It's good to have you loyal members of the DC Nation with us during these exciting times. As we get closer to the end of an epic 2010, we are pleased to tell you that 2011 is going to be even more amazing. We are in full gear with plans for your favorite characters, and the list of new ideas is growing every day. It's fitting, then during this period where we are working with you in mind, that we welcome you into our home city for the New York City Comic Con. It's the perfect time and the perfect show for you to come in and see what we're doing on our industry, leading panels, meet your favorite creators and hang out in the DC Comics booth. For us this is like a home playoff game in front of our fans, and we plan on making it one heck of a show for everybody in attendance.

Speaking of everybody in attendance, check out this list of DC talent who will be appearing at the show:

Neal Adams, Art Baltazar, Tony Bedard, Cliff Chiang, Amanda Conner, Darwyn Cooke, Tony Daniel, Shane Davis, Dan DiDio, David Finch, Franco, Keith Giffen, Cully Hamner, Adam Hughes, Jock, Geoff Johns, JT Krul, Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, Jim Lee, Jeff Lemire, Paul Levitz, Francis Manapul, Dustin Nguyen, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Prado, Ivan Reis, James Robinson, Nicola Scott, Gail Simone, Scott Snyder, Nick Spencer, JM Straczynski, Peter Tomasi, Freddie Williams II and many, many more.

That is one serious list of writers and artists. It's pretty obvious that you should be doing everything you can to get to the Javits Center in New York City from October 8th through October 10th. If you can make it, be sure to head directly to the DC Booth (#2243), and if you can't join us please be sure to check out The Source (dcublog.com) for constant updates from the show.

Be seeing you in New York,

Ian Sattler - Senior Story Editor, DCU

We’ve got another batch of eye candy for you this afternoon, with a look at Ale Garza’s cover to THE FLASH #6, Cliff Chiang and Kevin Maguire’s covers to JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #10 and Frazer Irving’s creepy BATMAN AND ROBIN #15 look into the Joker’s innermost thoughts. Enjoy.

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Looking for something to do this weekend? Well look no longer because the 2010 DC Nation tour pulls into Charlotte, North Carolina for Heroes Convention from June 4th - 6th at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Hi, I'm DCU Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler. You might remember me from other convention posts such as, "The guy who was stoked to get doughnuts in Seattle" or "The guy with the party hats in Baltimore". I fly to Charlotte tomorrow at dawn (seriously why do they make flights that leave so early?) and I am am thrilled to be attending Heroes again. This is one of the best shows in the country for fans to come and meet their favorite creators and this year's guest list is pretty stacked. Take a look:

FRANCO AURELIANI, MARK BAGLEY, BRIAN BOLLAND, BERNARD CHANG , CLIFF CHIANG, CULLY HAMNER , SCOTT HAMPTON , TONY HARRIS , JEREMY HAUN , GREG HORN, ADAM HUGHES , JAMAL IGLE , KEVIN MAGUIRE , DUSTIN NGUYEN , MIKE NORTON , STEPHANE

ROUX , BILLY TUCCI , ETHAN VAN SCIVER & BILL WILLINGHAM

As usual we'll be hosting our industry-leading, not technically but theoretically award-wining panels on Saturday and Sunday. If you can make it to the show please come out and see us. It'll be fun, I promise.

DC NATION!

Saturday, 12-1pm, room 207BCD

The DC NATION returns to Charlotte! We’re always looking for new recruits, so be sure to come on by as Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler and some of the industry’s top talent give you the inside scoop on all things DC.

SUNDAY CONVERSATION WITH IAN SATTLER

Sunday, 12-1pm, room 209

All are welcome to join Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler for a relaxed Sunday afternoon discussion. Share your thoughts, or be enthralled, as the group share their stories and love for this medium.

Happy Monday, Source gang. Hope the weekend was pleasant and restful.

Let me be realistic here: We read a lot of comics on a day-to-day basis. Lots of great, exciting stories involving our favorite characters and some new and engaging ones as well. Every once in a while, you come across an issue that really cuts to the core of what made you get into comics -- and what kept you reading. THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #33 is one such comic.

JMS crafts a fun, poignant and entertaining story into one issue, masterfully illustrated by the very talented Cliff Chiang.

Sometimes it's easy to lose titles in the shuffle, with so many books coming out every week. But we wanted to steer you back to this one, because it's certainly a treat. We caught up with Cliff to share some of his thoughts on the issue and he was kind enough to share some of his pencils and inks.

Be warned, though. Some spoilers below. But why not just run out and pick up the issue? We'll wait. Click below for some lovely Cliff Chiang artwork and insight...

I really enjoyed drawing Batgirl in her original black and blue costume, and using the George Perez design for Wonder Woman. The story needed to feel classic, iconic, and somewhat timeless in that regard. However, JMS smartly updated a lot of the references so it's not a "flashback" issue per se. I like the idea that comics continuity is constantly happening and refreshing itself.

I was really looking forward to drawing the women in their civilian clothes; you never see enough of that in comics! Fashion is such a specific thing, and in a case like this, you can't just wing it. Unlike the costumes, the fashion had to be contemporary, or you risk it just being fake and bland. My fiancée was kind enough to round up a great selection of au courant dresses, and I picked the 3 that fit their personalities. So Wonder Woman, Zatanna and Batgirl are actually wearing designer dresses and shoes.

In a story like this, you can really go wild with little touches. Given the "Sex and The City" vibe of the script, I tried to inject as much of the

feeling of my hometown of New York as I could. From the taxis and the advertisements, to the karaoke bar, to the diner with the foil covered plants -- these are some of the things I associate with New York nightlife. On their own the details are minor, but the cumulative effect is a fully-realized, believable world, and you can allow yourself to be carried away by the emotional story.

The penultimate scene was probably the most intimidating for me to draw. I had to remind readers of Brian Bolland's brilliant work on "The Killing Joke" despite our vastly different styles, as well as inter-cut with flashback panels. I borrowed a trick I saw from a John Romita Jr. comic and staggered the panels to give a sense of the "camera" switching back and forth. I rarely do much rendering or cross-hatching, but for the double-page spread, it felt right, to help shock the reader with a different kind of reality. I'm really proud of how the book turned out and hope the readers feel as strongly about it as I do.