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.

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• 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!

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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!

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Today we’ll be presenting several Killer Frost images.  Most of these were taken from lazy afternoon web surfing, so I’m unable to identify the artist for many of them.  I apologize to any artist who I fail to credit.  If a reader can identify a particular artist that I’ve missed, please feel free to leave that in the comments.

Below is a close-up from the cover to The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man #20 (1984).  I’ve always liked the cover, but this zoomed-in shot is particularly nice.  Art by Rafael Kayanan and Dick Giordano.

Below is a nice image of Killer Frost from one of her earlier appearances.  I believe this may be a George Perez drawing.

Below are two shots of Killer Frost as she appeared in the Justice League Unlimited animated series (2003).  Mattel still hasn’t made a JLU Killer Frost action figure yet, but there are lots of customs on the net.

Below are two cheesecake shots of Killer Frost from her time with the Suicide Squad (2002).  During this era, they really softened her looks and played up her attractiveness.  I guess they figured since she was an antiheroine with the Suicide Squad, she needed to be made really sexy. The first image was drawn by Paco Medina.

Below is the gorgeous cover to Green Arrow #55 (2005) by James Jean.

Below are three shots of Killer Frost in her post-Underworld Unleashed outfit.  She still wears this costume to this day.

The shot below is by Jamal Igle from Firestorm vol III.

Finally, here is the origin of Killer Frost as presented by Scott Beatty and Jamal Igle in Countdown #25 (2007).  You can find this origin story on the DC Comics web site.

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Jamal was kind enough to spend some time discussing his run on Firestorm with FIRESTORM FAN.

Firestorm Fan: How did you get the Firestorm assignment and were you familiar with the character before taking the job?

Jamal Igle: Well, I was actually approached on two different occasions, once by Dan Jolley and later by Peter Tomasi, who was the editor at the time. I turned Dan down initially because although I did want to do it I was otherwise committed. The second time I was still working on one project full time and doing a fill in on Marvel Age Spider-Man when Pete asked me if i was available to do a fill in on the series and I turned him down again. I thought that would be the end of it, but Pete called the next day and offered me the series.

I said no again, hung up the phone and walked about 3 feet before screaming out loud “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”. So I called Pete back and took the job.

I was of course very familiar with Ronnie Raymond, having grown up reading the Fury of Firestorm and watching him on the Superfriends. At one point Jay Faeber and I had pitched a Ronnie-centric Firestorm series to DC that went pretty far before ultimately being killed.

FF: You worked with both Dan Jolley and Stuart Moore on Firestorm. What were some of the differences in their writing styles? Were they full-script or plot-first? How collaborative were your relationships with them?

JI: They were both full script writers and that made it very easy for me. Style wise they were very similar but tonally very different. Dan, by the time I came on the book, was trying to right the sinking ship I guess. DC had asked him to make the series very Vertigoesque in tone but there was a bit of a backlash, not just from the book but the revelation of Ronnie’s death in Identity Crisis. So, he and the editors decided to bring in more aspects from the original series and give Ronnie a proper heroic send off. Stuart was much more about incorporating as much real science into the stories but making them more fun.

FF: Do you have any favorite issues or storylines from your time on Firestorm? Or from any other era of Firestorm?

JI: Wow, well issue 17 is one of my favorites,which had Jason taking on the Secret society. issues 24 and 25 were fun because it was the first time that I got to draw both Mr. Freeze and Batman.

FF: You designed a fantastic new costume for Jason Rusch. How did you go about creating the redesign? Were you provided any input, or was it solely your design?

JI: It was my design. We were given the go ahead to design a new suit actually around issue #14 , where we have what I like to call the proto-costume. We wanted the change in costume to coincide with Martin Stein’s return but One Year Later was put in place when we make the jump in issue #23 you see Jason’s current costume.

FF: Your new costume for Jason has appeared on two action figures (with a third coming out this year), numerous comics, and is set to appear in the Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon. What is it like seeing something you designed grow beyond your original involvement?

