It’s hard to believe that tomorrow already sees the release of the first batch of third issues from DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Over the past few days, previews of these books have been popping up all over the Internet. Missed some? Don’t worry. We’ve got them all assembled for you here.

MAXIM has your exclusive first look at the action packed and science-fiction tinged O.M.A.C. #3.

From fan-favorite creative team Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld comes HAWK AND DOVE #3. Check out LOS ANGELES TIMES' HERO COMPLEX for an exclusive preview of the issue.

It’s Virgil Hawkins vs. The Slate Gang in STATIC SHOCK #3. Can’t wait until tomorrow to check the issue out? Head on over to IFANBOY for an exclusive sneak peek.

Download the CHAMPION! MAGAZINE app to see an exclusive preview of MEN OF WAR #3. The preview also features the layouts and inks of the previewed pages, providing an in-depth look at the creative process that goes into the creation of this series.

DC Comics’ Facebook page posted your first look at tomorrow’s GREEN ARROW #3. In the issue, Oliver Queen must defend himself against the maniacal Rush, who wants to kill him in front of a live audience. Pretty twisted, right?

And just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean it’s time to stop the scares from rolling in. Check out NEWSARAMA’s interview with I, VAMPIRE writer Joshua Hale Fialkov. “Matt Idelson and I talked a lot about good crossover opportunities, ways to show case that the book is set in the current DCU, and that the events around it are 'really happening,’” Fialkov teased of John Constantine’s upcoming appearance in the series. “Constantine serves as such a great gateway for that because he already stands on the side of the macabre, and his attitude is so opposite of Andrew’s. John is an actor, not a brooder. John is willing to do what has to be done, where as Andrew, we've seen, is slightly more hesitant.”

To be continued …

The bogeyman. The monster in the closet. The things that go bump in the night. They show up, sometimes, in a good spooky story. But what gives us nightmares, what really keeps us up late at night, can't always be named.

With today being Halloween, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.

On the horrors of the New 52

What sets the Dark titles apart from the other books in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: There's a palpable creepiness in these books. The threats are relatable.

DAN ABNETT: These are supernatural or pseudo-supernatural books that fit very neatly into the new DC Universe. Genre borders are dissolving in other media, and it’s nice to have comics that can blend styles and flavors. RESURRECTION MAN is, basically, a superhero book, but he doesn’t wear a costume and he spends most of his time actively NOT being a superhero... and plenty of time engaging with horror/supernatural/dark science-fiction themes.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: There seems to be this unique blend of heroics and creepy ideas mixing together. My favorite thing to do is cross genres in unexpected ways to produce interesting results. Even though Batwoman isn't really a "DC Dark" title, we do sort of fit that vein. But with a nice twist of her not actually having powers of her own, just a normal human being dealing with things that defy the natural order in the only ways she knows how.

PAUL CORNELL: The qualities of one's peers, for a start. They're lovely chaps to be on a panel with. And I think the line has something of that wonderful moment just before Vertigo launched, when the weird horror characters were still part of the DC universe about it.

SCOTT SNYDER: I think the sensibility. We're allowed to explore the more horrible villains, in monsters and all that, but those things sort of demand a darker emotional material to work, too, you know? Meaning, for the kinds of monsters and gross things we write about in our plots to be scary, they have to be functions of stories that are equally scary and disturbing.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I feel like BATWOMAN has its own unique place in the New 52. While it's sometimes a traditional vigilante comic book and somewhat connected to the Batman books, it has very strong supernatural and metaphysical undercurrents. Batman generally fights psychopaths (some quite horrific), but many of Batwoman's cases and villains will have a much more supernatural flavor.

ANDY LANNING: When we wrote RESURRECTION MAN first time 'round, it was commented that the book was a kind of bridging title between the DC Universe and the Vertigo titles which was something new at the time. The Dark Line as a whole now is well and truly treading the ground between the overt superhero titles of the DC Universe and Vertigo books and it’s very fertile ground that seems to have struck a chord with readers.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: First off, the folks in our group are just the best of the best. I can't believe how amazing each of them are, and how great their books are. Second, this is something that each of us have a genuine heart felt passion for. These aren't just jobs, they aren't just doing a book for the sake of a paycheck. Each of us came to our books from a place of pure passion, and I think that bleeds from every page.

How important is it for horror and magic to have a place in the DC universe?

