aquaman appearing in his Brightest Day costume.  I guess since his costume change was so minor they didn’t have issue with using the new version.  Total speculation on my part.

The layout of characters is actually quite interesting from a marketing point of view.  The primary focus of the image is Green Lantern, Batman, and Superman. This seems to suggest they are the new trinity for DC from a merchandising perspective.  Sorry Wonder Woman, you’re stuck on the second row wedged behind Clark and J’Onn.  Beyond the big three in the front row, the eye seems to travel in a triangle upwards to Aquaman, Flash, and Green Arrow.  Those six characters form what I’ll call the “central pyramid” in this image.  That seems logical given the amount of merchandise out there featuring the characters from the central pyramid.  What is surprising is that Wonder Woman didn’t make it into the central pyramid, and that characters like Martian Manhunter and Zatanna share the front row.  WTF?  Are we celebrating Justice League Detroit here or something?  And Firestorm, Blue Devil, and the Weather Wizard rate the second row?  Really?  Not Hawkman, Atom, Captain Marvel, or others?  I can only hope this is foreshadowing to a major merchandising push for Firestorm!  That’s right folks, let’s celebrate the rising of the Nuclear Man!  Before you know it, he’ll be on lunch boxes, spiral notebooks, puffy stickers, and silly bandz.  … not.  Oh well, a boy can dream.

For those of you that read both FIRESTORM FAN and ONCE UPON A GEEK, sorry for some repeat information today.

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]]> http://firestormfan.com/2010/06/10/wb-consumer-products/feed/ 1 http://firestormfan.com/2010/04/05/brightest-day-advertisement-by-david-finch/ http://firestormfan.com/2010/04/05/brightest-day-advertisement-by-david-finch/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:30:26 +0000 Shag http://firestormfan.com/?p=1749 The DC Source Blog published a Brightest Day advertisement by David Finch.  Not sure if this is an upcoming cover or just an advertisement.  This one included all the resurrected characters from Blackest Night #8.  Check it out below:

Here is a close-up shot of Firestorm from that artwork.  Looks to me that the colorist made a minor mistake on Firestorm’s headgear (yellow instead of red).  The shoulder pads seem to be missing as well.  I’m sure these are just oversights.  However, given how little we’ve seen of this new version of Firestorm, this might be how he’ll look going forward.

The DC Source Blog also included some commentary from Geoff John’s himself.  Here it is:

Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, Maxwell Lord, Captain Boomerang, Jade, the Reverse-Flash, Hawk, Osiris and… Deadman?

Twelve heroes and villains were resurrected by the white light. Some will call it a miracle and others a sign of the apocalypse, and though the exact reasons for their rebirths is a mystery, it won’t be for long.

They’re back ­ for a reason.

Although they all have their own journeys ahead, they are connected by something and their exact mission will unfold throughout BRIGHTEST DAY. But while the truth behind their return and their ultimate destination lies within the BRIGHTEST DAY series itself and GREEN LANTERN, there are other books where you can follow these recently returned heroes to find out what life has in store for them and what they have in store for life.

In BRIGHTEST DAY, the whole cast will be seen with Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm and Deadman taking the lead as the truth behind their resurrections is discovered.

Brightest Day #0 goes on sale April 17, while Brightest Day #1 goes on sale May 5.

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The Elemental Firestorm was a fascinating character and a tremendous departure from what had come before.  Two years prior writer John Ostrander had changed Firestorm from the classic Ronnie Raymond/Professor Stein combination to the more complex “Blank Slate” incarnation.  Not content to rest on his laurels, Ostrander continued to evolve the character by revealing that Firestorm was actually a fire elemental.  This new Elemental Firestorm was detached from human emotions and an environmental crusader.  This was a new direction for the series and artist Tom Mandrake brought an entirely new look as well.

What a great time to be collecting the character!  I love me some Elemental Firestorm! Ostrander was pushing this book in different and thought-provoking directions, while Mandrake’s art created a unique mood to the series. This wasn’t just a straightforward superhero comic, this series had depth and substance.  The elemental era of Firestorm walked the line between standard superhero comics and the mature supernatural titles of the time like Sandman and Swamp Thing (keep in mind this was before Vertigo).

This new elemental incarnation first appeared in the final pages of Firestorm #85.  The letters page of that issue carried the following advertisement boldly declaring that Firestorm would never be the same.

