MTV GEEK Announces ASTRO CITY

After a three year hiatus, ASTRO CITY is back and better than ever! This spring, the entire award-winning creative team – including writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson – is back to kick off a new epoch of the human and the super human.

Earlier this morning, MTV GEEK announced that the fan-favorite series would be returning as a part of the DC Comics imprint this spring.

In ASTRO CITY, a new ongoing monthly series that showcases old heroes and new, The Ambassador comes to earth, and an ordinary man is caught up in the cosmic conflict! Featuring the return of favorites such as Samaritan and Honor Guard, the series will also feature the debut of some new sensations, including the mysterious Broken Man.

“You'll meet him on page one of our new first issue, but while this'll be your first time meeting him as the Broken Man, that doesn't mean you haven't met him before,” Busiek teased to MTV GEEK. “So in some ways he's a new character and in some ways he's a returning character. And he's got a very, very unusual and complex history, and an even more unusual heroic quest. One the readers will actually get to be a part of as something more than passive observers. But ah-ah, I don't want to give away too much.”

Head over to MTV GEEK to read their full coverage and complete interview with Busiek. And don’t forget to get in on the ground floor of ASTRO CITY’S next epic when ASTRO CITY #1 lands in stores on June 5th!

Second Hero Initiative Auction Event in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Area this Weekend

If you live in or around the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area, be sure to stop by Tate’s Comics this weekend (Jan. 20-22) for your chance to bid on Hero Initiative’s Justice League of America 100 Project, featuring exclusive, one-of-a-kind covers.  The covers feature art from Mark Bagley, Alan Davis, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, George Pérez, Frank Quitely, John Romita Sr., Alex Ross, and more – you can check out the full gallery of covers here.  The Tate’s Comics event is the second of three Hero Initiative auctions offering custom JLA covers and each event auctions off one-third of the total covers. The final event will take place at Orlando MegaCon on Feb. 17-19.  For more information about this great cause and the auction events, visit the Hero Initiative website.

Don’t Miss Hero Initiative’s Auction of Custom Justice League of America Covers This Weekend

If you live in or around Los Angeles, be sure to stop by Meltdown Comics tomorrow (Dec. 3) at 6pm for your chance to bid on Hero Initiative's Justice League of America 100 Project, featuring exclusive, one-of-a-kind covers.  The covers feature art from Mark Bagley, Alan Davis, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, George Pérez, Frank Quitely, John Romita Sr., Alex Ross, and more - you can check out the full gallery of covers here.  The Meltdown Comics event is the first of three Hero Initiative auctions offering custom JLA covers and each event will auction off one-third of the total covers. The second event will be held at Tate’s Comics in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale on Jan. 20-22 and the third event will take place at Orlando MegaCon on Feb. 17-19.  For more information about this great cause and the auction events, visit the Hero Initiative website.

Action Comics #900 - all of the many, many details

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We're really pulling out all the stops for a milestone issue as big as ACTION COMICS #900, and the amount of talent that's been pulled together for the issue is truly outstanding.

The 51-page lead story by Paul Cornell, Pete Woods and Jesus Merino sees Superman return to ACTION just in time for both the conclusion of the critically-acclaimed "Black Ring" story starring Lex Luthor and the start of the next act of "Reign of Doomsday". As a bonus, Dan Jurgens, Rags Morales, Ardian Syaf, Jamal Igle and Gary Frank are each contributing their artistic talents to special segments of this main story.

But wait, there's more!

Action #900 will contain short comic stories by:

- Damon Lindelof & Ryan Sook

- David Goyer & Miguel Sepulveda

- Geoff Johns & Gary Frank

- Paul Dini & RB Silva

And that's STILL not enough...

Richard Donner and Derek Hoffman collaborated on a story that'll be presented in a screenplay format that we'll run alongside storyboards by Matt Camp.

Brian Stelfreeze adds in a two-page spread showing the evolution of Superman throughout the decades, drawn in the art styles of some of Superman’s most well-known artists.

And of course there's that great painted cover by David Finch, as well as variants by Alex Ross and Adam Hughes that we've already shown off here and here.

