The story broke via the Associated Press early Wednesday morning. I’ll give a quick rundown of the details here… The New 52: Futures End debuts on Free Comic Book Day in May 2014 with a free zero issue, then issue #1 will follow later that month. The writers on the series include: Jeff Lemire, Keith Giffen, Brian Azzarello and Dan Jurgens. Some of the artists on the series include: Ethan Van Sciver (drawing the zero issue), Jesus Merino, Aaron Lopresti, Dan Jurgens, and more.

That’s right, Dan Jurgens and Ethan Van Sciver will be working on Firestorm again! Add the star power of the other creators involved and it sounds like the Nuclear Man couldn’t be in better hands! Back in 2010 Firestorm was featured in a similarly structured bi-weekly series entitled, Brightest Day. That series did a tremendous job raising the profile of the character, resulting in his own monthly series. Fingers crossed for similar results this time around!!

Very little information is available on the series at this time, especially Firestorm’s involvement. Below is an excerpt from the AP story, including mention of Firestorm.

[Jeff] Lemire calls the new weekly series an exploration of DC’s past, present and its future.

“Really, what we’re trying to do with this book is to explore the nature of what a hero is and we’re doing that, obviously by playing with the future of the New 52 timeline,” he said. “Past present and future all colliding in this story line.”

That means exploring the past with a character like Frankenstein, the present with Firestorm and the future with Batman Beyond who is, Lemire said, making what is his first “in-continuity appearance. He’ll become part of the New 52.”

Lots of chatter among the fans about Batman Beyond and Frankenstein, but for obvious reasons I’m focusing on Firestorm here. One question that comes to mind is which incarnation of Firestorm will we see in this series? Will it be the current Ronnie/Jason version? Or will Forever Evil result in a change to the current Firestorm matrix composition?

When I read the description, I assumed Futures End would be somewhat like an anthology. Three features with independent creative teams, telling segments that weave into an overall story; one each for past, present, and future. On Facebook I asked Dan Jurgens, “Can you tell us which segments you’ll be most involved in? Will you be writing/drawing the Firestorm segments?” Ethan Van Sciver followed up with, “There aren’t ‘segments’, it’s a story.” Very cool! Maybe Firestorm will meet Batman Beyond. That would be pretty sweet!

Below you’ll find the cover of The New 52: Futures End #0 by Ryan Sook. Looks like Batman Beyond will be dealing with some Brother Eye/OMAC future folk! Good luck, Terry!

Support Firestorm (and Futures End)! Fan the Flame!

The 70th episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is the official podcast of FIRESTORM FAN and THE AQUAMAN SHRINE.

Rob and Shag kick off this episode chatting about Forever Evil! The remainder of the show is dedicated to you…yes, you the listener! We compiled feedback from several recent episodes and then did our best to scale Mt. Feedback! The listeners of this show (affectionately called “Nuclear Subs”) compose the single greatest podcast listening community on the planet! Sit back, relax, and enjoy your episode!

You can find the 70th episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (53 MB).

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme! This episode brought to you in part by InStockTrades.com!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Send us an e-mail: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net
• Check our Tumblr: fireandwaterpodcast.tumblr.com
• Visit The Aquaman Shrine: www.aquamanshrine.net
• or leave a comment below!

Check out this Forever Evil #3 variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver featuring our favorite Nuclear Man! Click to enlarge!

Congrats to the latest STEAM AWARD winner, Luke Daab! Below you’ll find his puppy, FIRESTRORY!! Keep up with Luke on his website at daabcreative.com.

Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

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Seriously, if you are following the Forever Evil story line and haven’t read issue #3 yet, I strongly encourage you to avoid reading what follows.

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I’ve been following Forever Evil somewhat, but haven’t been completely enthralled by the story. In fact, I haven’t been to my local comic shop in a couple weeks and completely missed just how relevant Forever Evil #3 was to the character of Firestorm!  My thanks to Keith G. Baker and Joe Slab for drawing my attention to this comic!

ETHAN VAN SCIVER VARIANT COVER

Check out below the Forever Evil #3 variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver featuring our favorite Nuclear Man!! Firestorm looks amazing, and the faces in his mouth look great too! Though, took me a moment to realize that was Superman and not Cosmic Boy. Also, I spy Aquaman… a little FIRE AND WATER action going on here! Click the image to enlarge.

