Just Imagine – IN A FLASH – Derek Adnams

Page 1 – (6 Panels)

1.1:  Interior, an interstellar science lab floating through space.  Mercury Man, our Stan Lee re-Imagined version of the Flash, is running on his Cosmic Treadmill.  His costume is still red, but now his entire face is covered and there are thin lightning bolts radiating out from the larger one in the center of his chest, calling to mind a slightly Spider-Manish look and feel.  There are the beginnings of Kirby Krackle forming around the treads of the Cosmic Treadmill, Mercury Man’s legs a blur.

Caption:  Hold on tight, True Believers!  The Mercury Man is on his Cosmic Treadmill - - who knows where his super-speed will send him sailing!

1.2:  Mercury Man running even faster on the Cosmic Treadmill, reality opening before him.  We can see the New York Skyline of the 1960’s through the Kirby Krackle-lined hole.

Caption:  Behold!  His tertiary tramplings have torn a tear through time!

1.3:  Mercury Man running through the hole in reality as seen from the ground in 1960’s New York City.  He’s approaching through the sky, heading toward a crowded street lined with pedestrians in stereotypical 1960’s garb.  There are a lot of hats.

Caption:  The fabric of space ripped open, the Scarlet Speedster hurls himself through, into the chilly autumn night of New York City!

1.4:  Mercury Man standing on the street, hunched as he’s in the process of standing, while people gather around and a police officer approaches.  Steam rises from the Mercury Man, the remnants of his journey through dimensions.

Caption:  Little do the denizens of this downtown den of democracy know that the Mercury Man moves not of his own accord, but at the behest of his master. 

1.5:  Mercury Man standing, easily a head taller than everyone around him.  The hole that he travelled through is larger now, and, having just passed through it, is our “Just Imagine” universe version of the world eater Galactus.

Caption:  For he is a herald of the New God . . .

1.6:  Galaktus standing above the New York skyline, his helmet removed, revealing the face of Darkseid!!!!

 

Caption:  GALAKTUS!!!!

 

Rainbow Dash - Neck and Neck - Niel Jacoby

2 Page Splash: A collage of moments in the Flash and Rainbow Dash's race around the world. Should include:

• Flash leapfrogging Rainbow Dash
• Rainbow Dash leaping over the Great Wall of China, while Flash just vibrates through it.
• Flash and Dash  looping around and around in a London roundabout
• Flash and Dash running across the Washington Monument reflection pool. Flash is walking on the water, while Dash is swimming across, cross

Inset Panel 1(top left corner): The Flash and Rainbow Dash are lined up, poised to begin a race.
NO COPY
Inset Panel 2(bottom right): Flash and Dash are exhausted, drinking water after the race.
Flash:...BEST 2 OUT OF 3?

The Flash – The Flash: Earth One: Simple Things – MK Stangeland Jr.

While each of these panels is separate, all of them but panel 1 should also be connected as WALLY WEST zooms from one panel to the next, with color streaks following his movement cutting over the panel dividers to form a single semi-continuous image.

(7 Panels)

Panel 1: WALLY WEST’s bedroom. WALLY is still clearly asleep in bed, while his alarm clock shows 7:49.

WALLY WEST: (Text Box) I think my favorite part right now is getting to sleep in every morning.

WALLY WEST (2): (Text Box) Most kids have to get up at 6 or 7 in the morning to get ready for school.

WALLY WEST (3): (Text Box) I can sleep in till 7:50.

Panel 2: Color streaks flow from the bed to where WALLY WEST stands next to it, hands up in the air as he stretches. He’s currently wearing a white T-Shirt and a pair of red and yellow boxer shorts. The alarm clock now shows 7:50.

SFX: (Alarm clock) beep beep! beep beep!

WALLY WEST: (Text Box) I take 30 seconds to stretch so I don’t get cramps…

Panel 3: Panel shows a bathroom. WALLY WEST isn’t seen in this panel, but the color streaks show him running behind a shower curtain to a running shower.

SFX: (Shower) Shhhhhhh…

WALLY WEST: (Text Box) 30 seconds to shower up…

Panel 4: Color streaks flow from the previous panel to this one, where a blurred WALLY is shown wearing a pair of blue jeans while both putting on a school-appropriate T-Shirt and grabbing his backpack.

