For the past six months, fans of the Legionairres have seen the team form and develop in the explosive LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN. Today, the miniseries comes to an end and we here at THE SOURCE chatted to its creative team about what it’s been like working on this title and its lasting implications for the Legionairres.

“It's been great fun to explore the Legion's beginnings with a new look and new revelations,” writer Paul Levitz told THE SOURCE. “With Chris and Marc's energy, and the combination of new characters and new elements, we've planted bits that will be back in the Legion for years to come!”

“It's always a pleasure to return to the Legion,” said co-artist Chris Batista. “Let's hope we get to do this dance again! I hope you all enjoy what we put together.”

“Being fairly new to the Legion of Superheroes, I was really most excited to be working with Chris Batista and Paul Levitz,” continued co-artist Marc Deering. “Chris is able to catch some really great acting with his facial features and body language. I loved getting the real emotional story across through the characters acting that Chris brought to every page. Working with those kinds of really confident lines was a dream for me. Then bringing my A-game to the mix was essential. This was a great foray into the Legion for me being aided and guided by two of the Legion’s most enduring creators. Let's do this again!”

Click here to see an exclusive preview of LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN #6, on sale today.

Earlier today, we showed you Ivan Reis’ and Joe Prado’s cover for AQUAMAN #8. This afternoon, we’ve got an exclusive first look at the variant cover of another eagerly anticipated upcoming release: THE FLASH #8.

We asked artist Bernard Chang (DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS) to tell us a little bit about his creative process and what the experience of drawing the Scarlet Speedster was like. Take it away, Bernard! 

“The Flash is one of the most iconic characters in the DC Universe, so tackling one of his covers is not only an honor, but an exciting challenge as well.

Before starting on the drawing, I need to decide whether I want to take a more story-centric or graphic design approach to the cover. I'm equally a fan of both directions, but in this case, opted for the "scene out of the story.” I then pulled up some images of athletes running and sprinting, trying to generate some inspiration and understanding details to capturing figures in motion.

I sent three rough concepts to series editor Brian Cunningham, one featuring The Flash being flipped upside down, another with turbine's winds tearing his uniform off, and the third an iconic shot of The Flash charging at the villain with winds and debris surrounding them.

After locking down the cover concept (option #3), I then moved to initial rough pencils, which I draw reverse on the back of the board. This allows me to work out anatomy and perspectives and be fairly loose and rough. I tend to erase a lot, so it is freeing to make changes without compromising the surface of the paper for inks. I then move to a refined line stage on the front of the board, redefining specific lines with a thinner pencil and harder lead, and eventually onto inks with a variety or pens and brushes.

Once the cover is inked, it's scanned into the computer and the digital process begins, first with some minor cleanups, some additional digital drawing, and then with flats and shade/shadow/highlight definitions. The figures are colored on their own layers while background elements are on layers above and below them, which allows for easier adjustments in case revisions are in order after I turn in the piece.

Overall, from start to finish, the cover takes shape over the course of a couple of days. It’s important to schedule time between each stage, so I can review and make adjustments, with fresh eyes. Sometimes if you're too consumed in a single drawing or image, it can be difficult to see where areas might be improved with slight changes. Now if I only had the powers of The Flash ...”

Below take a first look at Bernard Chang’s variant cover for THE FLASH #8, which arrives in stores April 25th.

Vampires have taken to the streets of Gotham, the Flash gets slowed down by Captain Cold and SUPERMAN flies high with a brand new creative team in this week’s new comics. Whether you’re a vampire or mortal, you’ll still have to wait until Wednesday before you can sink your teeth into them, but we’re giving you a taste today by rounding up all of this week’s previews.

Here’s what hit the web yesterday…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY previewed BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #7 on their homepage.

USA TODAY previewed VOODOO #7 and interviewed writer Josh Williamson.

BUZZFEED previewed THE FLASH #7.

MAXIM previewed THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #7.

POPMATTERS previewed BLACKHAWKS #7.

GAWKER’s KOTAKU previewed JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #7.

GAWKER’s IO9 previewed I, VAMPIRE #7 and interviewed writer Joshua Hale Fialkov.

IGN previewed TEEN TITANS #7.

UGO previewed ALL-STAR WESTERN #7.

MTV GEEK previewed SUPERMAN #7.

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES previewed AQUAMAN #7.

NEWSARAMA previewed GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #7.

The DC Comics website previewed THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #7.

DC Entertainment lost one of our own this past week. Roger Bonas was laid to rest this weekend with two ceremonies in Brooklyn, well represented by his DCE and former Marvel colleagues. Our sincerest condolences go out to Roger’s family, friends and loved ones.

Those of you who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Roger have lost a dear friend and an amazing colleague. He was highly respected throughout the entire company. Roger's contributions to this company during his more than a decade of dedicated and selfless service were many and varied, including being the go-to person for our film archives and expertly managing our foreign licensing.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #4 and BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #2 have sold out and are going back to press for second printings.

In BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #4, Batman must face off against a chemically enhanced army of super-criminals looking to destroy him. From the creative team of David Finch, Paul Jenkins and Richard Friend, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #4 has sold out a week after we announced that issue #5 of the series would also be going back to press for another printing.

Meawhile, BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #2 has taken a queue from its preceding issue and has flown completely off the shelves immediately upon its initial release. Featuring the adventures of BATMAN BEYOND and JUSTICE LEAGUE BEYOND, this oversized collection of digital-first stories comes to you from Adam Beechen, Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen and Norm Breyfogle.

Look for the second printings of these issues in stores on April 25th, 2012.