Some of you might remember the last time a Cyborg Superman showed up. Would we dare revisit such a classic storyline? Hmmm. Well, never say never, right? As I've been telling you, all bets are off. Everything's on the table.
Sorry to make your head explode on a Friday, but enjoy Kenneth Rocafort's lovely sketch in the meantime. We'll be in the conference room discussing … oh, never mind.
Happy Friday,
Bob
When we solicited our DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 titles for April, we only showed the first side of each gatefold cover. Well the time has finally come to start seeing what’s on the other half of these exciting pieces of art!
Today, THE SOURCE has your exclusive first look at Kenneth Rocafort’s full cover for SUPERMAN #19, featuring the one person with the power to turn Wonder Woman against Superman. Can the Man of Steel convince her otherwise?
Take a look at the cover to see who that one person is. And what could this mean for Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship? Place your bets in the comments section below, and don’t forget to pick up your copy of SUPERMAN #19, in stores April 24th!
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read SUPERMAN #16 yet and do not wish to know what happens, stop reading this post now (major spoiler alerts ahead!)
From the creative team of writer Scott Lobdell and artist Kenneth Rocafort, SUPERMAN #16 serves as the next chapter of “H’el On Earth,” a crossover event taking place in SUPERMAN, SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL that unites all of the Super Family for the first time in DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 and puts them into battle with the maniacal alien, H’el, who will stop at nothing to bring back Krypton from extinction … even at the expense of Earth!
In “H’el On Earth,” Superman has come face to face with his worst nightmare: a creature of unknown Kryptonian origin who is not only more powerful than the Man of Steel, but smarter than Supergirl and more lethal than Superboy. H’el claims to be a space explorer sent on a mission by Jor-el (a.k.a. Superman’s dad) to safeguard the accumulated science and culture of Krypton aboard his ship when the destruction of his home planet became imminent. As a result of his intense travels through space, H’el has been transformed and now remains a grotesque version of who he used to be. But when all hope seems lost, he discovers the existence of two lost children of Krypton living on Earth: Superman and Supergirl.
Upon his arrival on Earth, H’el reaches out to ask for Superman and Supergirl’s assistance in the resurrection of their home planet. During their disastrous first meeting, H’el produces a prisoner to prove his knowledge of Krypton and its controversial past — a clone like the ones that nearly destroyed the planet years ago: Superboy!
H’el attempts to kill Superboy in order to gain the trust of Superman and almost succeeds! As Superboy’s life hangs by a thread, the Man of Steel leaves Metropolis and H’el to take him to the Fortress of Solitude. There, he gives Superboy his personal Kryptonian battle armor to help him heal from his injuries.
As Superboy recovers, H’el banishes them from the Fortress of Solitude and takes Supergirl on a tour of the bottle city of Kandor in order to gain her trust and allegiance. Afterwards, he succeeds more than he could ever dream when Supergirl decides to become romantically involved with him! Just in case you missed the beginnings of their blossoming relationship, click here to find out what happened!
With H’el and Supergirl alone in his fortress plotting the resurrection of Krypton, Superman decides that the problem is too big for one hero to handle and calls in some friends: The Justice League! Upon the arrival of the League, Superman and Superboy lead an assault on the Fortress of Solitude.
After being thrown through alternate dimensions and witnessing the full array of power at H’el’s disposal, Superman and his allies finally gain entrance to the fortress … but it’s too late! H’el’s plan has been set into motion and a power unlike any other is unleashed upon the planet. It seems like the end for everyone on Earth – and a new beginning for Krypton!
Meanwhile in the far reaches of space, a powerful entity awakens: The Oracle. He serves one purpose and one purpose only: to bear witness to the end of a world. Could this really the end for Earth? And can Krypton really be brought back from extinction? Place your bets in the comments section!
Below, take a look at the final page of SUPERMAN #16 (in stores now) as The Oracle awakens and demonstrates his immense power. And click here for your first sneak peeks at next month's SUPERMAN #17!
Hitting stores today, SUPERMAN #16 serves as the next chapter in “H’El on Earth” - a crossover event taking place in SUPERMAN, SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL that unites all of the Super Family for the first time in DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 and puts them into battle with the maniacal alien, H’el, who will stop at nothing to bring back Krypton from extinction … even at the expense of Earth!