While Tom Mandrake didn’t draw issue #85, this advertisement within the issue marks his first published work on the character.  In addition to house ads, DC was getting the word out to retailers about this dramatic change for Firestorm. Special preview copies of issue #86 were sent to retailers along with a letter from Bob Wayne, then Retail Promotions Manager.  Below is the text from the letter.

Dear Retailer:

We’ve got a brand-new look for FIRESTORM.  A look so different that we want you to take an advance peek at it!  Writer John Ostrander has reunited with his former Grimjack collaborator, artist Tom Mandrake.  Together, Ostrander and Mandrake will show you a new FIRESTORM… not just a superhero… but a force of nature!  Will he remain mankind’s protector… or will he become its destroyer?

An ongoing series in the DC Comics Standard Format (and part of The Janus Directive sequence), FIRESTORM #86 ships April 11 from Spartan Printing.

Enjoy this preview of FIRESTORM #86.

Best,

Bob Wayne
Retail Promotions Manager

Click here to read the preview copy of Firestorm #86 (PDF Format, 5.3 MB), including the letter from Bob Wayne.  My thanks to Jon over at the Fizzit blog for supplying the preview copy.  Thanks Jon!

I’m pretty impressed at the efforts DC went to attract attention to this new Firestorm.  Today’s post was solely about the promotions surrounding the launch of the Elemental Firestorm.  Sooner or later I’ll dedicate some posts detailing this fantastic era.  It really was an amazing run and well worth your time if you’ve never read it.

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This first ad ran in comics cover dated May 1982.  In reality, comics with this cover date probably reached stores in February 1982.

This next ad ran in comics cover dated June 1982.  In reality, comics with this cover date probably reached stores in March 1982.

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The second incarnation of Firestorm (or as I call him, the “blank slate” Firestorm) doesn’t get talked about very much nowadays.  I think it’s important to remember this version of the character because it was the first time the Firestorm matrix had been changed in a major way.  Since then, change has become a hallmark of the character.  Regardless of whether someone enjoyed this era, it’s important to recognize the significance of the change and that for nearly two years this was the hero known as Firestorm.  If you ever go back and re-read crossovers like Millennium or Invasion, you’ll find this was the version of Firestorm present for those stories.

Ostrander’s first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world.  Acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Professor Martin Stein, Firestorm demanded the U.S. and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons. After tussles with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faced off against a Russian nuclear man named Pozhar.  Pozhar had been Mikhail Arkadin, a nuclear technician and survivor of the Chernobyl accident now cursed with nuclear powers. In Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5, Pozhar and Firestorm battled in the Nevada desert.  Meanwhile, the U.S. government decided that the nuclear man had become a threat. The U.S. military then proceeded to drop a nuclear bomb over Firestorm and Pozhar, blasting the whole area way.

When the smoke cleared, a new Firestorm emerged.  The image below by Joe Brozowski was the final panel from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and our first glimpse of the new Firestorm.

The changes to Firestorm’s physical appearance were subtle.  He’d grown four inches taller, his headgear had gained sideburns-like accents, his body had become skinnier, and his facial features and costume lost some definition.

While cosmetically he looked very similar, his internal make-up was drastically different.  The Firestorm matrix was now composed of Ronnie Raymond and Mikhail Arkadin.  Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  Surprisingly, Ronnie Raymond was no longer in control of the Firestorm form.  Whenever they were merged as Firestorm, both Raymond and Arkadin were trapped inside the fused body unable to affect its actions.  The being in control of the Firestorm form was independent from Raymond and Arkadin and acted very detached.  The new Firestorm had his own personality and desires, yet he seemed to lack any life experience and had no memories.  He was a blank slate.

Both Ronnie and Mikhail had the ability to initiate the merger of Firestorm, regardless of the distance between them. Whenever Firestorm was no longer needed, he would separate back into Raymond and Arkadin, returning them to where they originated.  Typically Ronnie would return to the United States and Mikhail would return to the U.S.S.R. Firestorm still functioned as a superhero, but often seemed confused about the situations he was involved in.  As Ron and Mikhail only formed Firestorm when there was a crisis, the Firestorm entity wondered if his only purpose was to fight.

About a year after this new incarnation of Firestorm came about, it was discovered that the “blank slate” personality of the new Firestorm was in fact the amnesiac mind of Professor Martin Stein.  Though his physical body didn’t join them to create the new Firestorm matrix, his subconscious mind was in control of the Firestorm body.  Stein was found to be suffering from amnesia and living in a Nevada mental institution.

