This news is over a month old, but somehow I failed to post it here on FIRESTORM FAN. I posted the mess out of it on social media, but dropped the ball on the main site. Sorry folks!

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SECRET ORIGINS #10
Written by Christy Marx, Dan Jurgens, Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart
Art by Sean Chen, Irene Koh, Stjepan Sejic
Cover by Bryan Hitch
On sale February 25 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • Rated T

Get ready for The New 52 origins of Batgirl (written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher with art by Irene Koh), Firestorm (courtesy of writer Dan Jurgens and artist Sean Chen) and Poison Ivy (coming your way from writer Christy Marx and artist Stjepan Sejic)!

Here is a page from the Firestorm origin to whet your appetite..

Great to see Ronnie and Jason again representing the “new classic” Dan Jurgens era! I really miss that ongoing series.

Below you’ll find the cover to Secret Origins #10 so you know what to seek out in the comic shop. Not even a mention of Firestorm on the cover. Ouch!

My thanks to Martin Gray for reminding me this comic was being released this week!

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ESSENTIAL FIRESTORM READING:

Ronnie Raymond & Professor Martin Stein

• Firestorm The Nuclear Man 1-5 (1978): Firestorm’s earliest adventures. Collected
• DC Comics Presents 17 (1980): Firestorm returns to action with Superman & receives an invitation. Collected
• The Flash 289-299, 301-303 (1980-1981): Firestorm 8 page back-up stories. Partially Collected
• Fury of Firestorm 1-9 (1982-1983): Firestorm’s most successful run. Fun stories!
• Fury of Firestorm 14-18; Fury of Firestorm Annual 1 (1983): Excellent story introducing Firehawk and Tokamak. My personal favorite!

Jason Rusch

• Firestorm 1-3 (2004): The origin of Jason as Firestorm Available Digitally
• Firestorm 8-13 (2005): Jason teams-up with Firehawk and … deceased Ronnie Raymond? Partially Collected
• Firestorm The Nuclear Man 28-32 (2006-2007): Jason and Professor Stein together in a fantastic adventure
• Blackest Night 1-8 (2009-2010): Firestorm changed forever. Collected

New 52: Ronnie Raymond & Jason Rusch

• The Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Man 13-20 (2012-2013): The New 52 Firestorm returned to a more iconic version. Collected

In my opinion, the comics above are the most essential Firestorm stories.  Up next are other Firestorm appearances definitely worth your time!

OTHER WORTHWHILE FIRESTORM APPEARANCES:

Firestorm-centric Justice League of America appearances:

• JLA 179-180 (1980): Firestorm joins the JLA
• JLA 183-185 (1980) : JLA travels to Apokolips. Collected
• JLA 192 & 193 (1981): Red Tornado goes wild. Collected
• JLA 205 (1982): Professor Stein vs Hector Hammond
• JLA 207-209, and All-Star Squadron 14 & 15 (1982): Crisis on Earth-Prime. Collected
• JLA 228-230, JLA Annual #2 (1984): Mars/Earth War and aftermath

Stories that dramatically changed Firestorm’s composition and personality:

• Fury of Firestorm 62-64, Fury of Firestorm Annual 5, Firestorm 65 (1987): Birth of the “Blank Slate” Firestorm
• Firestorm 85-100 (1989-1990): The Elemental era of Firestorm

Major DC Events Involving Firestorm:

• Crisis on Infinite Earths 1-12 (1985-1986): Collected
• Legends 1-6 (1986-1987): Available Digitally
• Brightest Day 0-24 (2010-2011): Collected Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3
• Forever Evil 1-7 (2013-2014): Collected

There you go. While Firestorm has appeared in hundreds of other comics, these are the ones I’d recommend to a new reader of the character. If you disagree with my selections, or think of other important appearances, sound off in the comments!

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Shag’s Answer #1: From Firestorm the Nuclear Man #3 (May 1978), by Gerry Conway, Al Milgrom, and Bob Mcleod. Firestorm is kissed by Killer Frost. Her ability to absorb heat from living beings resulted in Firestorm’s flaming hair being extinguished. Once the fire goes out, you can see Ronnie’s hair underneath! I believe this is the only time we see normal hair on Firestorm. A fun gem from the formative days of our favorite Nuclear Man! Possible answer to Luke’s question: Sufficient cold may extinguish Firestorm’s flaming hair.

Shag’s Answer #2: From The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #16 (March 2013) by Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, and Ray McCarthy. In this example, Firestorm’s flaming hair continues to burn even though he’s submerged in cold water. Possible answer to Luke’s question: Cold water would not extinguish Firestorm’s flaming hair.

Definitive Answer: While the question was being debated among the fans, Firestorm writer and artist Dan Jurgens himself chimed in! Dan’s answer was, “Given the science of how his power works, I don’t see anyway the ‘fire’ gets snuffed out. It’s generated from with in and isn’t really fire anyway.” Given Dan’s tenure with DC Comics and writing the Firestorm title, I consider that pretty definitive! Thanks, Dan!

For more ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Firestorm related items, check out the following:

• Robbie Amell (Ronnie Raymond on CW’s The Flash) Ice Bucket Challenge video
• Bland DC Comics Headcannon’s Tumblr Firestorm Ice Bucket Challenge speculation
• Shag’s (yes, that’s me) Ice Bucket Challenge at Dragon Con 2014

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You can find the 85th episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (23 MB).

