Dan DiDio Rejected Josh Williamson's First Flash Pitch

Joshua Williamson has now written more than 50 issues of The Flash, and he has the Scarlet Speedster's adventures mapped out for 2019. With the an Annual issue and "Year One" storyline on the horizon, many fans are looking to future issues of Barry Allen's series; however, we wanted to pull a Flashpoint (minus creating a twisted alternate reality, of course) and take a look at Williamson's personal "Year One" of writing The Flash.

During a one-on-one interview at New York Comic Con, Williamson shared with CBR his own origin story about how he started writing the Fastest Man Alive, starting with the fact that DC writer Scott Snyder nudged him to pitch his Flash idea to the publisher. "I pitched it twice," Williamson told CBR, elaborating that the initial pitch was rejected by Dan DiDio. The co-publisher gave Williamson notes, and three months later, Williamson had the opportunity to pitch the story again.

DiDio loved his second pitch, and the two would go on to talk about it with Geoff Johns. The 12 issues Williamson pitched were trimmed to eight, and that tale became the first storyline in Williamson's Rebirth run which kicked off in 2016. The fact he's still writing the A-list character is surreal to him. "At no time did I think I'd be writing this long, but once we started going I was like, 'I never want to leave this. I love this so much. I love these characters, I don't want to go anywhere.'"

It wasn't too long after the release of his and artist Carmine Di Giandomenico's The Flash #1 that he began to think about his future with the lovable metahuman. "There actually was a moment around, like, January 2017. We talked about whether I was going to leave, and I knew what I was building towards, especially because I was planning stuff with Gorilla Grodd which was a year out at that point," he said. "We kept going back and forth on it, and then around San Diego Comic Con 2017, I knew what was going to happen at the end of the Gorilla Grodd arc. I had this moment that was just like, 'I know I'm not done here. I know I'm not done with this character, I'm not done with this book.' So I went to Dan and my editors and I pitched it again.

"I just knew I wasn't done," Williamson continued. "Like, in my heart, I knew the end of the Gorilla Grodd story was not going to be the end for me, and I just kept pitching after that. Now I know my plans going out years. It's crazy. I don't know, man, it's so surreal. Actually this week, I'm writing issue 70."

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Working with iconic The Flash artist Scott Kolins has also been a dream come true for the writer. "It's so awesome because I've been reading The Flash since I was like, pre-teens," Williamson stated to CBR about working with Kolins. "I'd say since, like, '92 I've been reading The Flash, and I was already a fan of the character because I really liked the John Wesley Shipp show before this. My favorite runs of that are Mark Waid and Geoff Johns, and Scott Kolins was such a huge part of that and I was really big fan of that run, and I always wanted to work with him."

Williamson spoke more about collaborating with Kolins, as well as teaming-up with Howard Porter, another fan-favorite Scarlet Speedster artist. "It's super surreal, because I've always been a huge fan of his work, but he's awesome. Here's the thing about him, because Howard Porter is the same way. Both of them are big Flash fans, they've worked on him and they have a history with him, so they know him." Williamson praised both artists, explaining that their shared love for the classic hero makes it easier to convey his vision and for them to contribute to it. "I know I can use nerdy Flash shorthand with them to communicate what we want the stories to be, and they can add their own touches because they know the character so well. Both of them add a lot to the story."

Building Barry Allen's definitive "Year One" story and his adventures isn't something the writer takes for granted. "It's weird, because I worked at a comic book store all through high school and all through college. When you're there, you talk about comics all day long, right? You're sitting there and you're talking with your friends about these characters and story ideas you have, and I still do that, you know? I still talk with creators and friends, but the difference is that we then get to do it. That's the part that really trips me out, the idea that we're the guiding hands for these characters and this universe."

Even though DC has enough confidence in Williamson to let him tackle a "Year One" tale for one of its biggest characters, he still feels like he needs to pinch himself about the gig. "I've always been this really, really big DC nerd. I mean, I have a Batman tattoo and my office is non-stop DC stuff. So whenever I go to the office, I feel like at some point someone is going to catch me. Like, I'm going to be walking the hallway one day and someone is going to tackle me and be like, 'You're not supposed to be here!' You know? I still feel that because it still feels so surreal to me at times."

No matter how fans react to DC's upcoming storylines, Williamson hopes fans can tell these stories are coming from people who sincerely care about these beloved heroes and villains. "One of my hopes for all the stuff we have planned for the next few years is that you can see how much we love the characters."

The Flash #56 is on sale now; Year One is set for a 2019 release.