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s an element that has been sorely lacking in the DCU for a long time, and I'm glad to see it being embraced much more fully. It just adds even more fantastical aspects to an already tantalizing universe of ideas. It’s so important to DC that it really shouldn't ever be put back in the box again.

ANDY LANNING: Comics reflect all the main genres and as such magic and horror have always been a staple, along with westerns, war stories and sci-fi.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I'd take that question bigger. Horror is such a key literary genre that, for me, it's part of our job to show our existing readers that there's more to genre storytelling than men in tights and science adventures. Horror has such a beautiful tradition in comics, and, I feel like it's my duty to present that to a whole new generation.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I personally think it's hugely important. It provides a great deal of diversity to the universe. And some of my favorite moments in comics have been when characters from different "worlds" or backgrounds try to interact or understand one another. The tension between magic and science is great fodder for story-telling and character development.

DAN ABNETT: Vital. They are two of the fundamental (and contrasting) sources of wonder.

SCOTT SNYDER: To me, incredibly. I grew up on horror comics - my favorite Batman comics when I was a kid were the horror ones - from Arkham Asylum and DKR to Red Rain and Gotham by Gaslight. But mostly things like Swamp Thing, House of Mystery, the reprints of Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow... I love the idea of having a place within the DCU where monsters dwell - a place anyone can visit but only some can endure.

PAUL CORNELL: One of the joys of a super hero universe is that all the genres that shouldn't exist together get thrown in to bounce off each other. Just like in real life.

Each of you writes scary characters. But what frightens these, well, monsters? What phobias might these characters have?

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: In our first arc, the "monster" is consumed by emotion. She's driven by anguish and guilt, and terrified of living out a cursed existence alone. In upcoming issues, we start introducing some other monstrous villains -- one fears being discovered for what he truly is; one fears failure; another fears losing power; yet another fears getting old. And on some level, they all fear Batwoman.

PAUL CORNELL: Etrigan is living his nightmare every day, being trapped inside Jason o'the Blood, and vice versa. Xanadu's life, balancing those two against each other, is also a life of fear. The Shining Knight is afraid of dying without ever finding what she (sorry, he) is looking for. The Horsewoman fears confinement, as will become obvious. Al Jabr and Exoristos' fears we'll discover. And Vandal Savage fears nothing. Actually, that's not true, as we'll see.

DAN ABNETT: Mitch Shelley probably has a thing about coffins that are hard to open from the inside.

ANDY LANNING: Yup, enclosed spaces, oh and rats! He gets to see a lot of rats!

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: That, to me, is the drive behind I, VAMPIRE. The sheer fear that Andrew has that his one mistake will lead to the absolute destruction of mankind. And, y'know, that's the plan. Don't tell my editor, Matt Idelson, yeah? He specifically told me I couldn't wipe out all of mankind.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think on some level that what all human based monstrous characters fear the most is losing their humanity beyond where they may currently find themselves. And if there is some outside force that does scare them, I don't think I want to meet it.

SCOTT SNYDER: Well for Alec, I think the big fear we're dealing with is the creeping suspicion that deep down, he has always known that he was meant to be a monster - Swamp Thing. The fear that this creature is - and always was - his destiny and he knew it, even as a child, and now it's here.

What's the scariest scene you've written so far in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52? you on Halloween? Can you tease at something in an upcoming issue that might frighten readers?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: There's gonna be a birth. Nothing scares me more.

DAN ABNETT: There’s a sequence in Resurrection Man 3 where Mitch’s powers have deserted him, and he finds that the hellish things that have been chasing him are nothing to do with the REAL Hell at all...

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s a toss up between a scene in issue 3 or another in issue 4. The one in issue 3 touches on deep emotional context and the meaning of loss, and how that loss relates to who we are, what are we now that we've lost something important in our lives. While the other in issue 4 is very beastly and grotesque and raises some provoking thoughts about different roles we play in society, all through subtext and symbolic characterization.

SCOTT SNYDER: I think a scene coming up in Batman - involving a dead person, a slowly cracking open mouth and an owl - that's all I can say though!

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I think Issue 3 has some truly terrifying moments for Batwoman as she faces the Weeping Woman and starts to discover the scope of the villain's powers. It all impacts Kate on a very emotional level. And in Arc 2, without giving too much away, we have a villain who literally drools blood, and her first appearance creeps me out.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: There's a moment in issue 4 when Andrew meets another vampire, and he unlocks something in that vampire almost accidentally that creates, well, a monster. It's one of those moments that to me, speaks to the devil inside us all. All it would take is a tiny push and a good many of us would switch sides, no problem.