Whew.

ACTION COMICS #900 hits comic book stores on April 27th.

DC Comics and Hero Initiative Collaborate for the first time


First Ever DC Comics and Hero Initiative Collaboration:

Justice League of America #50

A collection of 100 Covers from Top artists around the world!

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 1, 2011) – The Hero Initiative, a charity dedicated to helping comic creators in medical or financial need, most proudly announces their new partnership in the Justice League Of America #50 project with DC Comics. This is the first collaboration with DC comics ever and Hero is chomping at the bit to pull the collection together. The call has gone out and dozens of artists are putting pen to paper. DC has generously donated 100 blank-covered cardstock copies of Justice League Of America #50 to Hero, and work is being created by well-known stars such as Jim Lee, Alex Ross, George Perez, Jason Bone, Jim Valentino, and many many more.

"It's an honor to participate, not only because this is the first time DC Comics is collaborating with Hero Initiative, but because Hero Initiative is such an important organization to our community" said Jim Lee, artist and Co-Publisher of DC Comics.

“We're thrilled to be working in new ways with DC Comics, and showcasing some of the greatest artists and greatest characters in the world," said Hero Initiative President Jim McLauchlin. "And of course, sales of the covers and the collected book will go toward helping many other comic creators in need."

All 100 original Justice League Of America covers will be published in a book slated for release in 2011, and a public viewing of all covers will be scheduled as well.

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About Hero Initiative

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.

Six Things You Need to Know about ACTION COMICS Issue 900

Nine hundred issues is a significant milestone. Come this spring, ACTION COMICS will be the first—and only—comic book series with nine hundred issues under its belt.

Here are 6 items of breaking news about this historic anniversary issue:

1. ACTION COMICS 900 continues the epic Reign of Doomsday storyline.

2. There’s a contribution by famed SUPERMAN THE MOVIE director, Richard Donner;

3. A story by the screenwriter of THE DARK KNIGHT, David Goyer;

4. A story by the co-creator of LOST, Damon Lindelof;

5. In addition to covers by David Finch and Alex Ross, there will be a variant cover by Adam Hughes.

6. In order to squeeze in all these amazing contributions, ACTION COMICS will clock in at a whopping 96 pages.

Stay tuned to THE SOURCE for more about ACTION COMICS 900 in the coming weeks.

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OPEN THREAD: What’s YOUR favorite DC Comics cover…ever?

It’s been a celebratory week here at The Source, what with our string of lovely 75th anniversary variants, the TASCHEN news and the first look at DCU: LEGACIES #1.

But we’re not done. As we continue to celebrate DC’s 75th anniversary, we thought it’d be a great time to look back at the company’s illustrious history and see what you, the fans had to say. But this isn’t your usual open thread, folks.

Let’s talk covers. To say that the cover image is important would be a huge understatement. It's what draws you in. Everyone remembers their first cover. Everyone has a favorite. That one image that just screams “Comics!” and takes us back to a simpler time where our biggest concern was how many copies of a certain title we’d be able to lug home from the shop that day. I can think of a few that stand out for me in an instant. So, Source readers, here’s the question: What’s your favorite DC Comics cover? Why?

But that’s not what makes this open thread special. Not only do we want to hear what your favorite cover is, we’ve got comments from some of the biggest names at DC.

Curious to hear what they’ve got to say? Click below, and don’t forget to check Vertigo’s GRAPHIC CONTENT and WildStorm’s THE BLEED for even more creators chiming in.

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DAN DIDIO, DC Comics Co-Publisher

I stuck to books that came out during my tenure. As far as covers go, THE FLASH #207 by Michael Turner. The Flash has never looked so fast standing still.

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DAVID FINCH, BRIGHTEST DAY cover artist

My favorite DC cover is by Alex Ross, and it's for BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE. It's got Bruce standing with his back to the viewer and he's running his hand over the scars that crisscross his whole back. It just captures everything that Batman is about for me. He's not afraid to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and he's willing to sacrifice his own body and mind to the cause.