WALLY WEST: (Text Box) 10 seconds to put my clothes and on get everything I need for the day…

Panel 5: Color streaks flow from the previous panel to where WALLY is sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

WALLY WEST: (Text Box) 2 minutes to eat, but most of that is saying ‘Hi’ to mom and dad in case there’s anything they need to say before I go…

Panel 6: The streets of central city. Color streaks flow to where WALLY is blurred as he delivers a number of punches to a criminal who’s wearing a ski mask and carrying a bag and gun.

SFX: WAK!WAK!WAK!WAK!WAK!

WALLY WEST: (Text Box) 5 minutes to run to school, but two of that is in case I need to stop any unfortunate crooks on my way there…

Panel 7: Color streaks flow to where WALLY comes to a screeching halt behind a bush, with CENTRAL CITY CENTRAL HIGH is seen in the background, with other kids walking up the steps to get inside so they can get to class.

WALLY WEST (Text Box) And that still leaves me nearly two minutes to get to class on time without making anyone suspicious.

(END PAGE)

Wally West- The Road Ahead -Dan Hill

Page One

1.1
We open on a CLOSE UP of Wally, in costume, as he speeds towards us. Behind him we can see lines spreading backwards, depicting the SPEED FORCE.

WALLY (CAPTION)

Tree.

1.2
PROFILE shot of Wally as he continues to speed forwards, lines blurring past him.

WALLY (CAPTION)

The speed force changed me. Or I adapted to it. Hard to say which.

1.3
CUT TO a shot of a LARGE TREE that has fallen across a deserted highway running through a thick forest. We can see a red and yellow blurred line coming towards it and then out the other side, showing us that Wally has vibrated through the tree.

WALLY (CAPTION)

Lake.

1.4
CLOSE UP on Wally’s eyes, concentrating.

WALLY (CAPTION)

My mind has to work quicker than my feet.

1.5
A shot of the red and yellow blur shooting across the surface of a lake.

WALLY (CAPTION)

It has to. I’m the world’s greatest multi-tasker.

1.6
CLOSE UP on Wally’s mouth. He allows himself a smile.

WALLY (CAPTION)

The only drawback?

WALLY (CAPTION)

There are no surpr--

1.7
CRACK! Wally is stopped in his tracks by a sudden punch to his jaw by a red gloved fist.

SFX

THWACK

VOICE (OFF)

Wally West...

1.8
Large panel. Wally lies on the floor, partially propped up on his elbows. He looks up at the FIGURE towering over him with confusion.

The figure standing over him wears a Flash costume just like Wally’s (if we’re going to be sticklers for detail, the shading is slightly darker). This Flash’s legs though have been amputated below the knee. In the place of the regular limbs are what can only be described as Oscar Pistorius’ sprinter blades crossed with Kirby-tech.

OLD MAN WEST

...we need to talk.

Barry Allen – The Flash: Earth One – MK Stangeland Jr.

BARRY ALLEN and IRIS WEST-ALLEN are in a police laboratory that looks like its seen better days.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: BARRY ALLEN walks across the laboratory floor as he heads for a computerized machine. IRIS WEST-ALLEN is right behind him.

BARRY ALLEN: Wally may have completed the experiment that turned him into The Flash, but it was my research he used as a foundation.

Panel 2: BARRY ALLEN leans up to the machine and retrieves a mysterious looking vial.

BARRY ALLEN: I wanted to make sure his powers weren’t going to do more harm to him than good, and in the process, I was able to created this formula.

Panel 3: BARRY ALLEN holds up a vial filled with a reddish liquid.

BARRY ALLEN: This “Speed Force” should allow me to copy Wally’s powers in their entirety, at least temporarily. Hopefully, long enough to turn things around.

Panel 4: BARRY ALLEN and IRIS WEST-ALLEN head towards another set of machines.

IRIS WEST-ALLEN: But that Zoom person already beat Wally. Not to mention doing who knows what to that old friend of his. And Wally actually knew how to use his powers. How do you expect to beat him?

Panel 5: BARRY ALLEN hooks up the red vial to one of the machines.

BARRY ALLEN: I don’t have to beat him, not on my own. That’s why my first goal is to save Wally

(END PAGE)

This is part of my own idea on what The Flash might look like if I were given the job of writing the Earth One graphic novels for the character (in line with the already written Superman: Earth One and the upcoming Batman: Earth One).

