• Brightest Day #4 came out yesterday.  This is the issue with the Black Lantern Firestorm cover.  Be sure to stop by your local comic shop and pick up a copy!

• There was some hubbub amongst Firestorm fans after Brightest Day #3 hit the stands two weeks ago.  In the issue they portray Alvin Rusch (Jason’s father) as having two hands.  The reason for the confusion is that Alvin Rusch lost his hand in an industrial accident before Firestorm vol III even started.  There is lots of speculation, everything from a simple artist mistake to Jason re-growing the hand.  At this time, I don’t believe we have an official explanation.
• Over at Primary Ignition, they’ve identified Firestorm the Nuclear Man Annual #5 from 1987 as a hidden gem.  This is the issue where the “blank slate” Firestorm was created.  Click here to read their commentary on this great issue.

• There is a really great column over at Comic Book Resources on Firestorm vol II artist J. J. Birch (a.k.a. Joe Brozowski).  J.J./Joe drew Firestorm during the “blank slate” era. This column specifically focuses on Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol II issues #70 & 71.   Click here to check out the article.

• The folks at the DC Multiverse blog pointed out something I never realized.  Firehawk (a.k.a. Lorraine Reilly) shares a last name with the second Firebrand (a.k.a. Danette Reilly).  This is interesting because they both have fire powers.  Could Lorraine Reilly be related to Danette Reilly?  Something to consider.  Click here to visit the DC Multiverse blog.
• If you’ve got $600 to spare, you can pick up a slightly charred Firestorm action figure on eBay.   Yes, you read that right, $600.  Clearly this is some kind of joke, but it’s an odd one.  Click here to see the eBay entry.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

The Elemental Firestorm was a fascinating character and a tremendous departure from what had come before.  Two years prior writer John Ostrander had changed Firestorm from the classic Ronnie Raymond/Professor Stein combination to the more complex “Blank Slate” incarnation.  Not content to rest on his laurels, Ostrander continued to evolve the character by revealing that Firestorm was actually a fire elemental.  This new Elemental Firestorm was detached from human emotions and an environmental crusader.  This was a new direction for the series and artist Tom Mandrake brought an entirely new look as well.

What a great time to be collecting the character!  I love me some Elemental Firestorm! Ostrander was pushing this book in different and thought-provoking directions, while Mandrake’s art created a unique mood to the series. This wasn’t just a straightforward superhero comic, this series had depth and substance.  The elemental era of Firestorm walked the line between standard superhero comics and the mature supernatural titles of the time like Sandman and Swamp Thing (keep in mind this was before Vertigo).

This new elemental incarnation first appeared in the final pages of Firestorm #85.  The letters page of that issue carried the following advertisement boldly declaring that Firestorm would never be the same.

While Tom Mandrake didn’t draw issue #85, this advertisement within the issue marks his first published work on the character.  In addition to house ads, DC was getting the word out to retailers about this dramatic change for Firestorm. Special preview copies of issue #86 were sent to retailers along with a letter from Bob Wayne, then Retail Promotions Manager.  Below is the text from the letter.

Dear Retailer:

We’ve got a brand-new look for FIRESTORM.  A look so different that we want you to take an advance peek at it!  Writer John Ostrander has reunited with his former Grimjack collaborator, artist Tom Mandrake.  Together, Ostrander and Mandrake will show you a new FIRESTORM… not just a superhero… but a force of nature!  Will he remain mankind’s protector… or will he become its destroyer?

An ongoing series in the DC Comics Standard Format (and part of The Janus Directive sequence), FIRESTORM #86 ships April 11 from Spartan Printing.

Enjoy this preview of FIRESTORM #86.

Best,

Bob Wayne
Retail Promotions Manager

Click here to read the preview copy of Firestorm #86 (PDF Format, 5.3 MB), including the letter from Bob Wayne.  My thanks to Jon over at the Fizzit blog for supplying the preview copy.  Thanks Jon!

I’m pretty impressed at the efforts DC went to attract attention to this new Firestorm.  Today’s post was solely about the promotions surrounding the launch of the Elemental Firestorm.  Sooner or later I’ll dedicate some posts detailing this fantastic era.  It really was an amazing run and well worth your time if you’ve never read it.

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!

The second incarnation of Firestorm (or as I call him, the “blank slate” Firestorm) doesn’t get talked about very much nowadays.  I think it’s important to remember this version of the character because it was the first time the Firestorm matrix had been changed in a major way.  Since then, change has become a hallmark of the character.  Regardless of whether someone enjoyed this era, it’s important to recognize the significance of the change and that for nearly two years this was the hero known as Firestorm.  If you ever go back and re-read crossovers like Millennium or Invasion, you’ll find this was the version of Firestorm present for those stories.

Ostrander’s first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world.  Acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Professor Martin Stein, Firestorm demanded the U.S. and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons. After tussles with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faced off against a Russian nuclear man named Pozhar.  Pozhar had been Mikhail Arkadin, a nuclear technician and survivor of the Chernobyl accident now cursed with nuclear powers. In Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5, Pozhar and Firestorm battled in the Nevada desert.  Meanwhile, the U.S. government decided that the nuclear man had become a threat. The U.S. military then proceeded to drop a nuclear bomb over Firestorm and Pozhar, blasting the whole area way.