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BRIAN AZZARELLO, FIRST WAVE writer

OUR FIGHTING FORCES #150. Joe Kubert's covers told stories that were sometimes better than the one's in the books.

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JIMMY PALMIOTTI, JONAH HEX co-writer

My favorite comic cover has to be JONAH HEX #27 by Jordi Bernet. There is so much storytelling packed into this single image as well as

brilliant composition by one of Europe's greatest illustrators. Jordi is and will always be one of my favorite artists.

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JT KRUL, GREEN ARROW writer

Tough call. I could easily rattle off a bunch of the obvious ones: Killing Joke, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Watchmen, etc. But one that always stuck with me was Denys Cowan's cover for THE QUESTION #34. It was the first Question comic I bought (don't ask me how the book managed to elude me until then). There's a such a haunting quality to the man without a face, but it's the masses behind him that really help set the mood. That cover, not to mention all the Question covers drove me to spend money I didn't have in college on back issues to fill my run. Each week, I'd tell myself I'm only going to get one or two, but I always walked out the door of my LCS with five or six. But who needed food, when you had great comics, right?

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STERLING GATES, SUPERGIRL writer, SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE SUPERMEN co-writer

TEEN TITANS #14. How can you look at this great Nick Cardy cover and NOT want to read this issue?

Not only have the other Teen Titans DIED, their ghosts are haunting Robin!

I always wondered if they were encouraging him to quit being a superhero, or quit life and join them six feet under. The dead can be a selfish lot, so I have no trouble imagining them trying to get Robin to come on down…

LEE BERMEJO, JOKER, LUTHOR artist

Gotta say my favorite DC cover has got to be Bill Sienkiewicz's cover to THE SHADOW #1. Just a beautiful, graphic image that is aggressive as well as elegant, modern and timeless simultaneously. Those two Uzi's unloading in your face blew my young mind and made me an instant fan of both the character and Sienkiewicz's genius. The key was in that squinted eye, though. I think it was the first time I felt like a participant as opposed to reader.

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DUSTIN NGUYEN, BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM artist

Mignola's cover to BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #54 pretty much sums up everything i love about the look of Batman. Bold simple colors, plenty of drama in an otherwise static pose, and the eyes- perfectly positioned inside the silhouette of a horned cowl. And it's RED, i like red."

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FRANCO, TINY TITANS writer/artist

That's an easy one! My favorite cover has always been the NEW TEEN TITANS #13!! I saw this thing and it knocked me on the floor! I knew the Titans were going to be in trouble when somebody kicked Robot Man's tin can and hung him out to dry in the middle of the Amazon forest!!! There was just so much detail here and I remember pulling it off the rack and just staring at it for a while and the guy behind the counter yelled at me and asked if I was gonna buy it or just stare at it all day. I did both! It was the first series that compelled me to go find all the back issues. Mr. Perez is the master!

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ART BALTAZAR, TINY TITANS writer/artist

SUPERMAN #337. AW YEAH! WHAT? Superman quits? NEVER!

Awesome cover! The colors rock! Awesome Bad Guys too! First time I ever saw Metallo! This cover has mystery, Drama, conflict and adventure! I love how happy the bad guys are to finally defeat the Man of Steel! The Super Friends cartoon was on TV at this time, so it was cool to see Brainiac and Bizarro. PLUS! All those Bad Guys together is what we want to see!

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JUDD WINICK, JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST co-writer, POWER GIRL writer

My favorite cover is ACTION COMICS #500. "The Life Story Of Superman". It's my favorite DC comic. It told the entire story Superman. It was like getting 10 pounds of Ice Cream. The cover SCREAMED to me--THIS IS SPECIAL! and it was and it is.

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YILDIRAY CINAR, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES artist

The cover I picked up is BATMAN #366 by Walt Simonson. The cover speaks for itself. The layout, composition, lightning...One of my favorite covers in my entire collection since my childhood.