In it, Wally West actually becomes The Flash first, with uncle Barry Allen having served as a powerless metor-type character and Wally’s own personal Commissioner Gordon with more emphasis being put on Barry’s brain as a police scientist than his power of RUNSFAST. The scene above is something that would take place in a potential follow-up book where the above is a result of him having studied Wally’s own powers to see how they work and things getting particularly bad.

The Flash - Time Catches Up - Grant McLaughlin

I don't think anyone should be surprised when I say that I imagine this page being drawn by Francis Manapul.  At this point, I don't want anyone else to draw the Flash ever again. His work is too beautiful and too perfect.  In my mind, his style is exactly how the Scarlet Speedster should look. But enough about my crush on Manapul. Here's a script for your reading pleasure.

Three rows of panels. Row 1 has three panels of equal size. Row 2 has two panels. Panle four is the size of two panels. Panel five is the size of a single panel. The third row is a single panel.

1 – A close-up of a handwritten “To Do” list. It's really full – excessively full. The reader can't even see all the items on the list it's so long. It's titled “TO DO – TODAY!!!” and “today” is underlined three times. Items on the list include Silence the Shade, Repel the Rogues, Put a stop to Grodd, Date with Iris, Close five cases, Get dry-cleaning, Finish that book, and so forth. The first item is crossed off. If desired, you could have some of the Flash's gloved fingers on-panel, holding the list.

CAPTION (BARRY): “Not enough hours in the day.”

BARRY (off-panel): Okay, Barry. You can do this.

CAPTION (BARRY): It's a truism we all face, but as the Fastest Man Alive, I discovered that I have a bit more wiggle room than most.

2 – The Flash running towards the lefthand side of the panel (to denote he's going backwards in time). Have a whackload of speed-lines here, some lightning bolts emanating from his person, and some “shadow” Flashes to show how quickly the Flash is going.

CAPTION (BARRY): It's pretty crazy when you realize for the first time that you can literally run back in time.

3 – The same close-up of the “To Do” list. The first two items are crossed off.

CAPTION (BARRY): That's something that comes in handy pretty often.

BARRY (off-panel): *sigh* This is going to take a while.

4 – Another panel of the Flash running back in time. Same idea as panel two, but this time, there are lots and lots of Flashes. Like, way too many. They are all generally going towards the lefthand side of the page, but their routes, positions, and closesness to the “camera” on the page are all different. There's enough of them that it's getting pretty chaotic. Additionally, show the Flash running harder and harder, exhausting himself with the effort.

CAPTION (BARRY): And while I realized that I was depending on it more and more.

5 – Switch angles to show Barry (still in Flash costume) standing in a nondescript room, next to one of the walls. Visibly drained, he's looking down at his “To Do” list, which is now clearly all crossed off.

CAPTION (BARRY): I had no idea to what extent I relied on it to fit everything in.

BARRY: There. All done.

(off-panel): Barry...

6 – Switch angle. We see that the room is full of dozens of Flashes, all of them holding their own “To Do” lists.

BARRYS: I think we have a problem

The Flash – A Matter Of Timing – Ryan K Lindsay

PAGE 3 - 6 PANELS

This is an Elseworlds tale. It’s a Noir city, perhaps even connected to Batman: Nine Lives. Design the characters, and places, as you see fit.

1. Barry Allen sits in a club booth – this is the Club Dark Side as presented in a noir world. Go crazy with the tropes. Next to Barry is Iris West. There is a big rock on her finger and the only thing shining more is her smile.

Iris: …
Barry: You going to spend all night staring at your reflection in it?
Iris: You bet’cha.
Caption: Allen was seen in the Club Dark Side from 7pm to 11pm.

2. A suave and besuited Darkseid walks up towards Barry and iris’ table, he is wearing white shoes.

Caption: The proprietor of the club approached Barry and his new fiancé at approximately 10:35pm.

3. Barry looks down as a single bullet lands in his lap. It hasn’t been fired, it’s just been tossed there.

Caption: No one could report exactly what occurred.

4. Barry looks up and Darkseid stands with his arms folded.

Darkseid: Be careful, Allen, the next one’s coming much quicker.
Caption: But it was clear words were exchanged.

5. Barry sits still, playing with the bullet in his left hand. Darkseid walks away. Iris looks angry because she knows Darkseid has ruined her night.