RETURN OF THE BIG BANG SPARK

We didn’t have to wait long for a big Firestorm moment, it happened right there on page 1! Deathstorm blows a hole in Firestorm and states Firestorm’s power source is “the spark of creation”.  This hearkens back to Geoff Johns’ Brightest Day where he introduced the concept that Firestorm is powered by THE spark that triggered The Big Bang, the creation of the universe. Click the image to enlarge.

THE PRISON REVEALED

Then on page 2 was the BIG SHOCKER! After the conclusion of Trinity War and prior to Forever Evil #1, many heroes were captured and locked away in a secret prison. We saw glimpses of this prison over in Justice League of America #8. Turns out the prison… is Firestorm!! Whoa!! Let that sink in for a moment and check out the splash page below. Click to enlarge.

SHAG’S COMMENTARY

Wow! Firestorm only got a 1 1/2 pages, but it sure felt like a lot more! We don’t know much at this point, but here are some things that have struck me so far.

• Making Firestorm the prison is a seriously cool idea for his powers!! Also, that splash page by David Finch is simply breathtaking! Look at his eye-beams and face!! Later I hope they further explore the impact of Ronnie & Jason merging with so many people.
• I wonder how long Geoff Johns has been planning to use Firestorm in this way. For example, was this an idea that struck him while plotting Forever Evil, or does it stretch back further? The cynic in me wonders if the whole reason for adding Firestorm to the Justice League was prompted by the opportunity to use him in this way. I hope not. I hope Firestorm gets a chance to properly explore his League membership.
• “The spark of creation” rears it’s head again. I’m just gonna put it out there, I’m not a fan of this Firestorm origin. Geoff Johns introduced the concept in Brightest Day #10 that the Firestorm Matrix is the spark that preceded The Big Bang. Yes, THE spark that triggered The Big Bang, the creation of the universe. As a science fiction concept, that’s pretty interesting. As an Earthbound superhero in ongoing serialized fiction, I’m not sure how that is supposed to work. How do you go from being the caretaker of The Big Bang Spark, to slugging it out with Hyena all in the same day? If Firestorm was some cosmic-level hero like Silver Surfer, I suppose I could get on-board a little easier. As it stands, Ronnie Raymond can’t even get to class on time, let alone protect the universe from the next Big Bang. On a related note, you can’t help but wonder if the other Firestorm Protocol characters had a piece of the Big Bang Spark inside them as well.
• Two observations with a dash of speculation… When Geoff Johns last wrote Firestorm, he introduced the Big Bang Spark into Firestorm’s origin. Since the start of The New 52, there has been no mention of the Big Bang Spark in relation to Firestorm. Then Geoff Johns starts writing the character of Firestorm in Justice League and Forever Evil, and suddenly the Big Bang Spark is reintroduced. Along the same lines, when Geoff Johns last wrote Captain Cold, he carried a cold gun to freeze things. Since the start of The New 52, Captain Cold had internalized his cold gun and now projected cold from his own body. In Forever Evil #3, Deathstorm rewrote Captain Cold’s DNA thus removing his cold powers. Captain Cold is once again an ordinary human that will need to rely on weapons and gimmicks to freeze things. So… did the story demand Firestorm and Captain Cold be returned to their previous status? Or did Geoff Johns simply revert the characters to versions he was more familiar with, disregarding any changes subsequent writers had introduced? I’ll admit it’s pessimistic, but it makes you wonder.

Again, I’m totally blown away by the concept of Firestorm as a prison! Very creative and an exciting opportunity for the Nuclear Man! I can’t wait to see where this goes next!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

]]> http://firestormfan.com/2013/11/12/forever-evil-3/feed/ 6 http://firestormfan.com/2013/10/17/german-fury/ http://firestormfan.com/2013/10/17/german-fury/#comments Thu, 17 Oct 2013 09:30:02 +0000 http://firestormfan.com/?p=8602 We proudly present the fighting fusionable force of nature, FURY as he was always intended… in German!

Okay, that’s not exactly true. Fury wasn’t supposed to be German, but man, doesn’t it look cool!?!? This comes from the first trade of The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men, translated into German. These pics come to us from our good friend Jon from FIZZIT, the Firestorm-themed blog! More pics below!

Thanks again to our good buddy Jon of the Firestorm-themed FIZZIT blog for sending us these photos!  Be sure to check out Jon’s awesome Firestorm original art collection!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Below you’ll find the original art for that page by Ethan Van Sciver, followed by the print version with colors by Hi-Fi! Click the pages to enlarge.

