• Be sure to pick up Brightest Day #6 from your local comic shop.  We finally see the new Firestorm in action!

• Not much Firestorm news came out of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) this year.  I’ve only come across two news items, both toy related.  I’ve outlined them below, click here for the full scoop on Mattel’s panel at SDCC on DC toys.
  • The Batman: Brave and the Bold Action League is being re-branded into the DC Universe Action League.  The line will now have added articulation and feature characters from all over the DCU. A DC Universe Action League pack containing Firestorm and Black Lantern Firestorm has been announced.  No specific release date identified.  I gotta assume this re-branding is being done to compete with Marvel’s highly-successful Super Hero Squad.
  • The Justice League Unlimited Firestorm action figure (featured here previously) will be repackaged in a three-pack with Killer Frost and the Angle Man.  Watch for that in early Spring 2011.  I don’t have a Killer Frost figure, so that will be nice.  An Angle Man figure… really?  Lovely.

• Just before Comic-Con, Geoff Johns had a few things to say about Brightest Day over on Comic Book Resources.  Check out the Firestorm bits below:

CBR: Allen Thornton noted that many people, he included, missed a very significant clue in “Blackest Night” #8 that Deadman was the new White Lantern. It wasn’t until it was mentioned to him that he saw the White Ring on his finger, which he then mentioned to a friend, passing the awareness on. His question is was there any other subtle clues like that in “Blackest Night” and “Brightest Day” that he and others may have missed and once they’re revealed will cause a collective head slap? And if there are clues, are you surprised that people are not seeing them?

GEOFF JOHNS: There are clues for just about everything. There are clues about Firestorm. His story is just beginning and where Jason and Ronnie go, you can go back to “Blackest Night” and see some seeds that will be touched on. The stories were really set up because we knew we were going to be doing a lot with Jason and Mera post-“Blackest Night” and “Brightest Day,” so you should go back, and check out what was planted, especially with Mera and Firestorm, but there are other things too, with the White Lantern, specifically. The history of what the White Lantern is doing on Earth and where it’s going and what’s happening to it now, all comes to light in #7.

• Brightest Day cover artist David Finch addressed characters he finds difficult to draw during an interview with Comic Book Resources.  Here is the quote relevant to Firestorm:

CBR: Are there any heroes that you find particularly tricky or difficult to draw?

DAVID FINCH: Characters that have very structured costumes, as opposed to more anatomical ones are always challenging for me. I always struggle with characters that have energy powers, too. Firestorm is a great character, but I always feel like I’m fighting with my drawings of him.

• The DC Source Blog revealed the Return of the Black Lanterns will appear in October.  No one is really sure what that means yet, but Black Lantern Firestorm is featured in the promotional image.

• It’s been announced that the DC Direct Brightest Day Firestorm action figure will be part of the second wave of Brightest Day figures. Therefore it should ship in April 2011.

• Get your own Firestorm magnet over on SuperHeroStuff.com!  Looks like someone colored the Ed Benes Firestorm sketch and then slapped the original comic book logo on it.  You can get this magnet for $4.99 plus shipping (and the shipping ain’t cheap).

• While Firestorm foes Summer Day and Dr. Jivan Shi may be deceased, the Hyena curse lives on!  Several were-hyenas appeared in Zatanna #2, written by Paul Dini and drawn by Stephane Roux and Karl Story.  My thanks to tigner02 on the DC Comics Message Board for pointing out this appearance. See the pages below.

• Firehawk made a one-panel cameo in Justice League of America #45, written by James Robinson and drawn by Mark Bagley, Rob Hunter, and Norm Rapmund.  Notice below she’s wearing one of her older costumes.

• Our good buddy Frank, a friend to the FIRESTORM FAN site and author of numerous blogs, shared his own personal thoughts about the Nuclear Man over on the DC Bloodlines blog.  Be warned, Frank does not have a very high opinion of Firestorm’s adventures, however, his comments are well-written and well thought out.  I find myself agreeing with some of Frank’s points, while disagreeing with others.  That’s the beauty of civilized fandom, we can have differing opinions and yet all get along.  Frank’s other sites include blogs dedicated to: Martian Manhunter, Justice League Detroit, Wonder Woman, Captain Atom and the Atom, and his own blog …nurgh…

• Back in June, Phillip Martinez wrote a review of Brightest Day #4 asking for more Firestorm content.  You can read his review of Brightest Day #4 on The Examiner by clicking here.

• Firestorm appeared once again on the Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon back on June 13.  In the episode, “The Siege of Starro! Part One” Firestorm was featured prominently along with a handful of other heroes.  Part Two has not aired yet, so I gotta believe Part One was the season finale or mid-season finale.

