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Okay, we’re three issues into Brightest Day and we’re starting to get a picture of what’s happening with Firestorm.  I’ll start with what we know, then let’s delve into speculation on where it’s going.

THE FACTS

• Jason Rusch’s girlfriend Gehenna, formerly one-half of Firestorm, was murdered by the Black Lantern Firestorm.  The Black Lantern Firestorm claimed to be the resurrected Ronnie Raymond.
• Later, Ronnie Raymond was resurrected by the light of the White Lantern with no recollection of the Black Lantern’s activities.  Ronnie quickly resumed his college partying lifestyle.
• Jason and Ronnie don’t get along.  Ronnie is coping with the fact that he died and came back, as well as that someone else has had control of the Firestorm matrix.  Meanwhile, Jason blames Ronnie for the death of Gehenna.
• When Ronnie and Jason touched in Blackest Night #0, they fused into Firestorm.  They have been unable to separate into their own individual bodies since.  They are stuck fused as Firestorm.  Ronnie currently controls the body while Jason is able to advise telepathically.
• Ray Palmer, the Atom, shrank and entered Firestorm’s body in hopes of “disarming” the Firestorm matrix.  He commented that Firestorm’s flames are no longer just for show and that it was nearly 1,000 degrees inside his body.    When the Atom arrived at the Firestorm matrix, we saw three electrons circling the nucleus.  Two electrons were bright yellow, the third was a dark gray.
• While waiting for the Atom to finish inside their body, Ronnie heard another voice telepathically that goaded him into an argument with Jason. Their body then suffered a very explosive reaction.
• At the same time Ronnie and Jason are arguing, black tendrils begin to reach out from the Firestorm matrix towards the Atom.
• The cover of Brightest Day #4 features Black Lantern Firestorm.

SPECULATION

• It seems a safe bet that the dark gray electron in the Firestorm matrix represents the Black Lantern Firestorm.  Somehow the Black Lantern Firestorm has survived inside the matrix.  That would explain the voice Ronnie heard which caused the argument with Jason.  That would explain the black tendrils chasing the Atom.
• It also seems a safe bet that the Black Lantern Firestorm will take control of the body, which would explain the cover to Brightest Day #4.
• What I’m left wondering is what exactly is the Black Lantern Firestorm.  Is it a dark reflection of Ronnie?  Is it now a dark reflection of Gehenna (which would be pretty clever)?  Is it simply a random malicious entity?
• It also seems logical that the existence of the Black Lantern Firestorm will absolve Ronnie in the blame of Gehenna’s murder.  Jason may remain uncomfortable around Ronnie, he won’t be able to blame Ronnie directly for the death of his girlfriend any longer.
• Without Nekron or the Anti-Monitor-powered black battery, where is Black Lantern Firestorm getting his power from?
• Once all this business with the Black Lantern Firestorm is finished, who will be in the matrix?  I gotta believe the Ronnie/Jason combination will be Firestorm for the foreseeable future.
• With the mention that Firestorm’s flames weren’t just for show anymore, are they going to incorporate some of the Elemental Firestorm concepts into this version?
• There was a panel in Brightest Day #1 featuring several incarnations of Firestorm.  Perhaps that was foreshadowing (along with the temperature comment) that the current Firestorm will be an amalgam of all previous versions.  That was Geoff Johns’ move with Hawkman in JSA, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he did it here with the Nuclear Man.  See my analysis below of that panel.

• The top left Firestorm was patterned after the Al Milgrom cover to Firestorm volume I #1.  This would represent the classic Firestorm.

• The bottom left Firestorm was patterned after the Matt Haley cover to Firestorm volume III #8.  This would represent the early days of Jason Rusch as Firestorm.

• The center Black Lantern Firestorm appears to be patterned after the Ethan Van Sciver variant cover to Blackest Night #3.  If you look closely at Black Lantern Firestorm’s face, you can see the similarities.

• The bottom right Firestorm was patterned after the Tom Grindberg cover to Firestorm volume II #85.  However, they used the coloring from the later Tom Mandrake issues.  This would represent the Elemental Firestorm.

• I believe the top right Firestorm was patterned after the Steve Lightle cover to Extreme Justice #8.  While the facial expression is different and the pose is reversed, the coloring on the headgear is consistent.  This is the only drawing I’ve ever seen where the classic Firestorm has yellow accents on his headgear.  If so, this drawing would represent the years Ronnie flew solo with the Firestorm matrix.

• This leaves the “Blank Slate” era as the only major incarnation not represented.  It’s possible the top right panel represents the “Blank Slate” era of Firestorm, but I can’t think of a corresponding scene.

So what do you think is going to happen with Firestorm in Brightest Day?