Caption: Allen’s mood soured, appreciably. They left soon after.

6. Crime scene out the back, tape up, cops taking photos. Darkseid is dead on the ground, a sheet covers most of his body, just not his white shoes.

Caption: The proprietor was found dead out the back at fifteen minutes to midnight. He was last seen at 11:40pm, well after Allen was gone.
Caption: Multiple witnesses verify Allen was buying, and eating, ice cream with his lady from 11:25pm to midnight at Jack’s Ice Cream Parlour.
Caption: He had a rum and raisin. It didn’t lift his spirits.

The Flash - Violence - Matt Duarte

The Flash in “Violence” by Matt Duarte

Panel 1

Description: A close up of The Flash's classic yellow boots, they are hitting the floor, pushing forward, as he is running.

CAPTION: Rubber hits the floor as the process starts. The ground breaks asunder in response to the incredible force of his muscles.

Panel 2

Description: The Flash is running. We can see his back as he makes his way through Central City.

CAPTION: He slices his way through the air, leaving an empty space in his wake. As particles rush violently to fill in the emptiness, a sonic boom announces his departure.

Panel 3

Description: The Flash is chasing a criminal in a futuristic looking motorbike, still through Central City. He is shouting at him.

CAPTION: His name is Barry Allen. He is the Flash. The fastest man alive.

CAPTION: With every one of his mercurial whims, he creates a plethora of catastrophes on the molecular and atomic level.

THE FLASH: Really, you are trying to outrun me? Not the brightest plan you've come up with, buddy.

Panel 4

Description: Once again the motorbike as the Flash is chasing it, this time though, we can see a tunnel of energy surrounding them both.

CAPTION: He has separated us from our friends. Wrecked our families. Shaken the very foundation of our lifestyles. He has destroyed countless of sub-atomic worlds. Something must be done.

CRIMINAL: I'm not outrunning you, I'm leading you to where they want you.

THE FLASH: Wha---?

Panel 5

Description: The criminal in the bike and Flash are now standing in front of a group of older looking men. One of them clearly has a higher status, standing taller than the rest, as he is the leader of them. This is one of the many subatomic worlds that exist all around us. It has some clearly advanced technology, which can be seen around the room. The men are a council of elders, who don't look particularly happy.

LEADER: Welcome, Flash, our violent and unpredictable God. We assure you, our vengeance shall NOT be swift.

Next: The Atomic Rogues!

The Flash - Second Glance - Sime McDonald

BARRY ALLEN

THE FLASH

IN

SECOND GLANCE

PAGE 18

PANEL ONE

Night. The Flash is standing in the mouth of an alley; a crime scene with yellow tape feebly attempting to block public access, the chalk outline of a body still marked on the concrete. There are a couple of uniformed cops manning the scene, eying Flash suspiciously, hands lingering close to their holstered weapons. Flash's inactivity should be emphasized. We're so used to seeing him portrayed with constantly speed-lines and blurs. Here, his arms are folded and his brow is furrowed in thought. 

FLASH CAPTION

I missed something.

PANEL TWO

Flashback; consider alternate color palette or shift in artistic style. Flash is standing with Batman in the Batcave, by the Batcomputer (is that what they still call it?!). Flash's expression is pained. Batman, as always, is perfectly stoic, listening, the gruff shoulder on which Flash currently needs to lean.

FLASH [1]

One man's dead and the killer's still out there.

FLASH [2]

It's been twenty-four hours.
I need to be faster.

PANEL THREE

Flashback, continued. On Batman. His mouth is a thin line.

BATMAN [1]
No.

BATMAN [2]

You need to slow down, Barry.

PANEL FOUR

Back to the present. Angle this panel from over the top of Flash's shoulder as he examines the scene, still motionless. The crime scene, for the moment, appears void of clues. Nothing stands out. Not yet. Just the grim outline of a corpse, the splatter of dried blood on brick.

BATMAN CAPTION [1]

Sweat the details.

BATMAN CAPTION [2]

Work the clues.

The Flash - Title To Be Revealed - Rol Hirst

The scenario: Barry Allen is searching for something… or someone. Speeding across the DC Universe, stopping off at various notable hero hang-outs. Each individual panel is separate by a lightning bolt to denote Barry’s lightning fast journey.

