Not long ago, we broke the news that Nick Spencer and artist CAFU would be relaunching the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS in November – along with a lovely cover by superstar artist Frank Quitely. But why stop there? Editor Wil Moss was kind enough to not only shoot over some lovely CAFU character designs, but he also kept me on the phone for a few minutes to talk up just what you guys are looking at. So, what’s the score, Wil?

“When tasked with reviving the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS property for a modern audience, we needed an exciting new take on the concept, so we went to writer Nick Spencer.

But how do you make a 50-year-old superhero team like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS look fresh and modern? Hire a one-of-a-kind artist like CAFU. Problem solved! Let’s take a look at the brand new cast and CAFU’s terrific designs of them …

DYNAMO

The new Dynamo has a number of demons to wrestle with, and how better to do so than strapping on a belt that gives you super-strength and beating the snot out of some terrorists?

This character more than the others was just a name on a piece of paper until CAFU brought him to life with his pen. He gave the classic Dynamo costume a striking update and filled it with a pensive-looking flesh-and-blood character.

LIGHTNING

Lightning’s past is one readers of the sports page will be familiar with. It’s one of failure, self-doubt and, ultimately, redemption – if he can manage to outrace death long enough, that is.

CAFU came up with a number of designs for Lightning’s suit, but we ultimately settled on this one as it seemed both the most stylish and the most practical. Zipping around that fast, you’re going to need some protection!

NOMAN

The only original member returning to (active) duty on the book, NoMan has become so out-of-touch with his humanity after years of jumping from one body to another that he just doesn’t know what to do with himself – hence being foolish enough to return to the team.

We didn’t want to change NoMan’s look too much from the original, so CAFU just gave it some thought and figured out what a guy who doesn’t care about appearances at all would be wearing.

MENTHOR

Menthor is a bit of an enigma. His identity and true motives are elements that will be up in the air for quite a while. All we can say is, whatever you think you know about Menthor based on the original series, don’t expect things to turn out the same way here.

This design is certainly a favorite – there’s just something so bizarre about seeing a superhero wearing a suit like that, especially with a covered face. For the helmet, CAFU came up with a very sleek-looking update of Menthor’s original look – a nod to the original, yet still thoroughly modern. Just like the book!

One of the best parts of this new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS series is finding out who all these people in the costumes really are. What kind of person willingly takes on something like this that they know will kill them? You can find out starting November 10 when T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1 hits stands!”

Before Captain Atom can move into the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST, he has some business to take care of. Specifically, in his co-feature, which has been running in the pages of ACTION COMICS in recent months, courtesy of writer James Robinson and artist CAFU. The story concludes in ACTION COMICS #889, and we — with some help from ACTION COMICS assistant editor Wil Moss — got a chance to check in with the creators about their story.

Take it away, James:

"It's been an honor to work with the supremely talented CAFU for the past year, documenting the adventures of Captain Atom. We got to establish Sorcerers' World in the 21st Century, which was a blast. We also got Captain Atom to a place where he is free and clear of his tangled past to stand among the heroes of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST. I'm very proud of my work on this co-feature and thank DC, my editor Matt Idelson, assistant editor Wil Moss, co-plotter (for the first few episodes) Greg Rucka, inker Bit, colorist Santiago Arcas and letterer Rob Leigh for being a part of this with CAFU and I."

And CAFU:

"This is, by far, the project I've enjoyed the most doing, ever. I've enjoyed every single one of these chapters with Captain Atom born in James and Greg's brilliant restless minds. For me, it's been a great challenge - things as different as huge battle scenes with orcs against wizards; epic superhero fights, dinosaurs, and a lot of my favorite DC characters... This series has had it all! If you add Santi Arcas' incredible color work that gave so many life to these stories, and Bit's invaluable help in some of them, and the perfect work environment our editors Matt and Wil have created for all of us, everything has clicked! So I can just say...I'm very sorry it's over!"

No tears yet, guys! Let's take a look at a few pages from the final installment:

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Kicking off a new 5-issue storyline, writer James Robinson sets the stage for the monumental SUPERMAN #700, with some help from artist Javier Pina. Mon-El makes his triumphant return to Metropolis with a new look and a determined manner just in time to combat the unstoppable fury of Bizarro. But with his powers phasing in and out, will the new Mon-El be able to save his city even with the help of the Guardian and Metropolis's Science Police?

SUPERMAN #694 hits 11/25.

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In January, ACTION COMICS #885 and SUPERMAN #696 will cross over as Nightwing and Flamebird’s hunt for Zod’s sleeper agents leads them right to Science Police Headquarters in Metropolis, home of the Guardian and Mon-El. James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann packed these two issues with so many twists and turns, we needed the covers to be as equally dynamic – and since the amazing CAFU regularly draws both covers, why not have the covers cross over as well? We cornered Superman Editor Matt Idelson's able assistant Wil Moss for more info. Take it away, Wil:

Once the joint cover idea was hatched and we thought up a concept, CAFU sent in his first round of sketches. We all liked option A the best, and then with one piece of sage advice from Dan DiDio (“Wouldn’t it be nice if readers could see the heroes’ faces?”), CAFU came back with another version of option A. We all quickly approved the new sketch, then came CAFU’s inks, and finally the sublime colors by Santiago Arcas.

ACTION COMICS #885, featuring interior art by Pere Pérez (with CAFU handling the CAPTAIN ATOM co-feature), is on sale January 13. And SUPERMAN #696, with interior art by Bernard Chang, is on sale January 27. Make sure and check out the last page of #696 – that one’s gonna knock over quite a few dominoes ...