This first one below is entitled, “Ring of Firestorm“.  It’s a nice representation of the Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm.  I like the bold orange and the faded look.  Great shirt!  The artwork appears to be stock art provided by the same artist that did this other shirt.  WANT!

This next shirt has the distinction of being the first Jason Rusch/Firestorm t-shirt in which he’s featured by himself!  This one is entitled, “Firestorm Blaze“.  I love the Jamal Igle-designed costume and the flaming corona is a nice touch.  WANT!

My thanks to Luke (from Being Carter Hall and El Jacone’s Comic Book Bunker) for letting me know about these new shirts.  Thanks, Luke!

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Below you can see the magazine poly-bagged with the figurine.  The white circular sticker is a warning that if you get the lead figurine anywhere near your house your entire family will die an agonizing death.  Well… something like that.  Its lead folks, don’t put it in your mouth.

Below is a close-up of the lead figurine.  Dude, this thing is a work of beauty!  He’s about 3.75 inches tall, just a bit shorter than the recent Infinite Heroes action figure.  This is probably the most faithful representation of the Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm costume ever produced for a figure.  The 1985 Super Powers figure and the 2004 DC Direct figure are probably the closest behind this lead figurine.  They got everything correct – chest emblem, gloves, boots, puffy sleeves, design on the briefs, even the headgear.  It looks great!  It’s just a shame it’s made from lead, rather than plastic or pewter.

The magazine itself provides a detailed history of Firestorm in all his incarnations.  Included are recaps of some classic Firestorm story lines, specifically Legends and Firestorm the Nuclear Man: Reborn (trade paperback collecting the post-One Year Later adventures). There is also a feature on the people who have united to become the Nuclear Man.  Finally, installment #37 of the DC Timeline covering 99 BC to 1 BC (not specific to Firestorm, but obviously a feature every issue of the magazine).

The magazine does a wonderful job breaking up the text with gorgeous images from Firestorm’s history.  I’ve provided a few snapshots below to give you a flavor of how the magazine looks.  Stephen Wiacek, writer of the articles, clearly knows his Firestorm history.  The only thing I found unusual was the disproportionate amount of time spent on the “Blank Slate” incarnation of Firestorm.  While I like the “Blank Slate” version, it was odd to see more space dedicated to him as compared to the Elemental version or Jason Rusch.

Overall this was a great purchase!  The figurine is fantastic and the magazine is an enjoyable read for Firestorm novices and experts.  If your local comic shop doesn’t have it in stock, ask if they can order it.  It’s worth your time and money.

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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.

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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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This first piece from 1977 consists of early character designs Al worked on for Ronnie Raymond and Doreen Day prior to Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #1.  Ronnie looks a little like Snapper Carr and Rick Jones in these early rough sketches. The rough sketch of Doreen in the winter clothes is pretty consistent with the way she was dressed in #1.

Here are some early character designs for Professor Martin Stein and Cliff Carmichael.  The Professor is pretty much spot-on for his final look.  For Cliff, I love that shot of him in the wife-beater smoking a cigarette.  It shows his nerdy side, but also demonstrates that he can be a wiry tough guy.

Next up are the first three pages from the unpublished Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #7.  You may recall we displayed the unpublished cover to Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #6 a while back.  Additionally, you can read the entire unpublished issue #6 online.  However, very little is known about Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #7.  The end of issue #6 boldly proclaimed, “Next Issue: The Reptile Man!”  From the FIRESTORM FAN interview with Gerry Conway we know that “The Reptile Man” was most likely intended to be Killer Croc.  However, since that issue was never published, Gerry instead introduced the character as a Batman villain.

The first page below was published previously in Back Issue Magazine #20.  This was the splash page for Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #7.  The subsequent two pages are being presented for the first time ever here at FIRESTORM FAN.  In these pages you can see Professor Martin Stein’s subconscious is haunting him with images of Firestorm.  At this time the Professor was unaware of the part he played in the Firestorm composite being.  He simply thought he was suffering from blackouts.  I love page three especially!  The art is so amazing you don’t require any dialogue or narration to understand it perfectly.  Click pages 2 & 3 to enlarge.

Finally, we’ve got one more never-before-seen piece.  This is a great general image of Firestorm.  Al wasn’t sure if this was originally intended as a rough design for the cover of Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol I #1, a Who’s Who entry, or possibly an in-house ad.  Regardless, it’s a great looking piece of Ronnie, the Professor, and Firestorm!