Just a final note, my favorite scene in all of Brightest Day so far is the panel below:

“Just take care of these boys.”  Instead, Martin may as well have said, “Just take care of my boys.”  After all Ronnie and Jason are like sons to him.  Some people may not realize that in comic book time, Jason spent a year working with Professor Stein as Firestorm.  This was during the One Year Later timeframe.  Love this panel!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Firestorm volume III premiered in mid-2004 introducing Jason Rusch.  Many people don’t realize that Firestorm volume III was scheduled to premiere nearly a year earlier starring Ronnie Raymond (rather than Jason Rusch).  That’s right, before Jason Rusch was even a glimmer in Dan Jolley’s eye, there was a monthly Ronnie Raymond Firestorm series in the works to be written by Mike Carey and drawn by Lewis LaRosa.  Sadly, plans for the series were nixed in early 2003 after the editor for the project left DC.  It’s a real shame this series never saw publication.  I’ve done my best to piece together what the aborted series was about and the story behind its cancellation.

Today we’ll be looking at the Firestorm series that almost was, including never-before published artwork from the series…

Origin of the Series That Almost Was

After lying in obscurity for nearly a decade, Firestorm was invited to rejoin the JLA in late-2002.  Ronnie Raymond’s re-induction to the JLA took place in issue #69, part of “The Obsidian Age” storyline.  At the time JLA was written by Joe Kelly, and edited by Dan Raspler and Steve Wacker (Associate Editor).  Raspler had been the editor of the Firestorm monthly title in the early 1990s, and apparently had an interest in bringing Firestorm back into popularity.

Raspler contacted Mike Carey (at the time best known for his work on the Vertigo titles, Lucifer and Hellblazer) offering him the opportunity to write a new monthly Firestorm title.  Carey was an interesting choice given his background in more mature comics at the time.  Carey accepted the offer and shared a proposal with Raspler and Wacker. They all agreed that the new book ought to start from a point that was fresh and unexpected – taking the character into a situation that would hook new readers but also pleasantly surprise confirmed fans.  Lewis LaRosa was hired as the Firestorm series artist after his excellent work as a fill-in artist on JLA #76 (the image above comes from that issue). It’s interesting to note that LaRosa’s inker for that JLA issue was none other than Al Milgrom (co-creator of Firestorm).

Now the Firestorm series had a creative team and a direction.  Mike Carey started working on scripts, while Lewis LaRosa started working on character development sketches.

Premise of the Series That Almost Was

Mike Carey himself explains his Firestorm premise in this excerpt from a March 2010 interview by Strider119:

STRIDER119: What were the circumstances behind the Firestorm pitch for DC a few years back? How close was that to becoming a reality?

MIKE CAREY: How close? I wrote four scripts! My idea for the character was that the Firestorm matrix goes into convulsions and – in order to stabilize itself – anchors itself in half a dozen different personalities. One of them is an AI; another is a cat; a third is a guy who has a heart attack when the matrix touches him, so he’s Firestorm, but he’s also dead.

The editorial response was positive at first, but then there was a big shake-up, with Dan Raspler leaving DC, and my version of Firestorm was – sadly – shelved.

That was definitely an original premise, having Ronnie merge with five other individuals to form Firestorm.  Based upon the art in the next section, it looks like Firestorm would also change his physical appearance depending upon who was primarily controlling the matrix at the time.

Art of the Series That Almost Was

Here are some never-before-published pencils by Lewis LaRosa from the aborted Firestorm volume III series.  This is some really exciting artwork!  I wish we’d had an opportunity to see this fully inked and colored.

Below you’ll find some character sketches for Ronnie Raymond, Jack Butcher, Margaret, and Sylvie.  I assume Jack, Margaret, and Sylvie were new additions to the Firestorm matrix.

Below you’ll find some character sketches for the classic-looking Firestorm, Sylvie, Tasha (presumably the cat Mike Carey mentioned), and Maniac (presumably the artificial intelligence Carey mentioned).

Below is the first page from issue #1 of the aborted Firestorm volume III.  You see the Maniac Firestorm towering over Ronnie Raymond on the surface of the moon.  This ties in perfectly with the cliffhanger to JLA #84 (as you’ll see further below).

Below are the second and third pages from issue #1 of the aborted Firestorm volume III.  Here you see the recovering Ronnie Raymond as well as Batman, Superman, and Major Disaster (I think).  The elderly doctor may be Dr. Simon LaGrieve, but no way to be certain at this point.  We don’t have a script for these pages, but I like to think Batman is taking up for Ronnie Raymond in these scenes.

Below are the fifth and sixth pages from issue #1 of the aborted Firestorm volume III.  This is most likely the matrix convulsions Mike Carey mentioned above.  Here you see Sylvie and Tasha the cat.

This next piece comes to us from our good friend Jon over at Fizzit – a Firestorm-themed blog.  Below is a promotional shot showing the six different aspects of the new Firestorm.  In the flaming hair, there are several characters each appearing to be a variation on Firestorm.  These individuals represent the different components of the Firestorm matrix in this incarnation.  The middle individual with his back turned to the audience appears to be the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm.  Starting at the top-middle position and moving clockwise, I believe we’re seeing: Margaret the young blond girl, Maniac the artificial intelligence, Jack Butcher, Tasha the cat, and Sylvie.  Click the image to enlarge.

Jon from Fizzit – a Firestorm-themed blog was curious what Lewis LaRosa’s artwork would have looked like if it’d been published.  So Jon hired professional colorist Tom Smith (JLA/Avengers, Silver Surfer, Marvel Universe, and much more) to color the promotional piece above.  Below you’ll see what Tom Smith came up with. The glowing face is a departure for Ronnie and somewhat similar to Jason, but it still looks super-cool.  What a gorgeous piece! Click the image to enlarge.