PAUL CORNELL: I think the cliffhanger to Demon Knights #3 is something that might be rather tough to read. Everyone's going 'oh, it's such a *jolly* title!' I hope by now readers have worked out what I do. My wife calls it 'ha ha bang.'

ANDY LANNING: Issue #4 gives us a glimpse into Mitch’s past and there’s some really gruesome stuff there but that’s nothing to where he finds himself at the end of that issue, it’s a shocker for sure!

So far, who do you think is the scariest character (that you’re not writing) to emerge out of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52?

ANDY LANNING: I really like what Jeff and Scott are doing with the concepts of the Red and the Green, real creepy stuff there that’s only getting creepier!

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: It'd have to be Jeff Lemire's Maxine Baker from Animal Man. That kid scares the crap out of me.

SCOTT SNYDER: I think Strife in Wonder Woman is one of the creepiest characters I've ever encountered. But the Hunters in Animal Man freaked me out, too! Lots of scary characters in the new DCU! It's my kind of place.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: It's scary how good Swamp Thing is...

BRIAN AZZARELLO: Dan DiDio. Makes Darksied look like a piker.

DAN ABNETT: The centaurs in Wonder Woman. Proper horror, at its best.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think John Constantine has the potential to be the most profound. In Vertigo's Hellblazer, he has shown to be a very scary personality when you examine some of things he has done.

PAUL CORNELL: Those skeletal pets in Animal Man freak me out. And Wonder Woman's aptly alien gods.

The bogeyman. The monster in the closet. The things that go bump in the night. They show up, sometimes, in a good spooky story. But what gives us nightmares, what really keeps us up late at night, can't always be named.

With Halloween just around the corner, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.

On Horror

For the last decade, our culture is overrun by creatures of the night and the undead. Why is the horror genre currently so popular?

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV (I, VAMPIRE): Horror has been a part of our culture from the dawn of time. But, it especially pops up during times of drastic change... from the Victorian era to the Depression to the Watergate era, and, yes, even the 80s. And horror always reflects the secret fears of the world around us. There's a reason that a society of sex and consumerism is so fascinated with Vampires and Zombies right now.

BRIAN AZZARELLO (WONDER WOMAN): In post-modern times, we like to be distracted from what's really frightening.

(Shining Knight as a vampire in DEMON KNIGHTS #4)

DAN ABNETT (RESURRECTION MAN): There is an inherent strand of dark romance running through horror that is often lacking from, say, science-fiction. Science-fiction generally deals in wonder and scale, but horror is almost always personal. It’s about loss, emotion, melancholy. Plus, if we proved tomorrow that the world of the supernatural existed, nobody would be very surprised. Its appeal lies in the notion that it’s just a step away us in the shadows, and it’s been there all the time.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN (BATWOMAN): I don't think horror has ever stopped being popular. The genre ebbs and flows like anything else, with different types of horror taking center stage at different times, but every decade has its big horror franchises and best sellers. Today, I think horror allows us to test ourselves in a "safe" environment -- we know that we won't ever really encounter a ghost who drowns children or a shape-shifting alien in the arctic, but we can brave the fictional versions and get a small glimpse of what it might be like to meet the real thing. And "surviving" that experience gives us a rush that is difficult to come by in our often protected and ordinary lives.

J.H. WILLIAMS III (BATWOMAN): I feel that horror really hasn't been unpopular, but does move to the mainstream in times of cultural or societal crisis. It's a powerful form of escapism that allows you to experience something beyond the troubles in one's own life, it subconsciously can give perspective to real life, by giving form to real emotions through prompted fears that we suppress otherwise. Through horror genres, we allow ourselves to manifest what is deeply in our subconscious minds. We can face down our darkest thoughts without judgments.

PAUL CORNELL (DEMON KNIGHTS): Because we live in troubled and fearful times. Actually, being human, we always live in troubled and fearful times. That's why there's never been a time, in cinema, where it's a thrill ride and you can scream out loud, when horror wasn't popular. Stephen King apart, though, the genre isn't doing well right now in terms of prose. That's because we live in troubled and fearful times.

ANDY LANNING (RESURRECTION MAN): Horror always seems to be most popular when times are at their bleakest. It’s always reassuring to watch a parade of monsters and ghouls and people doing terrible things to each over on the screen or in a book then return to the relative safety of your own home. It makes the real horror in the world easier to deal with.