My thanks again to Al for this wonderful opportunity!

In addition to co-creating Firestorm, Al Milgrom is well known for his ten-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciller, and inker on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West Coast Avengers penciller; his long stint as the inker of X-Factor; and much, much more.  For a complete list of his works, visit the Comic Book DB.  Al has created an amazing volume of work and stays busy even nowadays.  If you are a fan of Al Milgrom’s work, there are opportunities for commissions.  Be sure to check out THE ARTISTS CHOICE for all the details on Al Milgrom commissioned sketches.

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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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I contacted Al and commissioned an original drawing of our favorite hot-head for FIRESTORM FAN.  Al not only accepted the commission, he also provided me with scans of some exclusive and rarely-seen Firestorm artwork.  One of those images was the cover for the unpublished Firestorm the Nuclear Man #6.  Keep watching FIRESTORM FAN in the near future for further Al Milgrom gems.

Here is Al Milgrom’s original Firestorm drawing done especially for FIRESTORM FAN…

It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it.  Al did an amazing job on this drawing.  Everything looks perfect: the costume, the face, the motion of flying, the rich shadows… it’s just awesome.  Over 30 years since he helped create the character and he still draws it gorgeously.  Thanks, Al!

One of the greatest rewards of doing this blog has been reaching out to the writers and artists that have worked on Firestorm.  Everyone has been so friendly and generous with their time.  Finding out how cool these folks are makes me proud to be promoting their creative work and reaffirms my love for Firestorm comics.

In addition to co-creating Firestorm, Al Milgrom is well known for his ten-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciller, and inker on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West Coast Avengers penciller; his long stint as the inker of X-Factor; and much, much more.  For a complete list of his works, visit the Comic Book DB.  Al has created an amazing volume of work and stays busy even nowadays.  If you are a fan of Al Milgrom’s work, there are opportunities for commissions.  Be sure to check out THE ARTISTS CHOICE for all the details on Al Milgrom commissioned sketches.

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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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While working as a nuclear scientist at the “Atomic Institute”, Barry Dale absorbs the “power of the atom” through unconscious exposure to nuclear materials and gains superpowers as a result. As described by Barry himself: “Evidently my body is so geared as a result of working on radium and uranium that it can explode atoms and give me atomic strength.” He uses his new abilities — such as super strength, flight, speed, invulnerability, “atomic vision”, and the ability to heat his body so that he can weld metal with his hands — to fight crime.

Atoman was created by Golden Age writer Jerry Robinson and artists Mort Meskin for Spark Publications in 1946.  He managed to last a whole two issues in his own series before vanishing.  He reappeared in 1950 as the recolored Atomaster in one issue of New World Comics from Metropolitan Publishing Company.

After reading through this you gotta ask yourself, was the creation of Firestorm influenced by Atoman?  Personally, I think not.  If you listen to Gerry Conway’s thoughts on creating Firestorm, there is really no connection to a character like Atoman.  Firestorm’s ancestry lies more with Spider-Man than it does with a forgotten Golden Age hero. Also, Atoman is just one of a large number of atomic-based heroes from the Golden Age (i.e. Atomic Man, Atomic Thunderbolt, etc).

In regard to the costume, I think it’s the same as the similarities between Firestorm’s and Iron Man’s costume.  Given that red and yellow are primary colors, it’s not surprising to find costumes using these colors in similar ways. There are only so many combinations and in comics it’s quite common to see the torso piece of a superhero suit contrast with the leggings and sleeves.  Interestingly enough yellow and red was apparently the standard uniform for nuclear-powered heroes back in the day: Atoman, Firestorm, Captain Atom (during his original Charlton years), Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom (from Gold Key in the 1960s), and  Nukla (from Dell comics in the 1960s).

In conclusion, I think this is an interesting coincidence but nothing more.  We Firestorm Fans should honor Atoman as an atomic hero that came before, but not as a direct ancestor of our favorite nuclear man.  My thanks to Bob from UnderMountain for sending me information recently on Atoman.

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Weird little figures.  They’re smaller than I expected.  This figure is only 3.75″ including flaming hair, 2.5″ without.  It’s an adorable figure and I appreciate that ole match-head was included in the first wave, but they are peculiar.  I think the word that best describes BLAMMOIDS is “cute”.  I’ve included six shots below, including one with several other Firestorm action figures for size comparison.

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