Cancellation of the Series That Almost Was

For whatever reason, Dan Raspler left DC Comics in February 2003.  Since the new Firestorm series hadn’t been published yet, this departure resulted in both the creative team and the overall direction of the series going back to the drawing board.

It’s disappointing that we never got to see Carey and LaRosa’s vision of Firestorm.  However, I’m happy to say that both creators landed on their feet and went on to very high-profile projects.  In fact, it’s possible they may not have had these other opportunities if they’d been committed to a monthly Firestorm title.  Mike Carey has been very successful writing X-Men titles for Marvel since 2006. Lewis LaRosa went on to work with Garth Ennis on the launch of the 2004 Punisher MAX series.

I believe Firestorm volume III was scheduled to spin out of the JLA storyline, “Trail by Fire.”  This assumption is based upon the cliffhanger to JLA #84, which would have perfectly set the stage for Carey/LaRosa’s Firestorm volume III #1.  You can see the cliffhanger below leads directly into some of LaRosa’s artwork above for Firestorm volume III.  It’s interesting that DC editorial kept this cliffhanger in the JLA book, showing the “Maniac” version of Firestorm, even though the series had been canceled.

Creators of the Series That Almost Was

I corresponded with Lewis LaRosa back in January 2009 regarding the aborted Firestorm series and he was kind enough to share some thoughts with me:

It’s hard for me to remember much about the Firestorm book other than I was excited to be working with Mike Carey, who was as kind as he was immensely talented, and that I thought he was a cool visual. I wasn’t really familiar with him as a character so I was glad to be in at the ground floor. I didn’t have any editorial direction that I can remember on how to visually represent the character except being told not to do too much to redesign him. I was pretty upset when the book was canned due to the changed in editorial, but I thought Chris Cross’s redesign was brilliant. I’m also glad Mike Carey went on to get the attention he very much deserves.

Prior to the series cancellation, Mike Carey gave a wonderful interview to Comic Book Resources on the then-in-development series.  Normally I wouldn’t reprint an interview in its entirety; I’d simply link to it.  However, since this interview is over seven years old, and extremely relevant to the topic at hand, I’m hoping no one will mind.

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire: Carey talks ‘Firestorm’

by Arune Singh

Thu, February 27th, 2003 at 12:00AM (PST)

NOTE: This interview was conducted a number of weeks ago. Updates regarding the art and editorial team can be found at the end of the article.

DC Comics has been making fans happy with the return of many cult-favorite heroes in the past few years, from Dr. Fate to Hawkman to Green Arrow, but now the hottest one of all is poised to make a fiery return. While many thought that only Aquaman would be returning from DC’s summer epic “JLA: Obsidian Age,” it seems that forgotten hero Firestorm will be receiving his own solo ongoing series as well. The big hook, according to the writer?

“The puffy sleeves.”

An even bigger surprise is the writer- “Hellblazer” and “Lucifer’s” Mike Carey, known more for his work at DC’s mature readers Vertigo imprint rather than for family friendly superhero comic books.

“It will be very, very different,” says Carey of “Firestorm” from his other work. “It’s not Vertigo – and I’m not bringing a Vertigo sensibility to it. God forbid. ‘Watchmen’ and ‘Dark Knight’ notwithstanding, I *hate* grittily realistic or lyrically bleak superhero books. That’s not what the genre is about. I want this to be a sort of Technicolor explosion: lots of big ideas, lots of clever plot mechanics, lots of intriguing and unexpected character developments. It’s got to be a ride that leaves your hair standing on end, or it’s not worth doing. I’m not saying that I won’t deal with serious themes from time to time: every comic should have that freedom. I am saying that the main focus here is going to be on story and character, and that readers should expect to feel exhilarated rather than disturbed.”

Barring his recent appearances in “Obsidian Age” and some time ago in “Green Lantern: Circle of Fire,” Firestorm has been absent from the DC universe for years now and Carey is more than happy to briefly summarize the character’s history for readers new and old. “Firestorm was created when two men – student Ronnie Raymond and his physics professor Martin Stein – were trapped in a nuclear reactor at the moment when it exploded. When one of the two – usually Ronnie – willed the transformation, both disappeared and were replaced by Firestorm. Whoever ’summoned’ Firestorm remained in control of the Firestorm body, the other sitting in as a sort of disembodied spectator. Later, the character went through a lot of changes. Martin Stein dropped out of the Firestorm matrix, to be replaced by a Russian superhero called Pozhar. Then later still, Firestorm was transformed into a fire elemental along the lines of Alan Moore’s ‘Swamp Thing.’ Finally Martin Stein managed to reinsert himself into the matrix by dying in fire a second time, and he used Firestorm’s powers to fight and defeat Brimstone – the big bad dude from ‘Legends’ – who was then incubating at the heart of the sun. As a result of that battle, he was catapulted through a black hole and out of normal space and time. He hasn’t been seen since. But Ronnie discovered that he could still tap into the matrix and become Firestorm again. So that’s the Firestorm who’s currently appearing in ‘JLA’: just Ronnie, filling the role all by himself.”

