February's still a ways away, dear readers, but we figured it'd be a good time to give you an inside look at the covers of some of the JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA family of titles hitting that month -- and there's a ton of hitting happening in these pages. Check out the covers for the February issues of MAGOG, POWER GIRL, JSA ALL STARS and the JSA ANNUAL below.
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It's day of threes here at The Source. To close things out, we have the third issue of MAGOG, which shows us that sometimes powers are as much a curse as they are a blessing. Magog learns that lesson firsthand when the minions of Miasma assault his enhanced senses. On top of that, he's found himself "rescued" by hi-tech-clad members of the mysterious Flashpoint. But is that a positive, or has our hero hurtled into a more dangerous situation? Find out by picking up the third issue of the new series, from writer Keith Giffen and artist Howard Porter.
MAGOG #3 hits 11/4.
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Few people have more skeletons in their proverbial closets than Niles Caulder, founder of the Doom Patrol. And with BLACKEST NIGHT doing a bang-up job of bringing those skeletons back in the form of Black Lanterns, you can only imagine how complicated things are going to get for the Doom Patrol. Caulder's been playing god for years, and the time for a reckoning is at hand. Check out a few pages from this BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in issue below, from writer Keith Giffen and artist Justiniano, with a few pages from the METAL MEN co-feature, by Giffen, writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Kevin Maguire.
DOOM PATROL #4 hits 11/4.
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In the way only a title like AMBUSH BUG can, the series jumps forward to issue #7 on 10/28. But wait, what about #6, you ask? Worry not, dear reader. Writer/artist Keith Giffen will explain all. Or maybe he won't. You'll just have to pick up the issue next week to see -- and after all this build-up, how could you miss it?
Here's the previously-unrevealed cover to AMBUSH BUG #7. Enjoy.
Remember Mento? Yeah, that guy – goofy helmet, lightning bolt on his chest. After reading this issue, it's a sure bet you won't forget him again any time soon. Oh yeah, and the resolution of that whole "black hole" thing from last issue adds a kinda-sorta new member to the Doom Patrol roster. As for everyone's favorite Metal Men, it's the dynamic debut of Douglas, Robot Hunter!
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Magog's got a bit of a problem: How can he use the vast resources of the Justice Society without them finding out he's going against their wishes/ Oh, and there's a more immediate problem: Facing off against the putrid villain known as Miasma in New York City. This issue continues the first arc from the creative team of writer Keith Giffen and artist Howard Porter. Click below for a look at the first four pages plus a intense Glenn Fabry cover.
MAGOG #2 hits 10/7.
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Magog has a mommy? Who knew? Well, I'd imagine writer Keith Giffen and artist Howard Porter did. That's all the info we have for you, Source-ers, but we do have a lovely Porter design sketch for you to look at. We also managed to corner MAGOG editor Mike Carlin into giving us a tad more info on who this lady really is. Take it away, Mike:
"We’ll meet Magog’s Mom, Alba in issue #4...When she calls Magog back home to Albion. Where the demigod’s roots are!"
Fair enough. MAGOG #4 hits in January.
Ready for another dose of Keith Giffen and Matthew Clark's DOOM PATROL? Are you sure?
It's a black hole, but it's not a black hole. If you're a Doom Patrol fan, that made perfect sense. And even if not, then you're in for one hell of a ride as the Doom Patrol face off against the most annoying alien this side of G'nort. Who's G'nort? Do we have to spell it out for you? Oh, and the Metal Men in space.
Not satisfied? Check out a few pages below to get an idea. DOOM PATROL #2 hits 9/9.
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We unveiled a short preview of the first issue of MAGOG, from writer Keith Giffen and artist Howard Porter a while back, but it never hurts to gently remind you that it's in stores this week. We also thought it'd be nice to throw in a few extra pages, for good measure.
Tired of the restraints that come with being a card-carrying member of the JSA, Magog decides to take justice into his own hands. But how does that synch up with Magog's own, apparently unavoidable destiny? We can't tell, but these pages should shed some light on the situation.
MAGOG #1 hits tomorrow.
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Happy Friday, DC Nation! Elisabeth Gehrlein here, DCU editor of…well, a really nice range of titles. One of the things I love about my current slate of books is how varied they are – I’ve got everything on my plate from JONAH HEX to TINY TITANS, with ADVENTURE COMICS and DOOM PATROL and WONDER WOMAN in between. So every day is a genre-bending journey where one minute I could be thinking “Where did those penguins get rocket packs in the first place?” and then suddenly a colorist calls with this disturbing question: “What color should I make the fragments of his shattered legs?”
To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I’d like to show you some of the fantastic stuff that has crossed my desk recently.
Let’s start with WONDER WOMAN, where Aaron Lopresti’s beautiful covers are a joy to get in my inbox every month. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover for #39, first in sketch form and then with full tonal work:
Oh, and I just got an email from Tony DeZuniga, co-creator of JONAH HEX, who is hard at work on the art for the Hex hardcover graphic novel, due in-store next spring. Tony and writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have teamed up before on Hex, and here’s what the results looked like:
I thought you might like to see some of Tony’s work-in-progress, though. Here are three pages of his roughs from the hardcover, also written by Jimmy and Justin, that tell an awesome little story all their own. That story is “Don’t mess with this man while he’s drinking.”
Moving on to ADVENTURE COMICS, where Francis Manapul and Brian Buccelato are turning out some gorgeous variant covers. Here are Francis’s inks for the #2 variant:
And then Brian takes Francis’s lovely ink washes to a whole new level with his color. Here it is with color and all:
Sticking with variant covers for a minute – you’ve seen the Matthew Clark/Kevin Maguire jam variant covers for DOOM PATROL issues #1 and 2 in previous posts. I love these covers very much, so I wanted to show you the final one for issue #3, starring Negative Man and a Metal Men obstacle course. We’ll start with Keith Giffen’s layout, and then there’s Kevin Maguire’s inks, Matthew Clark’s pencils over Kevin’s inks, Matthew’s and Kevin’s inks together at last, and finally the color by Guy Major.
Oh, and speaking of DOOM PATROL, remember that thing about the shattered legs? Yeah. When BLACKEST NIGHT comes to Oolong Island, things do not go well for the Chief. These wonderfully creepy cover pencils for issue #5 by Justiniano tell the tale:
Writer Keith Giffen’s comment? “Well, he won’t be getting far on foot.”
Yeesh.
But let’s end on a lighter note, shall we? TINY TITANS! This month in issue #20, Art Baltazar and Franco answer the age-old question, “After you win the Eisner for Best Publication for Kids (AW YEAH EISNER!), where oh where do you put the award for safe-keeping?” Well, where could be safer than Wayne Manor?
OK, I think I’ve spilled enough beans for one day. More to come next time – stay tuned!