This page should be drawn by George Perez, or at a pinch Phil Jiminez. You’ll soon understand why…

Panel One.

Barry Allen (in Flash costume) speeds away from Titans Tower, across the surface of San Francisco Bay. His face is set in an expression of grim determination.

CAP (Barry): The Titans know nothing.

Panel Two.

A dark, seedy bar. Barry is leaving, fast, scowling. Behind him, John Constantine, Deadman and Shade are drinking at a table while Madame Xanadu deals tarot. Constantine is giving Barry the finger while the others ignore him.

CAP (Barry): The magicians refuse to help.

Panel Three.

Barry speeds away from The Hall of Justice. Behind him, Booster Gold and Guy Gardner are involved in an argument that’s about to develop into a fistfight. Fire and Ice are trying to separate them.

CAP (Barry): And the JLI are incompetent buffoons.

Panel Four.

This panel is divided by further lightning bolts into three sections. In one, we see Batman frowning at a huge computer screen in the Batcave. In another, Clark Kent is standing on the rooftop of the Daily Planet, looking awkward, adjusting his glasses, unable to help. In the third, the energy from Hal Jordan’s ring has formed into a large green question mark.

CAP (Barry): Not that any of my own colleagues have been able to provide an answer to my question either…

Panel Five.

The remainder of the page is a Perez/Crisis style group shot/montage showing Barry speeding between various other characters from the DCU, including Wonder Woman, Aquaman, J’onn J’onzz and Stormwatch, the Doom Patrol, Legion Lost, and the Suicide Squad. The panel features various freeze-frame images of Barry as he moves between the various characters. The final such image has one line of dialogue: also the title of this strip…

Barry: Where’s Wally!?

The Flash - Date Night - Ben Rosenthal

1. A shot of Iris West, looking shocked. She is looking directly at the reader. The background is dark, but we can make out some slight images of tables, with people sitting at these tables.

IRIS

Barry?

2. Barry Allen is shown in his civilian clothes. Around him are piles and piles of food. His arms move at a blur as he begins to devour everything on the menu.

BARRY

I’ll go for a run later.

So basically, Barry has to eat a lot a food because he burns so much energy with all his running. Get it? Hey? I'll be over here.

The Flash in "Bottleneck" by Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE, WIDE
Wide angle of Barry's bedroom. In one strobed blur, Barry has thrown the bedsheets off, turned off the alarm clock, run in to and out of the adjacent bathroom (going from unshaven to shaven in the process), and run in to and out of the wardrobe (changing from boxer shorts to work clothes). The final "strobe" is him tightening his tie.

CAPTION: A system is only as fast as its slowest component.

SFX/SHEETS: WHOOSH

SFX/ALARM: MEEP MEEP ME--

SFX/BATHROOM: VZZZZZ


PANEL TWO, WIDE
From in front, we see Barry sitting in his car on a highway. There is a long line of cars behind him, showing that this really is some heavy traffic. His car is filled with boxes of paperwork--this being the reason he couldn't just run to work. He is propping his head up with his arm and rolling his eyes.

CAPTION: When fast meets slow, it is called a "bottleneck".

BARRY: ->sigh<-


PANEL THREE
Barry is stooped over a kettle in the office tearoom, waiting for it to boil.

CAPTION: As The Flash, I rarely run into such problems.

BARRY/WHISPER: Just boil already.


PANEL FOUR
As of Barry's POV, we see a computer screen with a quarter-filled load bar and a big label reading, "Loading. Please wait..." From each side of the panel we see Barry's hands clutching at the air.

CAPTION: But as Barry Allen...


PANEL FIVE, WIDE
Close-up of Barry's eyes, sullen, overlaid with a sequence of clock hands ticking second-by-second towards 5pm.

SFX/CLOCK: TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK

CAPTION: ... The Bottleneck is my Arch-Nemesis.

Why The Flash?

If you ask a non-comic-reader who their favourite DC character is, they will undoubtedly say either Batman or Superman. This is fair enough, as both these characters have had more films, TV shows, cartoons, and video games than any other. Myself, on the other hand--having never read a DC comic until the recent New 52 campaign--had always considered The Flash to be my favourite. Why this is, I've never been entirely sure. My best guess is the short-lived live-action TV series that ran when I was at the impressionable age of 11. No matter the source, my liking for the character has carried through to adulthood and has been more than justified by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's current series.