SCOTT SNYDER (SWAMP THING, BATMAN, AMERICAN VAMPIRE): I think it's always popular, people just notice it when at different moments, when there happen to be waves of things about one particular monster.

Why do we like to be scared?

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s a very primal thing. To be scared or startled releases chemicals in our bodies, like a drug. Therefore providing a thrill, or an elevated sense of self. Unless we do something truly dangerous, we don't get to experience these profound chemicals any other way than through our imaginations being triggered by horrific concepts presented to us.

BRIAN AZZARELLO: The fear of death makes us feel alive.

ANDY LANNING: It’s a rush, a thrill ride that’s totally safe.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: For me personally, it provides a rush akin to sky diving or driving really, really fast.

PAUL CORNELL: We like to be scared and for it then to be okay. They say laughter evolved from a hunting call of 'phew, it's all right.' The pleasure for us is in the relief.

SCOTT SNYDER: As to why, I think scary things are a way for us to deal with our real world fears in a way that's manageable. Good horror movies have the heroes facing their worst fears, manifested as monsters or serial killers. And by facing them in the form of Jason or a haunted house, it makes us feel more in control (at least for the couple hours it takes to watch or read something scary).

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: Because it makes the real pains of life so much less upsetting. We need it because it's something we can conquer in the way our real lives just can't be.

DAN ABNETT: It’s a thrill. It allows us to experience some of those primal responses that we don’t feel as much in modern life.

If monsters are commonplace, is horror still scary?

BRIAN AZZARELLO: No -- but it's thrilling. And that feeling shouldn't be discounted.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: The monsters are never the scary part, it's the consequences, so as long as the stakes are kept real, horror will always work.

J.H. WILLIAMS III: Monsters in some way represent distortions or grotesque ideals of humanity. They symbolize inner thoughts or ideas that we all may think about, but rarely voice. This is why they will always remain scary, because we can see our twisted darker sides in them, things that we all feel under the surface from time to time.

ANDY LANNING: There will always be a new bogeyman, even if the world were full of monsters, there would be something out there that would scare people, even the monsters are afraid of something. Probably Tickle Me Elmo.

PAUL CORNELL: Are monsters commonplace? If it's commonplace, it's not a monster.

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I see "monsters" as only one part of the entire horror landscape, and it's clear that even monsters can still be scary - especially when they are reinvented to feel familiar but new. We have primal fears that these monsters represent -- fear of death, fear of strangers, fear of aging, fear of disease -- and as long as those fears are still hardwired into our brains on some level, the monsters that embody these fears will remain scary.

SCOTT SNYDER: Of course! Monsters are commonplace because they're enduringly scary.

DAN ABNETT: I think horror is still scary, but I think scary is (and always was) better than horrible. The best scares have nothing to do with obvious blood and gore.

Vampires or zombies? What’s your favorite creature?

SCOTT SNYDER: I write AMERICAN VAMPIRE. Do you have to ask?

ANDY LANNING: Vambies or Zompires. I love em both!

J.H. WILLIAMS III: I have to base my choice on what I find scarier. As vile as Vampires can be portrayed, I have to go with Zombies. It boils down to rationality for me. Vampire motivations can be explained with understandable reasons for their behavior, on why we should fear them. But it is very much sort of a food chain construct, they're higher up on it than us. They have emotions and needs relatable to human ones, so they can be rationalized. Where Zombies are a totally insane concept. There is no rational thought to them, just relentless eating, unfeeling things that seem to serve no real intelligent purpose, just overwhelming and futile. They represent total loss of all relatable human ideas, complete grotesque annihilation. There is no explaining them properly, their motivation is completely alien, and there is no wrapping your head around it. The unknown is a powerful thing in creating total panic and fear.

PAUL CORNELL: Vampires. I'm bored with zombies. And as Jane Austen once said, who could ever be tired of vampires?

DAN ABNETT: Uhm, the one that’s gonna save me from the vampires and the zombies?

W. HADEN BLACKMAN: It depends... Are we talking about the tragic, misunderstood vampire who just wants to be good; or the moody, angst-ridden vampire; or the vicious, narcissistic and murderous blood sucker? The shambling Voodoo zombie; or the ravenous flesh eater; or the super-strong, invulnerable zombie? To me, one of the coolest things about these archetypes is that they can be continually reinvented.

JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: As a native Pittsburgher (better known as the land of George Romero), my gut tells me Zombies, but, considering the world we live in, and how much fun I'm having writing I, VAMPIRE’s Andrew and Mary, I'm going Vampire.

You surf the web enough, you start seeing patterns.

The number 52, for instance, seems to be very popular right now. Drill down further and new trends start to emerge. Critics like ANIMAL MAN and THE FLASH. Websites likes a good holiday story, particularly a week out from Halloween. Ready?

FLASH FACT: critics really do like THE FLASH. Just check out POPMATTERS' advance 10 out 10 stars rave review of THE FLASH #2, which hits stores tomorrow. “Francis Manapul writer-artist behind the New 52 Flash and co-writer Brian Buccellato, simply streak ahead of any previous limitations in storytelling. What Manapul and Buccellato have produced with the Flash is a rich, textured drama that hinges on both the emotional core and hard scifi,” they wrote. “Manapul and Buccellato conduct readers to a wonderland of augmented cognition and rapid cell development. But the real joy is linking beyond the ideas the writers express, and finding science theories for ourselves like the neuroscience of prediction and quantum entanglement and bringing these to bear on our reading of the book … The Flash is simply comics at its finest.”

Want to hear more about THE FLASH? Head on over to NEWSARAMA, for Vaneta Rogers' interview with the creative team. "What's interesting about Barry Allen's perception among fans is that a lot of people think he's 'old-school.'"said series co-writer and artist Francis Manapul. "But in reality, the only thing old-school about him is his idealism. His optimism. Right? So he's this very black and white type of hero, and he's been thrust into this world that's gray." THE FLASH co-writer Buccellato suggests, "We went through a period where the anti-hero and tortured hero were prevalent, and it's because they were unique at the time that they captured the imagination of readers. But now, I think people see a noble hero as something special. We want somebody who will do the right things because they're the right things, and maybe we don't need to know that deep down he's tortured."

Meanwhile, with Halloween around the corner, GAWKER’s IO9 interviewed I, VAMPIRE writer Joshua Hale Fialkov to help get you in a horror state of mind. “I went back to Bram Stoker. I'm using Dracula but with a slightly more superhero twist,” Fialkov revealed when asked about what type of powers the vampires in his title possess. “They can turn into bats, wolves, and a hybrid monster (to give them that great visual punch). They have the Stoker set. They can walk in the sunlight, but they can't use their powers. To kill them, you must chop off their head and stake them in the heart. They can turn to mist. They're super-strong, but not Superman. The basic idea is that they're an upgraded version of us.”

AIN'T IT COOL NEWS interviewed DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and JUSTICE LEAGUE artist Jim Lee about DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. “Brian and Cliff have come up with ways of introducing centaurs into WONDER WOMAN that is very creepy, and it's exciting to see a realistic, modernist take on ancient Greek mythology, and used in a way to make it kind of...you know, the same way we've seen different updatings of classic mythology, like Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, he's kind of doing that with Greek mythology, so it's exciting to see.”

Meanwhile, CBR spoke directly with the WONDER WOMAN creative team, Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang. “Greek mythology is something that is unique to the character of Wonder Woman. Let's play it up. Why shouldn't it be played up?” Azzarello said. “The other thing is, now, we've given her a family -- a big, horrible family -- and the story possibilities are endless. The gods act horribly to each other, they act horribly to humans. But at the same time, they're not entirely unsympathetic, either. They are all coming from a place you understand. That's kind of the universal quality of mythology, that it's all about human nature. The other thing is, Wonder Woman's never had a Gotham City. Now, her family is going to be her Gotham City.”

While you're at COMIC BOOK RESOURCES, be sure to check out their exclusive first look at tomorrow’s TEEN TITANS #2.

Once Halloween is in the rear view mirror a week from today, we can all get ready for the winter holidays. Writer/artist Lee Bermejo helps sets the stage with an interview with NEWSARAMA about BATMAN: NOEL. “There are characters who fit in with the roles that those ghosts play in Dickens,” says Bermejo. “The ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’ is a sequence with Catwoman. The ‘Ghost of Christmas Present ’ is a sequence with Superman, and the ‘Ghost of Christmas Future’ is Joker. The roles these characters play at that moment in the story help serve the same purpose that the ghosts serve in A Christmas Carol.”

To be continued …