If this all sounds a bit confusing or you’re worried about having to memorize the facts, just calm down: Carey has it covered. “I’m not going to be assuming any prior knowledge at all. Old readers can rest assured that everything I do will be consistent with existing continuity – and old favorites like Simon LaGrieve and Lorraine Reilly will be making more than cameo appearances. But everything that’s important will be explained. I’d never go down the road of restarting a book after a ten year break in continuity by just having the characters take up where they left off.”

The idea of yet another super powered character from DC’s past re-appearing may seem boring to many jaded comic book fans, many of whom already may believe there are too many superhero comic books on the market. It isn’t Carey’s prerogative to produce “just another spandex series” and he genuinely feels that the concept of Firestorm inherently offers comic books fans something different in a superhero. “I’ve always felt that the uniqueness of Firestorm lay in his being both a solo superhero and – effectively – a team. The fact that he’s several minds in one body, and that the composition of those minds could change, that was a mind-bending concept. It’s almost as though Firestorm is a vehicle, and we’ve seen him with a whole lot of different people in the driving seat. So his identity lies half in the people who combine to form him and half in the Firestorm matrix itself. We’re going to be making a lot of play with those ideas in the book, because I really think that that’s the essence of the character concept. He’s one and he’s many, at the same time. That’s both his greatest strength – without Martin Stein, would Ronnie ever have learned how to use his element-changing powers? – and his greatest weakness.”

While some creators might be intimidated by the idea of working on a character whose powers are almost limitless, Carey sees only the potential for creative exploration and explains that he has a genuine affinity for Firestorm himself. “Well Jeez, it’s hard not to love him. He’s got puffy sleeves, his head’s on fire, and he’s two guys in one suit. Okay, I know he isn’t two guys any more – that was by way of a joke. But I wanted to do a superhero book, and I wanted it to be in the spirit of the ‘JLA’ in its recent incarnations, or Geoff Johns’ ‘Flash’ – big, vividly colored, full of huge ideas, and really, really exciting. Firestorm appeals to me because he’s that sort of hero. Not realistic, or gritty, or dark: larger than life, based on a character concept that’s both totally straightforward and susceptible to huge twists and tweaks. Plus I’ve always just been drawn to super heroes who remove their eyeballs when they’re at work. Honestly, the hardest part is feeling like John Ostrander is looking over my shoulder. Okay, I’ve already been through this with ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Hellblazer,’ god knows, but you always feel a twinge of unease when you pick up something that someone else has made, and made well. You get around it by making sure that you keep faith with the original concepts: do it your own way, sure, but without betraying what made the character worth revisiting in the first place. The easiest part is getting story ideas. There’s almost nothing you can’t do with a character who operates on this sort of scale.”

It’s this scope of imagination and fresh approach to the superhero concept that has generated so much buzz around “Firestorm” before the first issue, though Carey is far more humble about how he stumbled onto this latest way to feed his family. “I got the call. Simple as that. I was sitting at home one night, brooding over the fact that I only had two monthly titles to write, and [former DC Editor] Dan Raspler called. He was the editor for much of the original run of ‘Firestorm,’ and he’s always had a hankering to bring him back, and he asked me if I shared that hankering. I said yes. Yes I did. Yes. I sincerely wanted this job.”

After meeting with Raspler and sharing his proposal, both men were excited about the prospect of the new series, though Carey is quite tightlipped about the exact details of the conversation. “I don’t want to spoil too much of the surprise here. I was talking it over with Dan, and with Steve Wacker, his assistant editor, and we all felt that the new book ought to launch off from a point that was fresh and unexpected – taking the character into a situation that would hook new readers but also pleasantly surprise confirmed fans. And I had the idea that the Firestorm matrix itself could be explored a lot further than it had. This is where Firestorm gets his powers from: it’s a field of energy of a unique and immeasurable kind that was apparently created by the Earth-spirit itself in order to bring a fire-being into existence. But it’s clearly possible for several human minds, bodies and personalities to be brought together in this field and to operate jointly as Firestorm. That was my starting point. What if…? But there’s no way on Earth I’m completing that sentence.”

Even if he won’t answer that question, Carey is more than glad to defend the launch of another super hero comic book amid what some consider an overabundance of superhero comic books in the market today. “There’s a screaming and a baying and a howling from the message boards,” says Carey of why “Firestorm” is being launched. “Seven hundred million Firestorm fans can’t be wrong. Well, maybe I double counted somewhere there, but he’s always been a fan favorite and there *is* a lot of strong feeling out there that he deserves his own book. Plus, Joe Kelly bringing him into ‘JLA’ has reintroduced him to a new generation. It would be crazy not to take him further.”