The “blank slate” Firestorm was part of the series from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 (Oct 1987) through Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #84 (Apr 1989).  This nineteen month run was drastically different from the previous nine years.  While  Firestorm still battled supervillains, they also tackled socially-conscious issues like nuclear weapons and famine.  Several stories also took place in Moscow, this being just before the end of the Cold War. To help draw attention to the change in the direction of the series, DC ran the house ad below in November 1987.  I’m not sure who the artist was for this ad, but I don’t believe it was series artist Joe Brozowski.  The advertisement was fairly small (only 1 inch by 3 inches) and was run on the letter column page.

Below you’ll find a drawing I did back in 1988 of the “blank slate” Firestorm that I recently unearthed.  I had been inspired by the changes, so I decided to try my hand at drawing the new character.  I drew it free hand, but based it upon a combination of the artwork above from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and the advertisement.  My drawing measures 13 inches by 17 inches.  Please forgive the patchwork-looking white background.  The original image is so large that I had to do multiple scans and pieced them together digitally.

As I mentioned, for the first year of the “blank slate” Firestorm, Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  It was assumed that he was killed in the nuclear blast that created the new Firestorm.  In Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #75, Professor Stein was found alive in a Nevada mental institution completely cured of his terminal brain tumor.  Stein had no memory of his previous life and was unaware of the part he played in the “blank slate” Firestorm. The institution staff  had no idea how to diagnose Stein as from time to time he would fall into a coma-like state for no apparent reason. Unbeknown to them, these were the times when Firestorm merged and Stein’s subconscious mind was in control of the  Nuclear Man.  The original artwork below comes from our friend Jon over at Fizzit, the Firestorm-themed blog.  This was the last page of Firestorm vol II #75 drawn by Joe Brozowski.  Ronnie Raymond and the amnesiac Professor Martin Stein were finally reunited after a year apart.  When issue #75 was published, I felt this single panel was the most emotionally-moving scene in Firestorm’s publishing history.  Our thanks to Jon for allowing us to reprint this page here.  Click the image to enlarge.

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While he’s not mentioned in the solicit below, you can see a great rendition of the Jason Rusch Firestorm above on the cover to Justice League of America #37 (shipping on my birthday!).

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #37
Written by Len Wein
Pencil art by Tom Derenick
Cover by Joe Prado
It’s the epic finale of the 3-part Royal Flush arc as Roulette and Amos Fortune raise the stakes, and the JLA go all in! But with the odds against them, the team had better pray for a last-minute miracle before their chips are cashed in for good.
On sale September 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

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Firestorm versus the Bride of Frankenstein during World War II?!?!  So bizarre that it’s awesome!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 80-PAGE GIANT #1
Written by Chuck Kim, Josh Williamson, Rich Fogel and others
Art by Mahmud Asrar, Adrian Syaf and others
Cover by Jay Anacleto
With a tale this massive, we could only fit it in an 80-page giant! When a battle between Epoch and the Time Commander spills over into our era, the Justice League finds itself scattered throughout time. That leaves Superman and Dr. Light fighting alongside a tornado-powered Samurai, Green Lantern and Red Arrow locked in a showdown with Cinnamon in the Old West, Green Arrow and Firestorm facing the Bride of Frankenstein in WWII, John Stewart and Vixen drawing swords alongside the Shining Knight, and Black Canary and Zatanna evading gangsters with the original Crimson Avenger!

Reintroducing the classic, extra-sized issues for a whole new generation, this special issue features the writing of TV’s Chuck Kim (Heroes) and Rich Fogel (Batman Beyond, Justice League) along with writer Joshua Williamson (Dear Dracula) and artists such as Mahmud Asrar (Dynamo 5) and Adrian Syaf (BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN)!
On sale September 30 • 80 pg, FC, $5.99 US

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We already mentioned Blackest Night #3 and the variant cover, but here is the solicit again (for the sense of completeness).

BLACKEST NIGHT #3
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver
Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis
As the dead attack in full force, Green Lantern is faced with an impossible decision and the scattered remains of the Justice League suffer a terrible loss. Who can stop the Black Lanterns? Why are they rising? And how can the Spectre help?
On sale September 16 • 3 of 8 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

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September is going to be a good month for us match-head fans!!

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Since the drawing above is a negative, I reversed the black/white to show another version of the picture.

I can’t wait to see what they do with Ronnie!

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Thanks to Michael Bailey of Fortress of Baileytude and Views from the Longbox for directing me to this video.

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The art on the poster was done by ChrisCross, with the bottom portion of the poster making up the cover to Firestorm (volume III) #1.

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