If you’ve already read the issue, then chances are your jaw is still mopping up the floor underneath you. And you likely have tons of burning questions – like does the appearance of the all-new [name redacted] really mean what it says it means? And if so, what will the Man of Steel have to do in order to save [info redacted]?
While there’s still a month until your questions get answered in SUPERMAN #17, the startling conclusion of “H’El on Earth,” we’ve got a special surprise for you today to help make the wait until February 27 a little easier. Below, take an exclusive first look at Kenneth Rocafort’s interior art for SUPERMAN #17, and sound off in the comments section below about what you think will happen in the explosive finale to this tremendous crossover!
Last month, readers were shocked as the “H’El on Earth” crossover delivered a huge twist: a budding relationship between the maniacal H’El and the homesick Supergirl (for more about that and for a re-cap of the crossover event thus far, click here).
If you picked up SUPERMAN #15 when it hit shelves yesterday, you already know who the Man of Steel will turn to for help to put a stop to H’El and his destructive plan: The Justice League. But when the World’s Greatest Superheroes go to the battlefield against Kara and her Kryptonian ally in this month’s issue #16, will Superman be able to stop his cousin before it’s too late for our planet?
“There's a fight coming up between Flash and Supergirl, and when it was originally being written, one of the initial thoughts was, well, Flash is a member of the Justice League, so Kara would have to think twice about going up against these powerful heroes,” writer Scott Lobdell teased to NEWSARAMA about the upcoming SUPERMAN #16. “But again, that's just not true with these characters. As far as I can tell, Kara has been on Earth for about three weeks and hasn't met the Justice League. And she sees them as a bunch of people in costumes with kind of limited superpowers. As far as she's concerned, a group of people trying to express authority over her when she's trying to get Krypton back on its feet, she would have no personal regard or even respect for the Justice League.”
For more from Lobdell about SUPERMAN #16 and “H’El on Earth,” check out the full interviews that run today with the writer in MTV GEEK, COMIC VINE, and NEWSARAMA. And don’t forget to visit all three outlets for sneak peeks at Kenneth Rocafort’s interior art for SUPERMAN #16, which flies into stores on January 30th.
Welcome back for another installment of Preview Monday! This week we’re giving you exclusive first looks at RED LANTERNS #14 and SUPERMAN #14.
This week, “Rise of the Third Army” continues in RED LANTERNS #14! In last month’s issue, the Lanterns encountered the Third Army for the first time. As these mysterious creatures began to attack and convert various members of the Red Lantern Corps onto their side, the remaining Lanterns were left with no choice but to fight back. And in issue #14, the Red Lanterns prepare for battle against their greatest foe yet! Each Lantern must travel the universe in search of the blood of the guilty to feed their power battery and make it strong once more. Will they succeed or is this the end of the Red Lanterns? Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Miguel Sepulveda, RED LANTERNS #14 hits stores this Wednesday. Click here for an exclusive preview of the issue.
Following the exciting events of SUPERMAN #13, The Man of Steel’s worst nightmare have come true as a creature of unknown Kryptonian origin has visited Earth. This week, the crossover event “H’el On Earth” continues as Superman meets the elusive H’el for the very first time. More powerful than Superman, smarter than Supergirl and more lethal than Superboy, has our hero finally met his match? From the creative team of writer Scott Lobdell and artist Kenneth Rocafort, SUPERMAN #14 hits stores this Wednesday. Click here for an exclusive preview of the issue.
If you’ve already picked up one of today’s DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 releases, you may have noticed a special treat in the back of your book(s): a preview of next week’s SUPERMAN #13. But if you haven’t made your way to the comic book store yet, don’t worry! You can check out the preview right here on THE SOURCE.
In SUPERMAN #13, the Man of Steel finds himself testing his strength on machines under
the direction of Dr. Veritas, a beautiful woman who designed the instruments gauging Superman’s abilities. These machines are so powerful, in fact, that Superman feels exhausted and actually begins to perspire for the first time since he can remember. But does the fact that him and Dr. Vertias have known each other for a while mean that they can trust one another? After all, why is she collecting all this data on Superman in the first place?
SUPERMAN #13, in stores on October 24, comes to you from writer Scott Lobdell and artist Kenneth Rocafort. Check out the preview in the back of all of today’s DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 releases or simply click right here.
This fall, there will be an electrifying crossover occurring in SUPERMAN, SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL. Spanning across all the series’ #14 issues, “H’el on Earth” will put these super-beings into battle with the maniacal alien, H’el.