When the smoke cleared, a new Firestorm emerged.  The image below by Joe Brozowski was the final panel from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and our first glimpse of the new Firestorm.

The changes to Firestorm’s physical appearance were subtle.  He’d grown four inches taller, his headgear had gained sideburns-like accents, his body had become skinnier, and his facial features and costume lost some definition.

While cosmetically he looked very similar, his internal make-up was drastically different.  The Firestorm matrix was now composed of Ronnie Raymond and Mikhail Arkadin.  Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  Surprisingly, Ronnie Raymond was no longer in control of the Firestorm form.  Whenever they were merged as Firestorm, both Raymond and Arkadin were trapped inside the fused body unable to affect its actions.  The being in control of the Firestorm form was independent from Raymond and Arkadin and acted very detached.  The new Firestorm had his own personality and desires, yet he seemed to lack any life experience and had no memories.  He was a blank slate.

Both Ronnie and Mikhail had the ability to initiate the merger of Firestorm, regardless of the distance between them. Whenever Firestorm was no longer needed, he would separate back into Raymond and Arkadin, returning them to where they originated.  Typically Ronnie would return to the United States and Mikhail would return to the U.S.S.R. Firestorm still functioned as a superhero, but often seemed confused about the situations he was involved in.  As Ron and Mikhail only formed Firestorm when there was a crisis, the Firestorm entity wondered if his only purpose was to fight.

About a year after this new incarnation of Firestorm came about, it was discovered that the “blank slate” personality of the new Firestorm was in fact the amnesiac mind of Professor Martin Stein.  Though his physical body didn’t join them to create the new Firestorm matrix, his subconscious mind was in control of the Firestorm body.  Stein was found to be suffering from amnesia and living in a Nevada mental institution.

The “blank slate” Firestorm was part of the series from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 (Oct 1987) through Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #84 (Apr 1989).  This nineteen month run was drastically different from the previous nine years.  While  Firestorm still battled supervillains, they also tackled socially-conscious issues like nuclear weapons and famine.  Several stories also took place in Moscow, this being just before the end of the Cold War. To help draw attention to the change in the direction of the series, DC ran the house ad below in November 1987.  I’m not sure who the artist was for this ad, but I don’t believe it was series artist Joe Brozowski.  The advertisement was fairly small (only 1 inch by 3 inches) and was run on the letter column page.

Below you’ll find a drawing I did back in 1988 of the “blank slate” Firestorm that I recently unearthed.  I had been inspired by the changes, so I decided to try my hand at drawing the new character.  I drew it free hand, but based it upon a combination of the artwork above from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and the advertisement.  My drawing measures 13 inches by 17 inches.  Please forgive the patchwork-looking white background.  The original image is so large that I had to do multiple scans and pieced them together digitally.

As I mentioned, for the first year of the “blank slate” Firestorm, Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  It was assumed that he was killed in the nuclear blast that created the new Firestorm.  In Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #75, Professor Stein was found alive in a Nevada mental institution completely cured of his terminal brain tumor.  Stein had no memory of his previous life and was unaware of the part he played in the “blank slate” Firestorm. The institution staff  had no idea how to diagnose Stein as from time to time he would fall into a coma-like state for no apparent reason. Unbeknown to them, these were the times when Firestorm merged and Stein’s subconscious mind was in control of the  Nuclear Man.  The original artwork below comes from our friend Jon over at Fizzit, the Firestorm-themed blog.  This was the last page of Firestorm vol II #75 drawn by Joe Brozowski.  Ronnie Raymond and the amnesiac Professor Martin Stein were finally reunited after a year apart.  When issue #75 was published, I felt this single panel was the most emotionally-moving scene in Firestorm’s publishing history.  Our thanks to Jon for allowing us to reprint this page here.  Click the image to enlarge.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

John recently had some very expensive surgery.  Without the surgery, he would not have been able to retain his sight.  Unfortunately, the resulting medical bills are more than John can afford.  This is where we come in…

A benefit auction has been announced to raise money to pay the medical expenses of John Ostrander.  His friends and colleagues Mike Gold, Adriane Nash and Peter Katz have organized the benefit auction with the aid of Wizard Entertainment to help pay the medical bills after John’s insurance ran out. The event will take place on the Saturday night (August 9) of Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con in a nearby hotel.  If the auction isn’t an option for you, they are taking donations as well.

John gave us years of excellent Firestorm stories (as well as numerous other comics).  This is your chance to give something back to him.  I feel this is important enough that I’m posting it both here on FIRESTORM FAN and on my other blog, ONCE UPON A GEEK.

Please visit Comix4Sight.com for all the details and how to help.  Anything you can give would be appreciated.