For Carey, the only real justification he needs for writing “Firestorm” is the feeling he gets from writing the series, even if there is some pressure on him, with this being his first superhero series. “It feels great. In fact, when I signed the exclusive deal with DC I was secretly hoping that I might be able to get into some DCU stuff. I love Vertigo, and I’ve always picked up most of their output with religious fervor, but I love superheroes too. When I came back into comics as a teenager after a gap of about five years, it was the Claremont/Byrne ‘X-Men’ that tempted me in. And I’ve always gone on reading superhero books alongside ‘mature’ titles. Recently, I’ve loved what Brian Bendis has done on ‘Ultimate Spider-Man,’ where he’s restoring the life and power of the original character concept, and Geoff Johns’ masterful rendering of the ‘Flash’ – his ability to handle a huge, and hugely powerful, cast in a way that makes it look effortless. I guess I do feel that there’s a lot riding on this for me. I want to give the book as irresistible a hook as Johns’ or Bendis’s work, or Grant Morrison’s ‘X-Men,’ say. But first off, I’ve got to prove that I can actually *do* this, and make it work – that I can write in this genre, at least as well as I can write horror/fantasy. It’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that I’m really eager to take on. I’ve been working towards this for quite a while now.”

The artist on “Firestorm” will be Lewis LaRosa, best known for a recent fill-in on “JLA #76,” but whom Carey believes will become very well known to fans with his work on this new series. “Lewis had been working with Dan Raspler on a fill-in issue of ‘JLA,’ and Dan was really impressed with the pages he was turning in. His rendition of Firestorm was particularly striking – there’s a sequence where Firestorm is walking along the sea bed, and Lewis had him pouring out steam instead of flame, like a geo-thermal vent. It was a very cool image.

“So Dan broached the possibility of doing a Firestorm monthly to Lewis, and he was very, very keen. He did some fantastic character designs, playing off some of the ideas I’d already floated, and a rough sketch for a promotional image, which caught the central concept brilliantly. Dan took one look at this stuff and said, ‘welcome aboard.’

“I think what makes Lewis something special is his visual imagination. He takes a situation and thinks ‘Well, if that’s happening, then what else would be happening?’ and he throws in all sorts of grace notes and little visual easter eggs that give more punch to the scene. He’s also just great in terms of realizing character and place. He’s definitely a name that you’re going to see a lot more of.”

By this point in time you might be wondering if there is a reason that Carey is writing three ongoing series all with fire in their names (“Firestorm”, “Hellblazer”, “Lucifer”) and when asked, the DC exclusive writer falters. “You don’t think fire is pretty? Sure you do. A nice little blaze, just to take the edge off the dark…I mean no. Pure coincidence. I gotta go now, ok?”

In a post on the official DC Comics message boards, Carey popped in to update fans that artist Lewis LaRosa is in fact no longer on the series. And with Dan Raspler being let go by DC the book has a new editor. “Now that Dan has left DC, the book will be handled by either Peter Tomasi or Mike Carlin, and both the creative team and the overall approach therefore go back into the melting pot to a certain extent, as any book has to when the editorial reins change hands,” Carey commented on the forum.

Ronnie Raymond’s Death & the Creation of Jason Rusch

We’ve covered the origin, creators, premise, artwork, and cancellation of the Firestorm volume III series.  It’s worth addressing in this discussion the subsequent death of Ronnie Raymond and creation of Jason Rusch.  Details are sketchy as to who exactly decided to kill Ronnie Raymond – was it Brad Meltzer (writer of Identity Crisis) or DC Editorial?  Below are two blurbs from Brad Meltzer on the subject:

January 2005 – BRAD MELTZER – AN IDENTITY CRISIS LOOK BACK

NEWSARAMA: Were all of the deaths in the story the same as your initial draft? Were there more that you had? Less?

BRAD MELTZER: I didn’t know they’d let me kill Firestorm until halfway through, which to me, fit in so well as a moment to show a type of death we don’t usually see much of: the quiet, accidental death on the job. For me, Firestorm’s death was my tip of the hat to Dollar Bill in Watchmen, who gets his cape caught in a revolving door. That’s just real life. People die on this job — and those deaths aren’t always glorious.

February 2006 – New York Comic Con, Day Three: Brad Meltzer talks “Crisis”

Meltzer also confirmed a popular rumor, that he was presented with a death list that included two big heroes who Meltzer didn’t use and are, at least for now, still alive. Prompted by DiDio and his failing memory, Meltzer went further to reveal that the big heroes on the chopping block were the Martian Manhunter and the Atom.

“But it would have been a cheap ploy,” said Meltzer about why he spared the characters, “and one of you people sitting in the audience, after becoming the new writer, would just bring them back. It’s what I’d do.”

He had no such qualms about killing off Firestorm, because the death was appropriate to the story and because the new Firestorm was already being planned.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Dan Jolley addressing Ronnie Raymond.  This interview was done during development of the Jason Rusch Firestorm volume III series.  If you get a chance, click the link and read the entire interview.  It’s really good and shows where Jolley was coming from in the development of Jason.

March 2004 – Heating It Up: Dan Jolley talks “Firestorm”

“As far as the genesis of the new direction, most of that took place before I was even approached about doing the book. I know there were a lot of different concepts kicked around the DC offices – the series was originally slated to be written by the very talented Mike Carey, and starring the original Firestorm, Ron Raymond – but the DC editorial staff decided to go in a different direction, and editor Peter Tomasi called me up and asked me to pitch for the series. That sparked a number of conversations between Peter, me, and Dan DiDio, out of which eventually emerged the new path we’re taking with it. I know I’m having a blast, and DC seems to be very pleased with how the series is shaping up.”