JI: It’s pretty cool actually, you don’t really get used to it. I’ve designed a few other characters like the new Vigilante and Dreadbolt from Terror Titans.  I have to admit I get a little upset when I see other artists drawing the costume wrong, LOL.

FF: You had the opportunity to redesign several classic characters (Firehawk, Pozhar, Multiplex) as well as design some new ones yourself (Pupil, The Pionic Man, DOLLIES). Were there any you enjoyed more than the others?

JI: There were designs that never saw print that I loved but were cut for space and time issues. The Pupil is one of my favorites , I modeled him after a caricature of Peter Lorre from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. He was just so creepy.

FF: You took over the Firestorm book with issue #8. This issue started the return of Ronnie Raymond storyline. Were you aware of some fans concerns surrounding Jason replacing Ronnie? If so, did this affect the way you approached the storytelling?

JI: I did, but I try not to think about those things. The truth is, if I let people getting upset about creative decisions bother, I wouldn’t get anything done. I don’t draw to please fans necessarily. Everyone has an opinion about what you should and shouldn’t do. I have to please myself as an artist, and be satisfied with the work first before anyone else sees it. I don’t want to sound like a tool or conceited but you can’t serve so many masters. I’m just happy that other people seem to like my work.

FF: You are truly an amazing storyteller, from action sequences to subtle facial expressions. You can do it all. Once you get the script/plot from the writer, how do you tackle it?

JI: Usually I read a script two or three times to get comfortable with the story and then I thumbnail the entire story over the course of a day, working out the major beats and getting the general layout down. I really prefer working from a full script because the dialog allows me to think about the acting each character does and staging. Depending on the script and what’s required it’s the hunt for reference. After that I take the first day of the week and layout that weeks pages. So I layout 5- 6 pages in one day and then I spend the rest of the week penciling.

FF: You’ve worked with a few different inkers, each bringing their own distinctive feel to the art. What are some characteristics that different inkers bring out in your pencils?

JI: Well, let’s concentrate with the three guys I had the longest collaborations. Rob Stull has a very graphic drawing style. Sharp angles and a very slick stylization. Keith Champagne’s work was equally as fluid but Keith in many ways was far more faithful to my line. I always liked Keith’s work because he was a brush inker like myself and inked me in a similar way that I inked my own work. Jon Sibal is phenomenal as well. His style actually brings a rougher quality than I normally have but for some reason it works so well.

FF: I understand you’ve lectured for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art and the Art Students League of New York. Would you tell us a little more about your involvement?

JI: Well I was involved with MOCCA very early on but it wasn’t in an artistic manner. In a former life I worked in public relations so I was assisting them with their PR and marketing. I lectured a few times afterward. the League was my first actual teaching experience. I taught there for two semesters, starting their comics program.

FF:  Looking back at all the work you’ve amassed, what are you most proud of? What do you consider a high point both personally and creatively?

JI: I don’t know. I haven’t done it yet. I’m a work in progress, I feel like my work is getting better with each issue so the next project is the one I’ll be proudest of.

FF: Your work on Supergirl is awesome and has been very well-received. Are there any other projects you are currently working on or have coming up?

JI: I’ll be penciling World’s Finest #3 but it’ll be Supergirl for the next year.

FF: What would your dream comic book project be?

JI: I still haven’t done my Superman run.

.

Thanks again to Jamal Igle for generously donating his time to this interview.  Be sure to visit Jamal Igle’s blog by clicking here. Jamal’s blog features amazing artwork, updates on current projects, and his convention schedule.  Be sure to stop by and tell him FIRESTORM FAN sent you!

Also, be sure to support Jamal’s current work on Supergirl.  Supergirl #45 is on stands now – check it out!