Firestorm volume II #84 – “Souls of Fire”
Writer: John Ostrander
Penciller: Tom Grindberg
Inker: Sam De La Rosa
Letterer: Duncan Andrews
Colorist: Nansi Hoolahan
Asst Editor: Dan Raspler
Editor: Denny O’Neil

This is a fairly important issue.  This issue Ronnie and Mikhail begin to realize there is more to the Firestorm matrix than they understand.  This issue also features Svarozhich, a failed Russian attempt to clone Firestorm which produced a soulless creature instead.  In the issue following this, Ronnie, Mikhail and Svarozhich combine permanently (somewhat) to create the first Elemental Firestorm.

Here is the cover of issue #84 from Comics.org.

Below is page 2 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  I really like seeing Ronnie and Mikhail meeting face-to-face.  This is something that almost never happened in this run of Firestorm.  Nice work by Grindberg & De La Rosa showing Ronnie & Mikhail sapping power from Svarozhich.

Jon mentioned that the yellower parts in these pages are pre-printed textures that have been stuck to the page. He says it actually gives them a nice touch as opposed to just being straight black and white on the original pages.  I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that process is called zip-a-tone or screentone.

Below is page 4 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  A nice subway chase scene by Grindberg & De La Rosa with Ronnie, Mikhail, and Svarozhich.

Below is page 5 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  Here we also see Firebird, Mikhail’s telepathic niece and leader of the Russian teen team Soyuz.  Soyuz were an interesting group of supporting characters during this run of Firestorm. It’s be nice to see them again.  Also on this page, a great shot of Svarozhich flying through the subway!

Below is page 15 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  Here we see the mysterious Rasputin, possibly the infamous Rasputin who helped cause the Russian Romanov dynasty to fall in the early 1900s.  Regardless of his true identity, this Rasputin eventually helps Ronnie and Mikhail realize the Elemental potential of Firestorm.  Also on this page is Ronnie being a bad ass.  Love it!

Thanks again to Jon from the Fizzit blog!  I’ll be posting some further scans from him in the coming weeks!

Today we’ll be looking at Who’s Who in the DC Universe #10 (June 1991).   This was the fourth Who’s Who mini-series and was published in a loose leaf format (you can see the hole punches in the images below).  This was an interesting volume of Who’s Who because they weren’t tied down to the alphabetical format.  Since it was loose leaf, they could cover whatever characters they wanted each month.  It certainly made for more timely entries and the binders were fun.  Each issue included 24 character write-ups and sometimes a bonus fold-out poster or map (of places like the Batcave).

The particular entry we’ll be looking at today is the second Elemental Firestorm (Martin Stein).  The text was written by John Ostrander with art by Tom Mandrake. Look at that gorgeous image of the elemental Firestorm!  I love that hair!  Tom Mandrake did such a great job on this series.  The coloring below is a bit odd on the stomach, but it doesn’t detract too much from the line work.  When this Who’s Who was published, Ostrander and Mandrake had just finished up the Firestorm monthly series about 10 months prior.  It was nice that DC included Firestorm in this volume of Who’s Who, especially since he didn’t have a monthly book at the time and wasn’t really active in the DC universe.

In addition to being loose leaf, this format was a little different than previous Who’s Who formats.  First, it was oversized.  Each page was about the size of a sheet of notebook paper (larger than a standard comic page).  This was nice because it helped showcase the phenomenal art for each character.  Second, each character had the front and back of a sheet of paper.  So below you’ll see the front-side picture of Firestorm and the following image will be the write-up on the back-side.  If you are interested in reading the text, click that image for a larger version.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mayfair Games published a role-playing game set in the DC universe called DC Heroes.  From everything I’ve read the game was well-received, however, don’t ask me as I’m biased.  I played the game for years with friends so I think it was fantastic!

In an effort to capitalize on the popularity of DC’s Who’s Who, Mayfair published role-playing supplements in 1992 and 1993 that served as companion pieces to DC’s Who’s Who in the DC Universe.  Mayfair’s supplements featured role-playing statistics for each character, tips to role-playing the character (such as personality and subplots), and a complete list of comic book appearances for the character.

Mayfair’s Who’s Who supplements were laid out in the same loose leaf format and used similar design elements, such as the colored borders and topic headers. While they didn’t look exactly like DC’s Who’s Who pages (Mayfair’s pages were slightly bigger and they used a different font), they were pretty darn close.  This made it very easy for fans to insert the Mayfair Who’s Who pages into their binders right next to their DC Who’s Who pages.  So you could have the DC artwork and character history right next to your role-playing stats.  Pretty cool for role-players like myself.

Mayfair published three volumes of their Who’s Who supplements, with each volume covering the same characters that were covered in four issues of DC’s Who’s Who.  For example, the first volume of Mayfair’s Who Who’s supplement featured the exact same characters that were presented in issues #1-4 of DC’s Who’s Who in the DC Universe.  Since Firestorm appeared in #10 of DC’s Who’s Who in the DC Universe, he was featured in the third (and final) volume of Mayfair’s Who’s Who supplement.

Below you will find the front-side and back-side of the Mayfair Who’s Who Firestorm entry.  I realize the role-playing statistics may be meaningless to you, but I still think this piece of Firestorm memorabilia is worth posting.  If you are interested in reading the text, click the image for a larger version.

Come back tomorrow when we talk about Ronnie Raymond flying solo!

Support Firestorm! Fan the Flame!