“Well, I’ll be the first to confirm that there are some very dedicated, very loyal Ronnie Raymond fans out there. And I respect them, and sympathize with their displeasure that Ron will not be the lead in the new series. But as to why Firestorm is coming back…the decisions behind which projects to accept and which to reject, the approaches to take, the creative teams to assign, all of those are made far above my head at DC. They hired me to create something new, something fresh and accessible to anyone, something as cool and intense as it’s within my power to produce, and that’s what I’m trying my best to do.”

There you go.  That’s everything I know about the aborted Firestorm volume III.  Again, it’s a real shame it never saw publication.  It sounds like an interesting premise with great art.  There’s no way to know what kind of reception it would have received from the fans, but it would’ve been nice to have found out.

A very special THANK YOU to both Jon from Fizzit – a Firestorm-themed blog and Keith from The Nuclear Fan website.  Without each of their contributions, this post wouldn’t have been possible.  Thanks guys!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

This first piece from 1977 consists of early character designs Al worked on for Ronnie Raymond and Doreen Day prior to Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #1.  Ronnie looks a little like Snapper Carr and Rick Jones in these early rough sketches. The rough sketch of Doreen in the winter clothes is pretty consistent with the way she was dressed in #1.

Here are some early character designs for Professor Martin Stein and Cliff Carmichael.  The Professor is pretty much spot-on for his final look.  For Cliff, I love that shot of him in the wife-beater smoking a cigarette.  It shows his nerdy side, but also demonstrates that he can be a wiry tough guy.

Next up are the first three pages from the unpublished Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #7.  You may recall we displayed the unpublished cover to Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #6 a while back.  Additionally, you can read the entire unpublished issue #6 online.  However, very little is known about Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #7.  The end of issue #6 boldly proclaimed, “Next Issue: The Reptile Man!”  From the FIRESTORM FAN interview with Gerry Conway we know that “The Reptile Man” was most likely intended to be Killer Croc.  However, since that issue was never published, Gerry instead introduced the character as a Batman villain.

The first page below was published previously in Back Issue Magazine #20.  This was the splash page for Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #7.  The subsequent two pages are being presented for the first time ever here at FIRESTORM FAN.  In these pages you can see Professor Martin Stein’s subconscious is haunting him with images of Firestorm.  At this time the Professor was unaware of the part he played in the Firestorm composite being.  He simply thought he was suffering from blackouts.  I love page three especially!  The art is so amazing you don’t require any dialogue or narration to understand it perfectly.  Click pages 2 & 3 to enlarge.

Finally, we’ve got one more never-before-seen piece.  This is a great general image of Firestorm.  Al wasn’t sure if this was originally intended as a rough design for the cover of Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #1, a Who’s Who entry, or possibly an in-house ad.  Regardless, it’s a great looking piece of Ronnie, the Professor, and Firestorm!

My thanks again to Al for this wonderful opportunity!

In addition to co-creating Firestorm, Al Milgrom is well known for his ten-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciller, and inker on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West Coast Avengers penciller; his long stint as the inker of X-Factor; and much, much more.  For a complete list of his works, visit the Comic Book DB.  Al has created an amazing volume of work and stays busy even nowadays.  If you are a fan of Al Milgrom’s work, there are opportunities for commissions.  Be sure to check out THE ARTISTS CHOICE for all the details on Al Milgrom commissioned sketches.

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I contacted Al and commissioned an original drawing of our favorite hot-head for FIRESTORM FAN.  Al not only accepted the commission, he also provided me with scans of some exclusive and rarely-seen Firestorm artwork.  One of those images was the cover for the unpublished Firestorm the Nuclear Man #6.  Keep watching FIRESTORM FAN in the near future for further Al Milgrom gems.

Here is Al Milgrom’s original Firestorm drawing done especially for FIRESTORM FAN…

It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it.  Al did an amazing job on this drawing.  Everything looks perfect: the costume, the face, the motion of flying, the rich shadows… it’s just awesome.  Over 30 years since he helped create the character and he still draws it gorgeously.  Thanks, Al!

One of the greatest rewards of doing this blog has been reaching out to the writers and artists that have worked on Firestorm.  Everyone has been so friendly and generous with their time.  Finding out how cool these folks are makes me proud to be promoting their creative work and reaffirms my love for Firestorm comics.

In addition to co-creating Firestorm, Al Milgrom is well known for his ten-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciller, and inker on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West Coast Avengers penciller; his long stint as the inker of X-Factor; and much, much more.  For a complete list of his works, visit the Comic Book DB.  Al has created an amazing volume of work and stays busy even nowadays.  If you are a fan of Al Milgrom’s work, there are opportunities for commissions.  Be sure to check out THE ARTISTS CHOICE for all the details on Al Milgrom commissioned sketches.