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• Newsarama did a page-by-page summary of Blackest Night #1.  If you didn’t get a chance to read the issue, there are some nice moments related to Ronnie Raymond.  
• IGN featured a really great interview with Geoff Johns about Blackest Night.  Firestorm is mentioned in the interview.
• Can’t wait for the DC Direct Black Lantern Firestorm action figure?  Then check out this custom action figure selling on eBay right now.  My thanks to ComicByComic.com for originally drawing my attention to this.
• The San Diego Comic Con has started and at least three Firestorm-related creators will be there: Jamal Igle, Dwayne McDuffie, and Geoff Johns.  If you’re going to the Con, be sure to attend one of the panels for these guys and tell them how much you love Firestorm!
• If you haven’t been keeping up with Justice League of America, Jason Rusch/Firestorm recently met the Shadow Thief.  For those of you who don’t remember, Shadow Thief is the one who killed Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm.  Luke over at Being Carter Hall published a fantastic page from JLA where Shadow Thief gets some payback from Firestorm.
• Gerry Conway (Firestorm creator and primary Firestorm writer from 1978 – 1986) has been in the news quite a bit lately thanks to the success of his current mini-series, The Last Days of Animal Man.  Here are links to two interviews he’s done recently:
  • Comics Nexus (Firestorm is briefly mentioned in this interview)
  • Cary’s Comics Craze – Part 1 and Part 2
    
• If you like trivia, check out the Firestorm trivia thread over at the DC Comics Message Board.  Please feel free to chime in and join the fun!
• Finally, DC has released a new Firestorm Black Lantern sketch by Ethan Van Sciver.  Enjoy!

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Also, be sure to support Jamal’s current work on Supergirl.  Supergirl #43 ships this week – check it out!

Here is a fantastic Ronnie & Jason Commission from 2008

Before Jamal was even attached to the series, Jay Faerber (writer of Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes) and Jamal put together a Firestorm pitch. Below are two of his initial redesigns for the character.

Below is an interim costume that was created after issue #13. The reason for the interim costume was because they knew they would be changing it after ONE YEAR LATER.

Below is the first sketch Jamal did for the costume Jason Rusch now wears.

Below is a nice character study of Firehawk.

Below are two sketchs of the D.O.L.L.I. cyborg soldiers Jason fought

My thanks again to Jamal Igle for letting me republish his artwork here.  The original posts on Jamal’s blog can be found at the links below.

• Firestorm Commission
• Various Firestorm designs
• Firehawk and D.O.L.L.I.

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For the last 5 years or so, I have developed a passion for getting tattoo work, and it’s virtually all exclusive to comic book art.  I’m well into my 30s now, and even some middling work I got in my early 20s has been since covered up by my more recent graphic art interests.

As a ten-year resident of Chicago, my preferred tattoo artist is Patrick Cornolo of Speakeasy Custom Tattoos.  Anyway, over the span of our working relationship, I’ve in most instances had a character in mind and I would give it to Patrick to get his artistic interpretation.  During this time, I developed a theme for characters that have been tattooed on my right leg below the knee.  I call it “Fire Leg.”  It started with one character, and after I coincidentally ended up with the first two characters done on the leg being fire-based in terms of their abilities (Green Fury, Starfire), I decided to keep the theme going.

In 2005, I added a headshot of the first Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond.  The image was pulled directly from Justice League of America (vol. 1) #200.  My all-time favorite comic artist is George Perez, so this was a natural combination for me of character and artist, if Patrick Cornolo was just going to do a straight reproduction.  A year later, I had Patrick redesign an image of Firestorm’s longtime partner Firehawk based off a Perez sketch I ran across years prior.  Another year later, in 2007, I ran across a perfect headshot of the latest Firestorm, Jason Rusch, in the weekly DC series 52.  They ran a regular 2-page backup origin story on an assortment of heroes and villains, and this image was originally done by Jamal Igle, one of my favorite artists in comics today.

Eventually, once I ran out of room for new characters (after having included Wildfire of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Human Torch, and Firestar), I had Patrick fill in the empty spaces with flames to make it all one cohesive piece.

Wow!  That is truly awesome!  My sincerest thanks to O.J. for allowing me to showcase his tattoos here at FIRESTORM FAN.  Those tattoos are gorgeous and inspired.  In addition to the Firestorm tattoos, I especially like the Firestar and Wildfire tattoos.  Really cool interpretations!  Be sure to keep up with “The Rev. O.J. Flow” at his own Blog, Newsarama’s Blog, and Newsarama’s Best Shots book reviews.

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