The Eisner Awards honor the DC Universe

The Eisner Awards, considered by many to be "The Oscars" of comic book industry awards, unveiled their nominees for the 2010 ceremony today, honoring a number of key DCU titles and creators. The winners will be named at the San Diego Comic-Con International, the largest and oldest comic convention in the United States.

Let's check out the DCU nominees, shall we?

SINGLE ISSUE:

"Blackhawk and the Flash: Firing Line," by J. Michael Straczynski and artist Jesus Saiz presents the reader with a tale both classic and modern, reminding us of the best, off-the-wall superhero team-ups of the past with a modern twist.

LIMITED SERIES OR STORY ARC:

BLACKEST NIGHT, by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert. The epic, universe-spanning mini-series gets a much-deserved nod from the Eisner judges, capping off an epic year of compelling storytelling and jaw-droppingly beautiful art that dominated the comic book landscape.

WRITER:

Geoff Johns, ADVENTURE COMICS, BLACKEST NIGHT, THE FLASH: REBIRTH, SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN, GREEN LANTERN. What more can be said about Mr. Johns? He's had a stellar year, hasn't he? Whether he was bringing back the dead and spreading mutli-colored rings in the pages of BLACKEST NIGHT or reinventing one of modern folklore's greatest legends in the pages of SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN, Johns has blazed a trail through the DC Universe by making the supremely difficult look almost too easy: strong stories focused on strong characters with no frills.

WRITER:

James Robinson, JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE. One thing that can be said about James Robinson as a writer? He takes risks. Whether it's launching a Justice League series starring Congorilla, a blue-skinned Starman and Supergirl or having one of comic's most-beloved heroes shoot an arrow through Prometheus' skull, let it never said that Robinson plays it safe. And it's that daring and innate knowledge of these characters he so clearly loves that earned him the nod.

PENCILLER/INKER and COVER ARTIST:

J.H. Williams III, DETECTIVE COMICS. You read that correctly. That's TWO nominations for superstar artist J.H. Williams III, who clearly poured everything he had into his work on the Batwoman story in DETECTIVE COMICS. It was Williams' vivid and constantly evolving linework and almost innate ability to construct a page -- and do so in new, daring ways -- that helped literally paint a picture for the reader, and really made Kate Kane a real, breathing character for an entire generation of fans to embrace. Bravo!

PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST:

Mauro Cascioli, JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE. Mauro Cascioli made tragedy real. With his realistic, painterly style, Cascioli brought a gritty, three-dimensional sensibility to a book that collected some of the most daring and imaginative characters in the DC Universe. Whether it was a battle of super-powered beings among the clouds or an archer's aching sense of loss, Cascioli has it covered, and he showed as much in the pages of CRY FOR JUSTICE.

COLORING:

Alex Sinclair, BLACKEST NIGHT. Seems like a no-brainer, huh? But not just anyone could bring to life the vivid spectrum of powers and emotions that form the crux of BLACKEST NIGHT -- from the raging reds of Atrocitus to the serene blues of Saint Walker and everything in between, Sinclair made the reader feel like they were on the sidelines watching a fantastical light battle that was as awe-inspiring as it was dangerous. Not an easy feat, folks.

GRAPHIC ALBUM (REPRINT) and PUBLICATION DESIGN

ABSOLUTE JUSTICE. Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Doug Braithwaite's all-star story of of heroes and villains got the spruced up Absolute treatment in 2009, and we finally got to see the book's amazing artwork presented as it should have been -- in an expanded and high-end format.

Congrats to all the nominees. 2009 was a major year for the DC Universe, and it's great to see the talent recognized by such an esteemed organization. Fingers crossed!

You can never have too much JUSTICE

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. Got your fill of BBQ'd foodage, fireworks and patriotism? We sure did. And while it's hard to pry yourself away from lazing around, we've got some images that might make avoiding a case of the Mondays that much easier.

ABSOLUTE JUSTICE, collecting the series from writer Jim Krueger, artist Doug Braithwaite and some guy named Alex Ross hits in November. And because we can never get too much Ross goodness, we've got the previously-unseen dustjacket from the collection, along with some character sketches that will also be in the Absolute. See? Mondays aren't all bad.

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