• The Aquaman Shrine blog has a model sheet for the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths animated DVD that was released back in February.  Firestorm is one of the characters featured on the model sheet.  Click here to see the model sheets on the Aquaman Shrine blog.

• xBrandonHexx has put together a YouTube tribute video to Killer Frost.  It’s got some good music and is worth your time if you are interested in the character.  Click here to watch the Killer Frost YouTube tribute video.

• The Back to the Bins podcast recently tackled DC Comics Presents #45, a 1982 Superman/Firestorm team-up published a month before the Fury of Firestorm series premiered.  Back to the Bins is hosted by my good buddies Scott Gardner and Michael Bailey.  To listen to Back to the Bins #59, please visit the Two True Freaks site by clicking here.  Here is the description for the Back to the Bins podcast:
  • Disenfranchised by the modern comics industry, Scott Gardner and Michael Bailey (of “View From The Longbox” and “From Crisis To Crisis: A Superman Podcast” fame) now ply the timestream in a never-ending quest to re-discover and re-connect with that unique brand of fun and excitement that can only truly be found in good ol’ fashioned randomly-selected Comic Book back issues!! Journey with them now…back…Back To The Bins!

• I recently came across a 13-inch custom Firestorm doll on eBay (see below).  When the auction ended, it had not received any bids.  Click here to see the eBay auction.

• Also on eBay I came across a custom Heroscape Firestorm piece made using the Firestorm Heroclix.  Click here to see the eBay auction.

• Finally, I came across this cool fan art recently.  It features Superman, Green Lantern, and the current Firestorm.  It was drawn by Rex Zachary.  You can visit his website by clicking here.

That’s it for today!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

The Victorian Era of Britain lasted from 1837 to 1901.  This happens to coincides with much of the American Old West.   Steampunk is a science fiction genre where steam power is still widely used — usually in the 19th century, and often Victorian Era Britain — but with filled with fantastical technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.  Now throw superpowers into these genres and you’ve got a recipe for awesome!

If the Justice League had existed during the 1800s, I like to think Firestorm would have been from the Old West.  I envision the majority of the Justice League as proper British Victorian Era heroes, but then along comes the brash young American, Firestorm.  If you’ve read Firestorm’s appearances in the classic Justice League of America comics, this description would be a good reflection.

Here is a fantastic drawing of Firestorm as he might have looked back during the Old West.  I absolutely love the vest, puffy shirt, and the headgear!  He’s got the visual sensibilities of an aristocratic scientist of that era, but dashed with hints of a frontier cowboy.  That makes perfect sense if you imagine the personalities of Professor Stein and Ronnie Raymond transplanted into the Old West.  The drawing is so utterly Firestorm, and yet so utterly Wild, Wild West.  This super-cool reimagining was done by Michael S Bracco.  To see more of Michael’s artwork, please click here to visit SpaghettiKiss.com.

Now onto the rest of the League… A gentleman by the name of Sillof creates the most amazing custom action figures.  He does this by taking existing action figures and modifying them through sculpture and paint. He specializes in redesigning well known characters and reimagines them in various time periods or aesthetics.

In this case, Sillof created a Victorian Era Justice League.  He was inspired by the comic book, Gotham by Gaslight by Mike Mignola and Brian Augustyn, in which Batman of the 1880’s attempts to stop Jack the Ripper who had come to Gotham.  Sillof calls this set of figures the Gaslight Justice League.

Sillof redesigned several members of the Justice League in the style of the Victorian Era. He went for a darker look and tried to give them the right period feel, but also attempted to keep the feel of the original character.  He didn’t design a Firestorm Gaslight figure, so you’ll have to imagine the Old West Firestorm above standing alongside these heroes.

Click the image to enlarge.  Aren’t those figures amazing!?!?!?!?

More information on these custom figures can be found at the links below:

• Descriptions of each Gaslight Justice League member as well as the Gaslight Legion of Doom on Sillof’s web site
• Gaslight Batman on the Justice League Detroit blog
• Gaslight Wonder Woman on the Diana Prince: Wonder Woman blog
• Gaslight Flash, Captain Cold, and Gorilla Grodd on the Speed Force blog
• Gaslight Aquaman on the Aquaman Shrine blog
• Gaslight Martian Manhunter on the Idol-Head of Diabolu blog
• Close-ups of the rest of the Gaslight Justice League on My[confined]Space

There you have it, the Justice League of the 1800s!  Such a cool concept!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