The best part… I’m now the proud owner of this original page!!! In all my years collecting Firestorm, this is only the second original page I’ve ever owned! I’m so thrilled about this! I gotta tell ya, Ethan is an incredible guy. He’s always been so supportive of FIRESTORM FAN, whether it was during his tenure on the book or even after. Thank you, Ethan!

Man I love this page!! Be sure to support Ethan’s work on Batman: The Dark Knight, as the upcoming regular cover artist on Earth-2, and the zillions of variant covers he’s got lined up in the next few months!

Also, I need to extend thanks to Roger Priebe who arranged the shipping of this art piece! Thanks Roger! Be sure to visit Roger’s site Off the Record DVD and pick up his interview with Gerry Conway on DVD!

Support Firestorm (and Ethan Van Sciver)! Fan the flame!

Looks to me this is an amalgamation of Van Sciver’s costume for Ronnie Raymond from his tenure on the book, combined with the classic Firestorm look. Pretty much everything is Van Sciver’s costume for Ronnie, with the exception of the yellow tunic with pointed shoulders. Looks great!

Support Firestorm (and Ethan Van Sciver)! Fan the flame!

PS: Be sure to come back tomorrow for an interview with Pat Broderick, the fan-favorite artist who launched The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man back in 1982!

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Vol. 2: The Firestorm Protocols (The New 52)
By Joe Harris, Yildiray Cinar, and Ethan Van Sciver
On sale June 25, 2013 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US

Featuring the stunning art of acclaimed artist Ethan Van Sciver (GREEN LANTERN), THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN is part of the New 52 event!

Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch find that their unsteady partnership was just the beginning of their adventures. Now with the mysterious Rogue FIRESTORMS are spiraling out of control and seemingly every country in the world creating their own FIRESTORMS, new alliances must be forged if the menacing Zither is to be stopped and serious fallout is to be avoided.

Collects The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men 7-12, 0

The price on Amazon right now shows a discount of $5 (a 35% savings)! This is great news for us Match-heads! Be sure to pre-order your copy, even if you already own the single issues.  Let’s show our support for Ethan Van Sciver, Joe Harris, Yildiray Cinar, Hi-Fi Color, and our favorite hot-heads!

My thanks to Craig MacDonald and Dave Cox for the heads-up!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

This trade collects the exciting first six issues of the series! If you haven’t tried the series before now, this is a great opportunity to read the entire first arc from Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver, and Yildiray Cinar! Also, you get six issues for the price of five! Not a bad deal!

For those that have already read the issues, in addition to the great story and art, you’ll get bonus materials such as: Yildiray Cinar pencil pages, character designs, and improved coloring (there were some coloring errors in the first few issues of the series).

Here is the solicitation:

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN VOL. 1 – THE GOD PARTICLE

• Two FIRESTORMS make their explosive returns in the DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 series!
• As RONNIE RAYMOND and JASON RUSCH learn to work together, they learn that they are hardly the only FIRESTORMS!
• Collecting THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1-6!

Written by: Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone
Art by: Yildiray Cinar, Norm Rapmund
Cover by: Ethan Van Sciver
Page Count: 144
U.S. Price: $14.99

Also worth mentioning, on the last page it says, “Continued in Firestorm – The Firestorm Protocols“! To my knowledge the second Fury of Firestorm trade paperback hasn’t been solicited yet. I’ve been a little worried because it should have been advertised by now. So this teaser is encouraging news! We need to support Firestorm-related trade paperbacks. Let’s send a clear message to DC that we’ll support Firestorm comics in trade paperback format. Who knows, perhaps this will eventually lead to DC collecting the classic Fury of Firestorm run from the 80s!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Just for comparison, here is the original Adventure Comics #483 cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano.

Special thanks to Match-head Patrick Wait for sending this my way! For further Multiversal fun, be sure to check out Grok’s Multiverse Force Project!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

This episode Shag and Rob talk about Aquaman #11 (by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Jonathan Glapion, Andy Lanning, and Rod Reis) and The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #11 (by Joe Harris, Yildiray Cinar, Marlo Alquiza, Travis Lanham, and Hi-Fi)! Fantastic issues that really ramp up the excitement! The podcast wraps up with your listener feedback!

You can find the 25th episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (35 MB).

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Intro theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and his band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme!

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail at: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

As mentioned on the episode, check out this fun artwork from the dastardly creative Luke Daab!

Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!