• 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!

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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!

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]]> http://firestormfan.com/2010/07/20/steampunk-justice-league-and-old-west-firestorm/feed/ 3 http://firestormfan.com/2010/07/14/firestorm-brightest-day-action-figure-announced-for-2011/ http://firestormfan.com/2010/07/14/firestorm-brightest-day-action-figure-announced-for-2011/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:17:58 +0000 Shag http://firestormfan.com/?p=2053 DC Comics announced yesterday the release of several Brightest Day action figures for 2011.  Good news – Firestorm made the cut!  Below is a picture of the action figure coming our way from DC Direct.

Overall this is a good looking figure!  I see that Firestorm’s skin tone is definitely darker than the white heroes in this figure assortment.  They are clearly demonstrating here what we’ve suspected, that Firestorm’s current skin tone is somewhere between white and black.  I believe this is a decent compromise for Ronnie and Jason fans.

For me personally, there are three things I’d change about this figure.  First, I’d work on making the white atomic paths on his shirt and headgear either translucent or highly reflective to imply glowing.  Second, I’d make the headgear around the eyebrows more prominent like in the Brightest Day drawings by David Finch and Scott Clark.  The comic drawings almost make Firestorm look like he’s got a caveman brow with the prominent headgear ridge.  Third, I’d figure out how to include the fiery “Kirby Dots” in Firestorm’s hair.  To better explain the three changes I outlined, see the image below.  Also, just to be clear, I still think this is a great figure.  I’d just change a few things if it were up to me.

Below you’ll find all the figures announced for the first two waves.  We’re not sure at this point in which wave Firestorm will be.  If he’s in the first wave, then his figure is due in March.  Click the image to enlarge.

For more information on these figures visit the DC Comics Source Blog.

Also, a huge thanks to Andrew LoVuolo from Graphic Illusions Studios for sending this information my way.  Thanks, Andrew!

I can’t wait to add this figure to my collection!

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Wow!  It looks great!  I hope the final product looks this fantastic!  Can’t wait to get mine!

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• 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.

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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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• During the DC Nation panel at Emerald City Comic-Con, Geoff Johns stated when asked about Firestorm, “He is going to be a main character in Brightest Day.”  Hot dog!  It was pretty obvious that Geoff was planning something for Firestorm, now we have an idea where it will play out!  Check out the cover for Brightest Day #3 or #4 below by David Finch!  Interesting to note that you can’t see Firestorm’s Black Lantern ring on this cover.  Admittedly, it switched hands a few times during the series so it’s possible it’s on his right hand.  However, it’s possible the Black Lantern rings are gone after Blackest Night #8.  We’ll have to wait and see.

And here is the pencil version of that cover from David Finch’s website.  My thanks to Frank (Idol-Head of Diabolu, Atom: The Mighty Mite, Justice League Detroit, and … nurgh…) for sending me a link to the pencil version.

• Here is the solicitation for Brightest Day #3 & #4.

BRIGHTEST DAY #3-4
Issue #3 on sale JUNE 2 • Issue #4 on sale JUNE 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by GEOFF JOHNS & PETER J. TOMASI • Art by IVAN REIS, PAT GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK & JOE PRADO • Covers by DAVID FINCH
1:25 variant covers by IVAN REIS & OCLAIR ALBERT
If this is the BRIGHTEST DAY then what is Black Lantern Firestorm doing on our cover?!
Retailers please note: These issues will ship with two covers each. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

• Comics Alliance recently published an article on comic book characters they’d like to party with.  Firestorm didn’t make the list, but Chris’s Invincible Super-Blog thinks he should have.  If you take into account Firestorm’s Extreme Justice years, then he’d definitely be someone to go pub-crawling with.  My thanks to Steven Marsh for sending this my way.

• Over at Figure Realm, StEvOtoys put together this snazzy custom Black Lantern Firestorm.  Click here for more images and materials used to make it.  My thanks once again to Frank (Idol-Head of Diabolu, Atom: The Mighty Mite, Justice League Detroit, and … nurgh…) for sending this my way.

• I recently stumbled across a few Firestorm snowy-day pictures on Flickr.  These are by Rohny V and I thought they were worth sharing.  Below is one of the pics.  I think the composition of this shot is really nice with the sun and snow behind our hero.  Click here to see the other picture.

• Be sure to stop by Uncanny Comic Book Scans as they just finished their Firestorm Week!  There are some unusual comic pages in the collection. Check it out!

• Also check out Derf’s Domain! He’s currently running Firestorm Fridays.  Fun stuff, worth your time.

That’s the Nuclear News for now. I’m sure there will be further updates pretty soon with Blackest Night #8 due on March 31, and the Black Lantern Firestorm action figure due on April 14.  It’s a good time to be a fan of the Nuclear Man!

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Here is the recently-released Firestorm action figure from the DC Universe Infinite Heroes line (#58 in the series).  This is the Ronnie Raymond/Professor Martin Stein Firestorm.   Like the other Infinite Heroes figures, Firestorm has been done in the 3-3/4″ scale, so he’s considerably smaller than his DC Direct and DC Universe Classics counterparts.  It’s about the size of a Star Wars figure.  With flaming hair, he’s only four inches tall.

It’s interesting that this Firestorm figure-design reflects bits and pieces of the Jason Firestorm costume.  If you look closely, you’ll see this Ronnie Raymond Firestorm has Jason’s collar, gloves, and pattern on his back.   Perhaps they are planning a Jason figure for the Infinite Heroes line and wanted to be able to re-use some of the molds.

One thing that bothers me about the figure-design is the chest emblem.  If you look on the right-hand side of the emblem (the left-hand side from Ronnie’s perspective), there are only two white lines coming out of the large red circle.  These white lines represent the orbits of the electrons and the large red circle represents the nucleus.  You’ve got three orbits on left-side of the red nucleus and only two orbits on the right-side?  What happened to the third electron?  Do we need to call Bill Nye to figure this out?!?!

Overall this is a nice figure.  I like the smaller size and they put a good amount of detail into the costume.  Unfortunately mine has a minor paint defect on the right temple, but it’s not terrible.  This is definitely a figure I’d recommend to fans of the Ronnie Raymond/Professor Martin Stein Firestorm. The figure came out recently, so you might still find it in stores.  I was unsuccessful in locating one myself and had to order it from eBay.

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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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