Our good friend Jon over at the Fizzit Firestorm-themed blog sent scans of these unique Firestorm collectibles. He received the following cards from Argentina.  The majority of these come from the Spanish-language version of Kenner’s Super Powers line, Super Amigos.

This first one is a trading card from the Super Amigos game.  To see all the cards in the Super Amigos card set, please visit the Aquaman Shrine by clicking here.

The next five are stickers associated with the Super Amigos line.  It appears these were produced from 1985 through 1987.

This last sticker uses specialized ink that really is intended to be viewed under blacklight.

These next ones come from some Superman-related set.  This set was released in 1994.  Nice to see the Elemental Firestorm getting some merchandise action!

Here are some Firestorm stickers from that same 1994 Superman series.

These next two come from a set entitled “Cartas de Poder – DC Super Heroes”.  I really don’t know anything about these sets, but I love that they called Firestorm “el hombre nuclear”.  Also, he’s got an attack of 2,700 and a defense of 2,300!  I have no idea what the scale is, but that sounds impressive!

Once again, our thanks to Jon from the Fizzit Firestorm-themed blog for supplying these images.

Apoyo Firestorm! Avivar la llama!

So what’s a Fandex you ask?  A Fandex is actually called “Fandex Family Field Guide”. It is an approximately 10″ long stack of full-color, heavy stock, double-sided, die-cut cards.  They resemble bookmarks to some extent. This stack of cards is fastened together with a plastic bolt which serves as a pivot point.  This allows the cards to be fanned out so you can see the pictures at the top of each card and pick the one you would like to look at.  The top of each Fandex card has a large picture of the featured subject, and the card is cut around that particular shape. The cards state interesting information on each subject on both sides of the card.  Typically Fandex focuses on historical or factual subject matter (like famous painters or North American birds).  This particular one focuses on the heroes and villains of DC Comics.

Here is a close-up of the Firestorm entry.  I tried to get the image large enough so that you could read it.

For my complete review of the DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex, please click here.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

The figure was only available in a deluxe package and was apparently somewhat hard to find.  The official name of the package is, Batman: The Brave and the Bold Rocket Blast with Firestorm Figure.

The rocket blast included features a flaming projectile.  Like other Batman: The Brave and the Bold equipment, the rocket blast is modular and can be used with other figures.  Also, the rocket blast itself is supposed to be the robot Gold from the Metal Men.  I’ve always had a soft spot for the Metal Men, so this was kind of cool to realize.

It’s interesting to me that the action figure’s costume has some noticeable variations from the Firestorm that appeared in the TV series. Perhaps this is because the figure came out several months before the television episode aired.  It’s worth noting the action figure’s costume has much in common with the Jamal Igle-designed costume for the Jason Rusch Firestorm.  Whereas the TV version reflects much more of the traditional costume for the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm.  If you look at the side-by-side shot below, you’ll notice several differences:

• The belt and briefs are completely different.
• The boots and glove sleeves are different.
• The electrons in the chest emblem are different (red circles on the TV version, white circles on the action figure)
• The headgear of the action figure features a white accent line just below the flaming hair.  This accent line matches the white accents on the gloves and boots.

Overall this is a decent figure.  I like the fun styling of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.   It’s unfortunate that it was only available in the deluxe pack and somewhat scarce in stores.  I’d recommend eBay or Amazon if you are interested in buying this figure.  Hopefully they’ll re-release the figure by itself on a card.  Who knows, perhaps they’ll even change the costume to reflect the TV series.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

This first one below is entitled, “Ring of Firestorm“.  It’s a nice representation of the Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm.  I like the bold orange and the faded look.  Great shirt!  The artwork appears to be stock art provided by the same artist that did this other shirt.  WANT!

This next shirt has the distinction of being the first Jason Rusch/Firestorm t-shirt in which he’s featured by himself!  This one is entitled, “Firestorm Blaze“.  I love the Jamal Igle-designed costume and the flaming corona is a nice touch.  WANT!

My thanks to Luke (from Being Carter Hall and El Jacone’s Comic Book Bunker) for letting me know about these new shirts.  Thanks, Luke!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Below you can see the magazine poly-bagged with the figurine.  The white circular sticker is a warning that if you get the lead figurine anywhere near your house your entire family will die an agonizing death.  Well… something like that.  Its lead folks, don’t put it in your mouth.