Written by Tom DeFalco and featuring art by R.B. Silva and Rob Lean, SUPERBOY #14 guest stars Supergirl and the Teen Titans. Fresh from the events of SUPERMAN #13, Superman’s deadliest new foe comes after Kon-El!
Picking up right there, Supergirl too meets the villainous H’el. But what happens when Kara finds herself agreeing with his pro-Krypton/anti-Earth plans? SUPERGIRL #14 is written by Mike Johnson and illustrated by Mahmud Asrar.
And in SUPERMAN #14, written by Scott Lobdell and illustrateed by Kenneth Rocafort, the Man of Steel himself will be forced to come face to face with the gang’s worst nightmare: a creature of unknown Kryptonian origin who is not only more powerful than Superman, but is also smarter than Supergirl and more lethal than Superboy. How will Superman combat a threat of this magnitude? We don’t want to spoil anything so all we can say for now is that his actions will change the course of a planet’s fate!
Below, take an exclusive first look at “H’el on Earth” by checking out the covers for SUPERBOY #14, SUPERGIRL #14 and SUPERMAN #14.
The cover for SUPERBOY #14 (on sale November 14) by R.B. Silva and Rob Lean:
The cover for SUPERGIRL #14 (on sale November 21) by Mahmud Asrar:
And last but certainly not least, the cover for SUPERMAN #14 (on sale November 28) by Kenneth Rocafort:
Just as the team gets back to Earth in RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #14, they are interrupted by Superman. Why? Maybe it has something to do with the fact there’s a Black Market alien technology being fenced and the Man of Steel has traced a connection to the Red Hood!
Leading up to next month’s “Death of the Family” tie-in issue, RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #14 reunites the creative team of the upcoming SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1, writer Scott Lobdell and guest artist Pascal Alixe.
“Superman vs. the Outlaws!! Even with Starfire, it’s a short fight—but what a fight!” teased series editor Eddie Berganza. “Now what brings the Man of Steel on the trail of Red Hood and company will be leading into bigger things for both this book and SUPERMAN. Stay tuned!”
Below, take an exclusive first look at RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #14 by checking out Kenneth Rocafort’s cover for the issue, which lands in stores on November 21.
SUPERMAN will debut a new creative team starting with issue #0 in September. Scott Lobdell joins the book as writer with Kenneth Rocafort on board for artwork and covers.
Lobdell had this to say about the new project, “Like every other writer in the world who has ever heard of SUPERMAN, I've spent a good part of my life wishing for the opportunity to write the ongoing adventures of the Man of Steel!
"Grant Morrison has left me a lot of new bright and shiny new toys on the table through ACTION COMICS -- and you better believe I'm going to take every one of the around the block for a ride! Thank you, Grant, for the this brave new world, and thank you DC for trusting me with the super hero who started it all.
"I wrote a proposal for the series and I remember more than once thinking ‘No way they'll let me do this -- not in a million years!’ But then I'd look up at the Post-It® over my computer that says 'Scott, Go Bold Or Go Home!' and I just kept writing! For weeks after I turned it in I kept waiting for the phone call that said 'Uh, yeah. Interesting. But never in a million years, Lobdell!' Instead I got a text that said simply said 'Congratulations.'
"So strap yourselves in, people, because we're going up up upper and awayer than we've ever gone before!
"Yes, I am acutely aware that I have some very big shoes to fill. From Jerry and Joe right on through George and Dan and Kieth and all the other writers and artists over the run of the series. Not too nerve-wracking, right?!
"And, of course, I probably would not have made the leap to the world's most recognizable hero if I didn't do it with Kenneth Rocafort at my side. Anyone who has been following his artwork on RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS knows he has an imagination unlike many others! He can handle the heavy lifting that comes with world building on one page, and pull a tear out of you through an intense emotional moment on the next.”
Rocafort added, “Comic books have had a long list of wonderful characters... but heroes?... Superhero?... An iconic Superhero?... There is only One! And to be part of the creation team is an honor a real privilege. I'm very grateful to DC Comics for trusting the opportunity.
"I'm glad to have the responsibility to visually represent the unique way that Scott guide stories, unexpected and mind blowing events that make me an eternal fan. And as a fan, I invite all-time comics readers to continue this journey with us in Superman."
(Promo art for SUPERMAN #0)
