(The cover for GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #1 by Tyler Kirkham and BATT)

Starting this September, artist Tyler Kirkham (GREEN LANTERN CORPS) will be illustrating (along with BATT) the new series, GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS. Led by Kyle Rayner, the New Guardians are a powerful team comprised of the full spectrum of the corps. We caught up with Tyler during his early process of illustrating the new series.

THE SOURCE: What about DC's new 52 titles excites you the most?

TYLER KIRKHAM: There are still DC books I'm not familiar with so this will help me to start from scratch, and pick up books I've wanted to read for a while. I also plan on getting an iPad or tablet soon and want to start reading some of my books digitally. So with the books starting from # 1, I can have a whole series from the beginning. I'm extremely excited about it.

How and why are you shaking up the series' status quo?

Well my series is one of the new ones. GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS. I'm glad Kyle will still be staring in my new book. I really love drawing him. This book will focus on all the ring color corps, so well will get to see a lot more of the Lantern universe than the other Lantern titles.

What new characters will debut in the series?

All I can say for now is Kyle Rayner. But there will be members from all the other color corps.

Will we see new character designs?

Most likely. As of now, we’re still in the development stage.

What's the biggest surprise you've had working on this character/book?

As I'm just getting started, the whole series is a surprise to me. I think the whole story will surprise people, as we discover secrets from all the other corps.

What secret has been the hardest to keep?

Just the fact that I wasn't staying on the GREEN LANTERN CORPS series. I wanted to tell some of my friends and fans but held off until it was announced.

What’s the unofficial tagline for this series, in your own words?

“What will happen when you put a member from all the Lantern corps in the same room?”