Below is a close-up of the lead figurine.  Dude, this thing is a work of beauty!  He’s about 3.75 inches tall, just a bit shorter than the recent Infinite Heroes action figure.  This is probably the most faithful representation of the Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm costume ever produced for a figure.  The 1985 Super Powers figure and the 2004 DC Direct figure are probably the closest behind this lead figurine.  They got everything correct – chest emblem, gloves, boots, puffy sleeves, design on the briefs, even the headgear.  It looks great!  It’s just a shame it’s made from lead, rather than plastic or pewter.

The magazine itself provides a detailed history of Firestorm in all his incarnations.  Included are recaps of some classic Firestorm story lines, specifically Legends and Firestorm the Nuclear Man: Reborn (trade paperback collecting the post-One Year Later adventures). There is also a feature on the people who have united to become the Nuclear Man.  Finally, installment #37 of the DC Timeline covering 99 BC to 1 BC (not specific to Firestorm, but obviously a feature every issue of the magazine).

The magazine does a wonderful job breaking up the text with gorgeous images from Firestorm’s history.  I’ve provided a few snapshots below to give you a flavor of how the magazine looks.  Stephen Wiacek, writer of the articles, clearly knows his Firestorm history.  The only thing I found unusual was the disproportionate amount of time spent on the “Blank Slate” incarnation of Firestorm.  While I like the “Blank Slate” version, it was odd to see more space dedicated to him as compared to the Elemental version or Jason Rusch.

Overall this was a great purchase!  The figurine is fantastic and the magazine is an enjoyable read for Firestorm novices and experts.  If your local comic shop doesn’t have it in stock, ask if they can order it.  It’s worth your time and money.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

As discussed here previously, Firestorm is used in a couple scenes of the film. He is a minor character and primarily appears during a large fight scene in which he battles the evil version of Captain Marvel Jr.  This is the Jason Rusch version of Firestorm and he’s from the “good” Earth. Firestorm is voiced by Cedric Yarbrough and his costume is based upon the Jamal Igle version from Firestorm vol III.  Dwayne McDuffie wrote the story for this movie; McDuffie wrote a few issues of Firestorm vol III and a JLA run with Jason.  Below is a still of Firestorm using his transmutation powers during the large battle. Click here to see how Firestorm handles himself during the fight.

If you’re like me, you were wondering if there was an evil Crime Syndicate doppelganger of Firestorm.  Well for those eagle-eyed viewers, or those that thought to pause, there was a very brief appearance.  The shot below reveals several of Super-Woman’s henchmen.  Among them on the bottom row towards the center is clearly an evil parallel to Firestorm.  Rather than a red headpiece, his is green and features a radioactive symbol.  I can’t help but wonder what his name is.  Meltdown?  Fallout?  Nuclear Winter?

Even though Firestorm’s part is minor, the film is definitely worth checking out.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

• We’ve got a sneak peek of Firestorm from the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD scheduled for release next Tuesday, February 23. These photos confirm that the Firestorm that appears in the movie is the Jason Rusch version and he’s from the “good” Earth.  I guess in hindsight it’s not too surprising that it’s the Jason Firestorm since Dwayne McDuffie wrote the story for this movie; McDuffie wrote a few issues of Firestorm vol III and a JLA run with Jason.  It’ll be interesting to see if there is an “evil” counterpart to Firestorm within the Crime Syndicate.  Firestorm will apparently have a speaking part as Cedric Yarbrough has been identified as doing the voice of Firestorm in this film.  Also worth noting is that Firestorm’s costume is based upon the Jamal Igle version from Firestorm vol III.  Huge thanks to Rob over at the Aquaman Shrine for granting me permission to republish these images here.  Also, my thanks to Joshua Wolf for directing me towards this news.

• Comic Book Resources had some great coverage of the New York Toy Fair earlier this week.  They managed to get some amazing shots of upcoming DC figures from Mattel.  Below are the images they ran of Firestorm from the Justice League Unlimited line.  This figure is due out sometime in 2010 and will be available online and at Target.  Check out the Comic Book Resources article for pictures of other fantastic figures on the horizon (i.e. Blue Devil, several Aquaman figures, Blue Beetle, Ultra-Humanite, and more.  They’ve even got Cyclotron?!?!)

