With ACTION COMICS #9, two acclaimed guest artists will explore an alternate Earth and the story of its Kryptonian protector. Multiple Eisner Award-winning artist Gene Ha will be a guest artist for the primary plot, penned by regular series writer Grant Morrison. And fresh from his recent work on THE SHADE miniseries, artist Cully Hamner will illustrate the issue’s back-up story, written by Sholly Fisch.

Parallel worlds come to the forefront of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 “Second Wave,” with titles such as EARTH 2 and WORLDS’ FINEST exploring the adventures of heroes on alternate Earths. ACTION COMICS #9 sets up the multiverse with a standalone story of a Superman from another Earth, who must fight a monster from yet another parallel world. But this isn’t just any monster; it’s a Superman surrogate known as Superdoom, twisted into an unstoppable agent of evil.

The back-up story will also feature an adventure of this alternate Superman, set on his parallel Earth.

Regular series artist Rags Morales will return for ACTION COMICS #10 in June. In the meantime, check out Ha’s inks for ACTION COMICS #9.

Here’s a round up of the exclusive previews from this week’s DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 releases, on sale tomorrow.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY ran the first five pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 on their homepage.

On Friday, we told you about Batman’s appearance in I, VAMPIRE #5. USA TODAY chatted with series writer Joshua Hale Fialkov to accompany their exclusive preview of the issue. "Andrew has everything under control except for the crazy guy in the bat suit," Fialkov said of the series’ protagonist. "It adds a nice level of chaos for the characters to have to deal with."

Meanwhile, POPMATTERS showed pages from THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #5 and WIRED’s GEEKDAD previewed AQUAMAN #5. IGN has your first look at THE FLASH #5. GAWKER’s KOTAKU debuted a sequence from BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #5 and GAWKER’s IO9 has a glance at TEEN TITANS #5. UGO has your first look at SUPERMAN #5 and MTV GEEK has a sneak peek at ALL-STAR WESTERN #5.

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES posted the first four pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #5 and COMICVINE has an exclusive preview of THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #5. Over at NEWSARAMA, check out a sequence from VOODOO #5, the first issue from new series writer Josh Williamson. Pages from GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #5 were featured on IFANBOY and DC Comics’ official Facebook page has your first look at BLACKHAWKS #5.

To be continued …

(LEGO® Batman 2: DC Super Heroes)

The Highly-Anticipated Sequel to the Best-Selling LEGO® Videogame of All Time Returns with Help from Super Heroes including Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern

Burbank, Calif. – Jan. 5, 2012 – Batman is back to save Gotham City and the action will only build from here! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group are teaming up once again to announce that LEGO® Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes will be available beginning Summer 2012 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ system, and Windows PC, as well as the Nintendo DS™ hand-held system, Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system, and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system.  The game is the sequel to the best-selling LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame, which to date has sold more than 11 million units worldwide.

LEGO Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes complements the brand new, recently released LEGO® Super Heroes: DC Universe toy collection.  The line includes five construction sets, such as The Batcave and three buildable, detailed action figures.

In LEGO Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes, the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin join other famous super heroes from the DC Universe including Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to save Gotham City from destruction at the hands of the notorious villains Lex Luthor and the Joker.  Batman fans of all ages will enjoy a new and original story filled with classic LEGO videogame action and humor as players fight to put the villains back behind bars.

“LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes builds upon the action and cooperative gameplay experience established in our best-selling LEGO video game to date, LEGO Batman: The Videogame,” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games. “We’re offering fans a rich and expansive Gotham City environment filled with cool characters, great customization options and plenty of surprises that families, young gamers and DC Universe fans can enjoy together.”

“LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes further extends and combines both the Batman and LEGO videogame experiences to create very fun gameplay,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Fans of all ages are going to enjoy the action and light hearted humor that TT Games and LEGO provide.”

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes allows players to explore all new areas of Gotham City utilizing a variety of vehicles including the Batmobile and Batwing.  In addition, they’ll be able to fight for justice by mastering new gadgets and suits, such as Batman’s Power Suit and Robins’ Hazard Cannon, and using all-new abilities including flight, super-breath and heat vision.

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is being developed by TT Games and will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.  For more information, please visit www.videogames.LEGO.com.

And so 2011 draws to a close.

By any definition, it was an incredibly successful year for us here at DC Comics. It was a year of excitement for anyone who loves comics.

Now, not to sound corny -- but the most important thing to us is that all of you who love and read DC Comics responded in such an incredibly positive way to The New 52.

We appreciate it. It's why we do what we do.

But 2011 was just the beginning. Next year will bring even more changes, more action and more surprises. The evolution of the DC Universe will continue and accelerate as events ripple across titles, impacting characters in unexpected ways.

For instance, check out next month's STORMWATCH, in which a devastating explosion will echo in upcoming issues of both GRIFTER and SUPERMAN, as a major new (yet somehow familiar) threat will be introduced.

And keep an eye on BIRDS OF PREY in the coming months, where Black Canary's long-held secrets will start to unravel.

And what exactly is Kid Flash's story? TEEN TITANS will explore that mystery early next year.

All that and more is coming in 2012.

So, best wishes for a Happy New Year from all of us at DC.

See you next year!

-- Bob Harras, Editor-in-Chief

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