Note: This week’s Bart Allen (aka Impulse aka Kid Flash aka The Flash) redesigns are presented in honor of the character’s co-creator, artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away on August 12th. More info here and here.

Joel: I keep thinking that this is the Impulse that would appear in the super-hero equivalent of Teen Beat. He’s so stylish and suave for a kid! I can imagine the DCU’s population of twelve-year-old girls swooning over his picture, and writing “Impulse+Mary Sue=Tru Luv 4evah!!!” on their notebooks. Or am I projecting?

Jessica : Coming from a girl who is still secretly twelve years old at heart, I can say that you are definitely not projecting. This Bart is totally swoonworthy.

Dean: Hahaha, awesome. I mostly wanted Bart to look like a sprinter waiting to race between missions, so I gave him the jacket. I also ditched the mask in favor of simple shades. I figured Wally worked best with the semi-open secret identity, and so could Bart.

Vito : I want that jacket ASAP!

Dean: I’m freaking floored by Tom’s design. Slick translucent helmet, gorgeous super-sized logo, wicked forearm lightning bolts, and cool boots all add up to a killer design…I want to draw this so bad. I think the vibe Tom was going for here is ‘armored,’ like the costume is tough leather and the helmet is an obvious necessity for crime-battlin’. I love it.

Joel: Whoa! I love that helmet design! That is very cool. The enlarged chest emblem is bold, and works well in this design. Are those rivets along his waist? I’m guessing that the lightning motif is asymmetrical on the legs, but I can’t really tell.

Vito: The thing that strikes me is that this looks like a kid. He looks like he’s having fun, and that is what Impulse is all about. The way that top half meets the bottom half…this could easily have been a Kid Flash redesign. I also like how bold and large that chest emblem is. If you look at this closely, and use a little imagination, when he runs, you’ll get the lightning effect that we always see. He wouldn’t need the Speed Force to represent itself as lightning, because the costume, with the yellow lightning motif, would do it for him.

Jessica: There’s something very super-soldier about this – I’m picturing an army of Bart’s clone “scouts” (remember those?) in this design. What a visual punch!

Joel: This is a very strong design, and one that makes good use of Bart’s history as Impulse to bring new visual motifs into play. The unbroken expanse of white provides a streamlined look. I really like the dropped-out circle for the chest emblem. I’m not sure how I feel about the distinct slant given to the goggle lenses. On the one hand, it makes Kid Flash look a bit insecty. On the other, it makes Kid Flash look like he’s trying to take himself more seriously than the wide-eyes, round-goggled Impulse, which strikes me as appropriate as the character ages.

Dean: Mike’s design looks made to move!. Great windswept hairstyle, cool treads, functional googles, and the red-on-white lightning bolts on the calves are wicked. I also like how Mike kept Bart’s original ‘Ringo-designed gloves.

Vito: If Bart ever joined his cousin XS in the Legion, this would be the perfect costume for him, hands down.

Chris: Amazing. I can’t find a single thing wrong with this, when it’s all soo right.

Vito: [praying] Dear Jesus, please let DC do a Kid Flash story within the 52 Earths and have Mike Norton draw it. Thanks and Amen.

Note: This week’s Bart Allen (aka Impulse aka Kid Flash aka The Flash) redesigns are presented in honor of the character’s co-creator, artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away on August 12th. More info here and here.

Impulse and The Flash by Joel Carroll

Dean Trippe: Mr. Carroll went the extra mile here and worked up Bart’s teenage and adult costumes, using sweet visual cues to link them up. Both designs rock, but I think I’m particularly impressed with The Flash. Joel’s really done a great job of making the open mask work on an adult character. The big opaque goggles are great, and the short hair looks really cool on Bart. Beside that, the over-sized chest logo and racing stripes are are too slick.

Joel Priddy: This is something that keeps coming up in the designs we received: the reoccurrance of visual motifs across the different stages of Bart’s career, and how his own imagery interacts with the previously established Flash iconography. Looking at all these great ideas, it seems a shame that DC just stuck post-Impulse Bart in Wally’s old clothes. I like the jacket, but there is a kinda Marlboro-Man thing going on there that might want to be reconsidered. The high waist seems like a good choice for a runner. Great use of white piping on the Flash costume, especially on the shoes.

Vito Delsante: Almost all of the artists who submitted this week seem to be thinking very smartly about the footwear a speedster would wear. Joel’s are phenomenal…the graduation from high tops to hero boots is in line with the graduation from sidekick to outright hero. I’m a huge fan of the track jacket, as I was in all the other designs, but looking here, Bart doesn’t need it. In fact, it looks like it would make him fidgety. Add an emblem to that costume, sans jacket, and it’s golden. The Flash design takes its cues from what sprinters wear in the Olympics, which is a smart angle. My favorite part is how the sleeves come to the hands.

Impulse by Rick Cortes

Dean: Whoa…probably the biggest departure of the bunch in terms of color, Rick’s design’s rocking a wicked retro future vibe, which could work in a number of different story ideas. In any case, it’s fun as all get out.

Vito: This reminds me of the future Flash, John Fox. Blue isn’t a color you would usually associate to someone whose nickname is, “The Scarlet Speedster,” but I like it. A blue blur is just as effective as a red one, right? Again, check out the footwear on these redesigns! It looks like everyone is conscious of the effects of the Speed Force on feet!

Joel: I really like this costume, especially for fresh-from-the-future Impulse. Great helmet, great shoes, great use of the lightning motif. I’m not sure I’m getting head around the blue color scheme, though. I keep thinking of electricity-based characters who use blue jaggy-bolts on their costumes: Black Lightning, Lightning Lad, Livewire, etc.

Kid Flash by Alexandre Louzada

Dean: Wow, what a fun design! Alexandre’s take on Bart is even more “track-and-field” than mine (check back tomorrow)! The slick lightning edges keep the suit looking appropriately superhero-y. I’m surprised that the shorts look is actually possible! I love it.

Vito: I’d actually like to see it with long pants, instead of shorts. Shorts only work on Robin, and they changed that. But I do like the look of the short sleeves. That seems very doable for a kid hero.

Dean: Dude, it’s 95 degrees where I am. I say, if Bart wants to battle evil in shorts, he should go for it.