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Al Milgrom, co-creator of Firestorm and artist on Firestorm vol I, recently sent me a scan of the unpublished cover to Firestorm vol I #6.  He drew the cover back in 1978, but it hasn’t been published until now.  This is a real treat, folks!  For the first time, we get to see a “new” piece of Firestorm art that’s been missing for 30 years drawn by the co-creator .  This is the Holy Grail of Firestorm artwork!  I can’t thank Mr. Milgrom enough for this opportunity!

FIRESTORM FAN.com proudly presents the cover to the unpublished Firestorm vol I #6:

Isn’t it awesome?!?!   As you can tell, this issue was intended to be Typhoon’s first appearance.  I’m really impressed with Mr. Milgrom’s usage of black in this piece. It creates a very dynamic environment.  You can really see the storm whipping around the marina.    If you take the time to look, there are lots of neat details in this piece.  From the expressions of the innocent bystanders, to the ship labeled “S.S. Milgrom”.  Firestorm looks fantastic and I love the atomic glow on his right hand!  This is truly a Milgrom gem.  Possibly the best cover from Firestorm vol I.

After studying this cover for a while, I found myself wondering what the final version would have looked like.  What colors would they have chosen and what would it look like with the logo dropped in?  So I decided to try my hand at digitally coloring this cover.  I don’t claim to be a colorist of any sort, but I thought this would be a fun project. In an attempt to be authentic, I studied other colorist styles of the time.  Doesn’t look 100% authentic, but I got it as close as possible.  If issue #6 had been published, it’s possible the cover would have looked something like this:

My thanks again to Mr. Milgrom for this opportunity!

In addition to co-creating Firestorm, Al Milgrom is well known for his ten-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciller, and inker on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West Coast Avengers penciller; his long stint as the inker of X-Factor; and much, much more.  For a complete list of his works, visit the Comic Book DB.  Mr. Milgrom’s has created an amazing volume of work and stays busy even nowadays.  If you are a fan of Mr. Milgrom’s work, there are opportunities for commissions.  Be sure to check out THE ARTISTS CHOICE for all the details on Al Milgrom commissioned sketches.

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The original Killer Frost (Dr. Crystal Frost) premiered in Firestorm vol I #3 (1978) and died in The Fury of Firestorm vol II #21 (1984).  After Frost’s death, her good friend Dr. Louise Lincoln recreated the conditions that turned Crystal Frost into Killer Frost.  Lincoln was imbued with the same powers and became Killer Frost II in The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man #34 (1985).  In 1995, Killer Frost II made a deal with the demon Neron which granted her even greater power.  Since then, Killer Frost has appeared in numerous places across the DC Universe (i.e. Green Lantern, Suicide Squad, Villains United, Salvation Run, Justice League of America, and even the Justice League Unlimited cartoon).  I won’t delve further into her history as the encyclopedic entries below will cover that better than I could.

Below is the cover for the original Killer Frost’s first appearance (June 1978).  Art by Al Milgrom.  Writers often use the “opposites attract” nature of hot and cold to create sexual tension between Firestorm and Killer Frost.  This helps to make their ongoing encounters more interesting.

Below is the Killer Frost entry from Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12 (February 1986). The art in the entry below is by Al Milgrom, co-creator of Firestorm and artist on Firestorm vol I. This particular issue of Who’s Who was published around the same time as The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol II #45, so information presented was current to that point.

If you are interested in reading the text, click to enlarge the image.

Below is the fantastic cover to Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12 (February 1986).  I love that Killer Frost plays such an important part in the cover image. Art by Paris Cullins (of Blue Devil fame) and Dick Giordano.  Click to enlarge the image.

The entry below was published in DK’s DC Comics Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition (September 2008).  The Killer Frost entry was written by Scott Beatty.

The piece below comes from the DC Heroes Role-Playing Game second edition produced by Mayfair Games in 1989.  Specifically this came from the “Background/Roster Book”.  This wasn’t the first time Mayfair produced stats for Killer Frost, but these are the updated ones as her first edition stats were changed.

Finally we’ve got the Killer Frost Heroclix from Wizkids released in 2004 as part of the DC Unleashed set.  HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game in which players construct teams of heroes and villains to play out a battle turn-by-turn on a grid map.  This figure looks great!  The translucent blue really makes her stand out.  Nicely done, Wizkids!

That’s it for our first installment of the Firestorm Rogues Gallery!  Be sure to come back later this week for more on Killer Frost.

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It appears that the transparency was copied directly from the final black-and-white cover artwork.  The DC Bullet and the word “explosive” are both missing on the transparency when you compare it to the printed #1 cover.  Those are the only items on the cover that lack a black ink outline; they were composed solely of red ink.  This lead me to believe the transparency was copied from the final inked version.

The picture below shows the transparency without a solid white background.

The eBay seller apparently picked this up (along with several other acetate comic book cover reproductions) from a gentleman in Brazil who wrote several books about the art of comic books in the 1970s and 80s.  The seller theorized that perhaps the transparencies were used with an overhead projector for a workshop on how to draw comics.

Regardless of what it was used for, it’s kind of neat.