]]> http://firestormfan.com/2010/07/20/steampunk-justice-league-and-old-west-firestorm/feed/ 3 http://firestormfan.com/2010/07/13/power-girl-and-firestorm-sitting-in-a-tree/ http://firestormfan.com/2010/07/13/power-girl-and-firestorm-sitting-in-a-tree/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:30:44 +0000 Shag http://firestormfan.com/?p=1654 Believe it or not, Firestorm and Power Girl once had a romantic thing for each other!  Our favorite Nuclear Man and one of the universally-accepted hotties of the DC Universe — good on Firestorm!  Their flirtations continued from 1980 through 1983.  Whenever the JLA (from Earth-1) and the JSA (from Earth-2) got together for their annual team-up, Firestorm was sure to jump at the chance to flirt with Power Girl.  As the youngest members of each team, it’s understandable why they connected.  However, living in separate universes put a bit of a strain on their amorous activities.

It all started when they first met in Justice League of America #183-185 (Oct. – Dec. 1980).  It was the annual JLA/JSA team-up and they were dealing with a New Gods crisis.  Below are a few panels from those issues written by Gerry Conway and drawn by George Perez and Frank McLaughlin.  As you’ll see, Power Girl actually starts the flirting…

While Power Girl and Firestorm didn’t end up together in this story, you can sense romance is in the air between the two.

The next time Firestorm and Power Girl met was during Justice League of America #195-197 (Oct. – Dec. 1981).  This time around she shot him down pretty fast.  Poor guy.  Below is a panel from that story written by Gerry Conway and drawn by George Perez and John Beatty.

What the heck kind of pick up line is that anyway, Ronnie?!?!  No wonder she shot you down cold.

Next up was Justice League of America #207-209 (Oct. – Dec. 1982).  “Crisis on Earth-Prime” was a massive crossover between the JLA, the JSA, and the All-Star Squadron.  This event was so large it spilled over into All-Star Squadron #14-15 (Oct. – Nov. 1982).

Below are some panels from the JLA issues written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Don Heck.  This time around Firestorm finally gets the girl!  Way to go hot-head!

Way to go Firestorm!  I wonder how the next scene went.  Did Professor Stein politely turn his floating head around to give them some privacy?

Firestorm and Power Girl next saw each other a year later in Justice League of America #219-220 (Oct. – Nov. 1983).  Now Firestorm being a bonehead in the romance department hadn’t bothered to call Power Girl during the past year.  Just imagine, you hook-up with one of the hottest women in the Multiverse and you don’t call her for a year!?!?  What an idiot.  Thankfully Elongated Man, Zatanna, and Hourman were willing to give our Nuclear Dork some advice in matters of the heart.

Below are some panels from that story written by Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway and drawn by Chuck Patton & Romeo Tanghal.

Well… he got knocked unconscious trying to impress Power Girl, but he could have ended up in worse places than leaning against her chest. Too bad he slept through it.

While Firestorm and Power Girl appeared in other scenes and stories together, those really cover the ones with romantic undertones.  Two years later Crisis on Infinite Earths came along and wiped out the whole Multiverse.  After that Firestorm and Power Girl existed on the same Earth, but they never really connected again romantically.  They did spend some time together during the Invasion event a few years later while Firestorm was in his “Blank Slate” incarnation.  At first she seemed bothered when he gave her the cold shoulder, but when he eventually started flirting with her it was awkward and not reciprocated.  The “Blank Slate” Firestorm was not known as a ladies man, that’s for sure.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Gerry Conway what were his long-range plans for Firestorm and Power Girl back when he was writing JLA.  He said it made sense there would be a natural affinity between the two characters as each was the youngest member of their respective teams.  He went on to say that given Ronnie’s other romantic interests (i.e. Firehawk and Doreen Day), it probably wouldn’t have gone much further with Power Girl.

Suppose you had to choose between Doreen Day and Power Girl… not really much of a choice, is it?

Nowadays Ronnie Raymond is part of Firestorm again and Power Girl is a major player in the DC Universe.  Who knows, perhaps some sparks could fly between these heroes once again.  I’m not counting on it, but it would be fun to read!

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!

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• The biggest Firestorm news is that Brightest Day #0 ships today!  Be sure to stop by your local comic book store and pick up yours.  Hopefully Firestorm will play a role in the issue.

• If you are looking for some lively discussion on our favorite nuclear man, head over to the DC Comics Message Board Firestorm forum.  There is always some good Firestorm talk going on over there.