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Send us an e-mail: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net
• Check our Tumblr: fireandwaterpodcast.tumblr.com
• Visit The Aquaman Shrine: www.aquamanshrine.net
• Visit Dan’s website: danjurgens.com
• For our previous interview with Dan, check out episode 33 of this show!
• or leave a comment below!

Below you’ll find the Aquaman & The Others #1 variant cover by Dan Jurgens, as well as the cover to The New 52 – Futures End #1 by Ryan Sook. Click the images to enlarge!

Thanks for listening! Support Firestorm and Aquaman (and Dan Jurgens)! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

Check out the panel below from a recent issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up written by Sholly Fisch with art by Dario Brizuela! The gang are hanging with Roy Raymond (plus recent WHO’S WHO PODCAST featured character, Mysto the Magician Detective)! Click the panel to enlarge.

You might be wondering what Roy Raymond, TV Detective, has to do with Firestorm. Well, Dan Jurgens slipped in a Roy Raymond retcon in The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #14. It was a clever bit that I imagine many folks missed. Check out the panel below by Dan Jurgens and Ray McCarthy. Click the image below to enlarge.

There you have it! Ronnie Raymond is Roy Raymond’s nephew! Hopefully someday we’ll get to see that play out.

There is one more connection between Firestorm and Scooby-Doo worth mentioning. That would be … your truly.  My name is “Shag” after all!

My thanks to Martin Gray for the heads-up on this Scooby-Doo Team-Up appearance!

Rupport Rirestorm! Ran the rame!

In honor of Dan’s achievement, I thought we’d run one of my favorite Dan Jurgens’ Firestorm pages. This comes from The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #20. Enjoy!

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The issues were written & penciled by Dan Jurgens, with inks by Ray McCarthy & Karl Kesel, and colors by Hi-Fi! Want some background on Dan Jurgens’ Firestorm run? Then check out our interview with Dan Jurgens on the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST!

You say you want comics to be fun again? Then put your money where your mouth is and buy this trade! Even if you already have the issues, please buy a copy of this trade today! We may not have an ongoing series to support, but let’s show our support for any new Firestorm-related material! Below is the advertised cover for this collection (from issue #14). Click the image to enlarge!

Here is the solicitation:

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN VOL. 3 – TAKEOVER
In these stories from issues #13-20, Ronnie and Jason have managed to get their superpowered alias in check, but with Super-Villains like Multiplex and agents of Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E., Firestorm’s future is uncertain.
Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Dan Jurgens, Ray McCarthy
Cover by: Dan Jurgens
Color/B&W: Color
Page Count: 176
U.S. Price: $16.99
On Sale Date: Dec 18 2013

Support Firestorm! It’s not just slogan! Seriously, SUPPORT FIRESTORM by buying this trade paperback! Fan the Flame!

In his blog post, Joe explained:

… [the mindmap] is based off of the original plans through issue #12… in which Ronnie and Jason, the two disagreeable Firestorms, would have taken on Pozhar, who’d sought to control Ronnie and gain access to the Quantum Field via the young man’s special connection which he coveted. Following this showdown, Ronnie and Jason, along with those Firestorms who survived, were to head into the mountains of northern Pakistan in search of a new villain named “Ashra Khan,” whom we were going to reveal was behind the “Rogue” Firestorms, a kind of Colonel Kurtz leading broken warriors fighting a war outside the war. And the conclusion of that story arc would have propelled us toward what’s being worked toward in this document.

For all the details and a better look at this mindmap, be sure to head over to Joe’s blog by clicking here.

Wow! There are some really interesting concepts put forth in there! It would have been fascinating to have seen this journey unfold. During a discussion on Facebook, Joe also shared this:

I always wanted to take the series toward a real epic, ‘cosmic level’ event. When you start dealing with the nuclear forces of stars, you start considering the notions of black holes, supernovae and, potentially, wormholes… which is where this all comes from. It would have been fun, but alas…

We may not have seen Joe’s vision unfold in the pages of Firestorm, but you can still support his work! Check out his current project, Great Pacific from Image Comics! For all the latest, follow Joe on Twitter and Facebook!

My thanks to the following Match-heads for the heads-up on this story: Vito Delsante, Bill Powell, Ken Deemer, and Ray Tigner. Thanks!!

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Even if you already have the issues, order a copy of this trade! We may not have an ongoing series to support, but let’s show our support for any new Firestorm-related material! Besides, these issues by Dan Jurgens, Ray McCarthy, Karl Kesel, and Hi-Fi Color are really fun! Order today! Below is the solicited cover for this collection (from issue #14). Click the image to enlarge!

Here is the solicitation:

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN VOL. 3 – TAKEOVER
In these stories from issues #13-20, Ronnie and Jason have managed to get their superpowered alias in check, but with Super-Villains like Multiplex and agents of Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E., Firestorm’s future is uncertain.
Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Dan Jurgens, Ray McCarthy
Cover by: Dan Jurgens
Color/B&W: Color
Page Count: 176
U.S. Price: $16.99
On Sale Date: Dec 18 2013

Support Firestorm! It’s not just slogan! Seriously, SUPPORT FIRESTORM by ordering this trade paperback! Fan the Flame!