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SHOWCASE PRESENTS: FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN VOL. 1 TP

Written by Gerry Conway; Art by Al Milgrom, George Perez, Pat Broderick, and others; Cover by Al Milgrom

In this explosive, value-packed volume, witness the creation of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man! This collection features  Firestorm in battle against Killer Frost, the Pied Piper, Plastique, the Atomic Skull, Typhoon, and many other villains!  Collects FIRESTORM #1-5, DC COMICS PRESENTS #17 & #45, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #179-180, BRAVE AND THE BOLD #172, stories from FLASH #289-304, and THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #1-9.

544 pages; Black & White; Softcover; $16.99 US

This volume is coming from DC Comics in the month of … well, probably the month of never.  Sorry, this isn’t an actual solicitation.  This is simply my wish for a SHOWCASE PRESENTS and some of my handiwork in Photoshop. Wouldn’t it be cool, though?  I gotta think it would sell at least as well as the ADAM STRANGE, METAMORPHO, or METAL MEN volumes of SHOWCASE PRESENTS.

We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that someday this will be a reality.

The SHOWCASE PRESENTS cover I put together above was inspired by this mock Firestorm Archives cover I came across.

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Take a good look at the costumes below.  Here are a few things to notice:

• Firestorm has a yellow torso, boots, gloves, and briefs.  The same areas on Iron Man are red.
• Firestorm has red leggings and sleeves.  The same areas on Iron Man are yellow.
• Both characters have protruding shoulder accents.  Firestorm has pointed shoulder pads, while Iron Man has raised metal bands at the shoulder joints (though not very prominent in the image below).
• Firestorm has a prominent red circle on his chest.  Iron Man has a prominent yellow circle on his chest.  Both characters have multiple circles on their chest.
• Both Firestorm and Iron Man have red headgear framing their faces.

For the record, I’m not honestly suggesting that Firestorm creators Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom based the Firestorm costume on Iron Man.  I’m just stating that there are some similarities in costume colors and design elements.  Given that red and yellow are primary colors, it’s not surprising to find costumes using these colors in similar/opposite ways.  There are only so many combinations before you find a mirror counterpart.  Additionally, in comics it’s quite common to see the torso piece of a superhero suit contrast with the leggings and sleeves.

It is interesting to note that about a year before publication of Firestorm #1 [Mar. 1978], writer Gerry Conway completed a run on Iron Man [Iron Man #91 (Oct. 1976) - Iron Man #97 (Apr. 1977)].  However, this is merely coincidence as artist Al Milgrom and Editor Jack C. Harris supposedly developed the look for Firestorm (see “It’s BobRo, the Answer Man” column for Jack C. Harris’ quote on this).  Also, the pieces of Firestorm’s costume that really stand out are the flaming hair and chest emblem; there really isn’t any resemblance to Iron Man in either of those.  The elements of Iron Man’s costume that really stand out are the face-plate and that the entire suit is made of metal; again no overlap with Firestorm in either of these areas. 

Just for fun, check out the covers to Firestorm #1 (Mar. 1978) and Iron Man #110 (May 1978).  These comics were published just a few months apart.  Look at Firestorm and Iron Man’s pose.

Finally, here are the Super Powers Firestorm and Secret Wars Iron Man figures side-by-side.

The Secret Wars Iron Man image comes from the Toyriffic blog.  Check out their excellent review of the Iron Man figure by clicking here.

In conclusion, this is just an interesting coincidence surrounding two popular characters.  Just a crazy observation that has been rattling around in my brain for the last 20+ years.  Nothing more.

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As I’ve mentioned before, FIRESTORM FAN is not intended to be an all-knowing encyclopedic reference site. There are already several excellent Firestorm resources in my blogroll, so I don’t want to reinvent the wheel.  However, I was feeling that some explanation of the character’s history would be beneficial.  Then it occurred to me… publishing old Who’s Who entries would kill two birds with one stone!  The Who’s Who entries would provide encyclopedic information about Firestorm, while also showcasing previous Firestorm content.  Perfect!

Today’s post comes from Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #8 (October 1985).  This was the first Who’s Who series and featured the original Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond/Professor Martin Stein). It’s not clear who wrote this particular entry, but from the contents page we know it was one of the following people: Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Peter Sanderson, Paul Levitz, Gary Cohn, Mike W. Barr, or Todd Klein.  The art in the entry below is by Al Milgrom, co-creator of Firestorm and artist on Firestorm volume I.  Such a great iconic image of the character! This particular issue of Who’s Who was published around the same time as Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man (volume II) #40, so information presented was current to that point.

If you are interested in reading the text, click the image for a larger version.

Below you will find the outstanding wraparound cover to this issue of Who’s Who by George Perez.  Both Firestorm and Firehawk are featured prominently on this cover.  Great job, George!

UPDATED: I stand corrected!  Rob from the Aquaman Shrine pointed out my error.  This cover was actually pencilled by Paris Cullins with inks by Dick Giordano.  There was no cover credit inside the comic itself, but I’ve verified Rob is correct at the Comic Book Database.  I was sure this was a Perez drawing, but now in hindsight I mistook Giordano’s inks for Perez’s pencils.  Sorry for any confusion.  Regardless, it’s still a beautiful piece!  My thanks to Rob for the assist!

Come back tomorrow for a look at the next incarnation of Firestorm!

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