• Behind the Voice Actors – Check out this fun side-by-side comparison of the voice-over actors who have played Firestorm with sound clips and images.  Listen to each clip, then vote for your favorite in poll on the right-hand side.  For me, Mark Taylor will always be the voice of Firestorm.  Super Friends was my first exposure to the character, so that portrayal holds a special place in my heart.  When you’re done with that, check out the Behind the Voice Actors for Killer Frost!

• Click here for an interesting list of folks with flaming hair on the TV Tropes website.  Includes characters from comics, literature, movies, video games, and more.

• Below is another custom Mugg of the Black Lantern Firestorm.  Really great job on this custom!  You can view the whole set of Blackest Night Muggs over at Fried Gold Productions.

• If you are looking for more classic Firestorm action and back issues aren’t satisfying your craving, you could always try some fan fiction.  The Faux DC site features a series of prose adventures starring Firestorm V (Ronnie Raymond while he was solo prior to his death in Identity Crisis).  There are 12 issues of the fan fiction Firestorm available.  Also, the Justice League of America series features Firehawk.  Click here to check out the Firestorm issues and click here to check out the Justice League of America stories.

• Over at Comics Alliance there is a hilarious parody entited Blackest Night in 60 seconds.  Below is the panel relevant to Firestorm.  My thanks to the Girls-Gone-Geek for sending this my way.

• Below is a fantastic sketch of the Elemental Firestorm done by Yildiray Cinar (artist of the Ravager co-feature in Teen Titans and the upcoming Legion of Super-heroes series).  I really like his take on the Elemental Firestorm!  It’s just gorgeous!  Click here or the image to visit Cinar’s website.  If you’d like to see the previous sketch, click here.

• Below is a cute sketch of Huckleberry Hound as Firestorm by ~zombiegoon on Deviant Art.

• Below is another cute sketch of Firestorm, this time by *jbrant047 on Deviant Art.

• These next few are fan reimaginings from the Superbuddies.net forum. This first one is by cattjay12345 and represents their vision of Firestorm from the Ultimate universe.

• The next one is by Jor-El and is essentially a fancy version of Firestorm’s contemporary costume.

• Here’s how Ronnie Raymond might look on the Smallville TV show, again by Jor-El.

• And now, just for fun, the Jedi version of Firestorm, also by Jor-El!

Watch this space for more information on Firestorm in Brightest Day!

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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.

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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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• 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)!

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• I guess the biggest news about Firestorm this week is my own.  Gerry Conway, co-creator of Firestorm and writer of the character for nine years, was kind enough to grant an interview for FIRESTORM FAN! He was super nice and extraordinarily generous with his time. Even though Mr. Conway has had an amazing and prolific career, we focused almost exclusively on Firestorm for the interview.  Once I get the audio edited and cleaned-up (read as: edit out tons of my fanboy awestruck ramblings), it should come out to about an hour.  The interview will be posted as an audio file, as it would literally take me months to transcribe the interview.  Watch for this interview in the first part of January to commemorate the one year anniversary of the FIRESTORM FAN blog.
• I want to send a huge THANKS to Tommy from the Bat-Blog, a fantastic blog dedicated to all-things Batman! He was kind enough to give FIRESTORM FAN a shout-out last week. That was super-cool of him! Thanks Tommy!
• While Firestorm doesn’t appear in Justice League of America #39, he is mentioned several times.  Additionally, there is a very creepy scene of Black Lantern Doctor Light licking Gehenna’s transformed head from Blackest Night.  Yuck!

• Over at the Favorite Fiction blog, Marcus McElhaney postulates what would happen if Marvel Comic’s The Sentry fought Firestorm.  He even uses video from the customized Capcom fighting game to make his point.  While I’m not thrilled with the outcome of the fight, it’s still really cool to see it. Watch for Ronnie transforming into Firestorm and listen for sounds from the Super Friends cartoon. Click here to visit the Favorite Fiction blog.

If you can’t view the embedded video above, please click here.

• Over at The Fwoosh, The Knights Round Table created several Green Lantern custom Mego action figures for Custom Con 24.  The Knights Round Table is a customizing community for the 8inch and 9inch cloth scale action figure format.  Here is their Mego scale Black Lantern Firestorm.

• I stumbled across the comic strip below by Fred Hembeck on The Hembeck Files!  It appears it was originally drawn back in 1978, prior to Firestorm vol I getting canceled.

• Finally, a cute Firestorm drawing by Matt Kaufenberg.  Given the hair on Firestorm, I gotta wonder if this was based upon early pictures of the Firestorm Blammoid.  My thanks to BDog for sending this my way.

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To view all of the beautiful postcards in the set, check out the Cosmic Teams site.   My thanks to Doug for sending this scan my way!

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