• I just stumbled across a nice blog post about Shadowstorm, the evil Firestorm doppleganger from the Elemental-era.  The post was written by NicodemusLegend for his Transforming Seminarian blog.  Click here to read the Shadowstorm post.  Additionally, NicodemusLegend did a thorough three-part series on “The Hard Life of Professor Martin Stein”.  Check out that series by clicking on the following links: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

• Steward Cook (a.k.a. bricolage) laid out his Firestorm: Rebirth proposal that he pitched to DC back in the 1990s.  Sounds like it would have been interesting.  Check it out by clicking here.
• The episode of Batman: The Brave & the Bold that featured Firestorm is now available to view online.  Click here to be watch.  My thanks to Jerrod Porter for sending this link my way.

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD this coming Tuesday!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

• Cartoon Network has posted a sneak peek of this week’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode.  The clip is nearly six minutes long and features High School Coach Ronnie Raymond and High School student Jason Rusch.  My thanks to Max Henderson for sending this my way.  Click here to be taken to the clip.
• Below is Comics Continuum’s interview with Michael Jelenic, Producer and Story Editor for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, about Firestorm’s appearance on the show.  Click here if you can’t see the embedded video below.

• It’s been announced that Firestorm will appear in the upcoming direct-to-video animated feature, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.  Firestorm will be voiced by Cedric Yarbrough.  At this time it’s not clear if the Firestorm in the feature will be from the “good” Earth of the Justice League, or the “evil” Earth of the Crime Syndicate.  World’s Finest Online has the cast rundown for the feature.  My thanks to Joshua Wolf and Max Henderson for sending this information my way.
• The Ronnie Raymond Firestorm DC Universe Infinite Heroes figure has started appearing in stores.  Keep your eyes out for this figure.  Get it before it disappears.  My thanks to CJ/Outburst for the heads-up on this.

• Kurt Harris put together a fun line-drawing showing what a Firestorm Lego figure might look like.  You can find Kurt Harris’ work on Flickr.

• Over at the Favorite Fiction blog, Marcus McElhaney has put together another Firestorm battle using the customized Capcom fighting game.  This time out it’s Firestorm versus Marvel’s Quasar from the 1990s. If you can’t view the embedded video below, please click here.

• Finally, Ninjabot1000 on YouTube has put together a review of the DC Universe Classics Worlds Greatest Superheroes Firestorm action figure. It’s about 7 minutes long and goes into great detail about the figure.  If you can’t view the embedded video below, please click here.

Don’t forget to watch Firestorm on Batman: The Brave and the Bold this Friday, February 5 at 7:30pm (ET)!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

In the meantime, it’s time for more original Firestorm pages from our friend Jon at the Fizzit Firestorm-themed blog.  He happens to own several of the original Firestorm pages and has been kind enough to allow me to publish scans of them here. I’ve been horribly negligent in publishing his more recent acquisitions, so I’m playing catch up today.  Jon’s been a great contributor to FIRESTORM FAN and my thanks go out to him. You may view scans of his entire art collection online by clicking here.

Below is an amazing shot from the series 52.  This is page three from issue #24 featuring Firestorm’s attempt to create a new Justice League.  It was drawn by Phil Jimenez with inks by Andy Lanning.  Such a wonderful shot of a truly quirky team.  I love every character in this group!

Below are two preliminary sketches by Matt Haley as he tried to figure out the design for the cover to Firestorm vol III #11.

Below are two pages from Firestorm vol II #19.  These were drawn by the legendary Gene Colan. The second page was even signed by the artist!

The following page is a nice piece from Firestorm vol II issue #30 by penciller Rafael Kayanan and inker Romeo Tanghal.

These next two pages come from Firestorm vol III issue #5 and were penciled by ChrisCross and inked by Keith Champagne.  In these pages, Firestorm meets Superman and the Flash for the first time.

This next one is from Firestorm vol III issue 11 and features a great shot of Killer Frost.  This was drawn by penciller Dale Eaglesham and inker Wade von Grawbadger.

The next page is from Firestorm vol III issue 12 and features the return of the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm!  In this shot he’s chasing down his long-time foe Multiplex.  This nuclearrific page was penciled by Jamal Igle and inked by Rob Stull.

The page below is from Firestorm vol III issue 22 and features the fusing of Jason Rusch and Professor Martin Stein.  This page was penciled by Eddy Barrows and inked by Rob Stull.

Finally a nice quiet diner scene from Firestorm vol III issue 32.  This one was penciled by Jamal Igle and inked by Keith Champagne.  Be sure to watch for the characters in the background!

My thanks again to Jon at the Fizzit Firestorm-themed blog for providing me with theses scans to publish!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!