(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, Tuesday Afternoon (ET) Edition

(Greg Capullo’s variant cover for JUSTICE LEAGUE #3)

New York Comic Con has been over for two days, but, well, everyone's still talkin' about it. Here are some recommended reads:

UGO caught up with Geoff Johns about AQUAMAN. “They are a glimpse of the horrific world at the bottom of the ocean and beyond that Aquaman has never faced, that we have never really encountered,” Johns said of The Trench, the villains in the series’ first arc. “They are still learning and meeting new species every day, so I wanted to go as horrific and bizarre as I could. And you haven't even really seen how bizarre these creatures can get. They are pretty nasty.”

Following the announcement of THE CURSE OF SHAZAM, NEWSARAMA chatted with artist Gary Frank. "Both Geoff and I were keen that our costume should look different to the rest of the Justice League's costumes since it comes from a different place," Frank revealed of how fans can expect Shazam to look. “We're still ironing it out but, whereas the other costumes feel very modern and cool, ours needs to feel timeless and, hopefully, cool. We are dealing with magic rather than tailoring, so this has to be in there somehow.”

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES spoke with Scott Snyder, writer of BATMAN, SWAMP THING and AMERICAN VAMPIRE, about all of his respective series. “To me, he takes on a Robin because he needs a human connection,” Snyder said of Batman. “He needs to be a father because of what happened with his parents. He needs an ally because he is lonely – even though he won’t admit it. So he takes on a Robin but then at the same time, as much as he cares for that character, he has tremendous issues about getting too close to anyone and having it be his mission.”

And speaking of Gotham City, AIN’T IT COOL NEWS chatted with Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti about ALL-STAR WESTERN and their upcoming series, THE RAY. “All great cities have their own history and Gotham is no different,” said Palmiotti about the setting of ALL-STAR WESTERN. “Some of the main landmarks in the city will be and are featured in some of the new 52 books coming out and we are working closely with the crew to make sure we create an environment that reflects both ways the time period and the life of the city.”

(The cover of BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN)

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES has the first exclusive interview with Chip Kidd about his upcoming original graphic novel, BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN. “What I've always liked very much is that there are certain things Batman can do that Bruce Wayne cannot. But there's very much a flipside to that because there are things Bruce Wayne can do that Batman cannot,” Kidd said. “You need both of those things -- or at least I do -- to make things interesting. A good part of the story and the plot goes into the building and design trade of Gotham City -- how that works or doesn't work and how it's corrupted. There is a good bit of history with Bruce Wayne's father. It's not any kind of twisted, huge revelation. It's about the design legacy of the Wayne's in Gotham City.”

To be continued …

(Ivan Reis and Joe Prado’s variant cover for BATMAN #3)

(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, Thursday Afternoon (ET) Edition

Lots of big things this afternoon, folks!

ROLLING STONE featured their exclusive preview of next week’s JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 on their homepage. “So how do we get from that world to the world we all kind of know DC to be, which is a one of hope and where these characters are more champions than outcasts?" DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and JUSTICE LEAGUE artist Jim Lee told ROLLING STONE. "That's what JUSTICE LEAGUE is about. It's about showing when these characters come together to save humanity, and humanity accepts who they are. Then there's that transition from that kind of dark world to one that has a little bit more hope and a brighter future."

VARIETY published an article about the widening of the Batman franchise via the marketing campaign behind the BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY video game, calling out the game’s accompanying comic book series.

Entertainment website UGO has your first look at DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #2 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang.

And the day has finally come. IFANBOY broke their six-week consecutive selection of titles from DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 as their “Pick of the Week.” Some upstart named Scott Snyder claimed the title this week with his terrific Vertigo series, AMERICAN VAMPIRE: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. Seven weeks in a row of DC Entertainment titles? Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

To be continued …

(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC Comics-The New 52, Monday Noon (ET) Edition

This Wednesday will bring the final week of first issues from DC Comics-The New 52. The press buzz hasn't quieted down yet!

CBS SUNDAY MORNING profiled DC Comics-The New 52 yesterday. Keep checking back to THE SOURCE, as we will post the video here once it becomes available for viewing online. We don’t want to spoil anything, but if you missed yesterday's segment, be sure to watch the entire video. It has a particularly cool ending.

PARADE MAGAZINE ran a piece on some of the changes to Superman in DC Comics-The New 52. “We take him back to a time when he had to struggle more, when he was more vulnerable,” Jim Lee said to them about the Man of Steel. Want more Superman? Head on over to COMIC BOOK RESOURCES to check out their exclusive preview of SUPERMAN #1, which hits stores this week.

YAHOO’s ASSOCIATED CONTENT interviewed DETECTIVE COMICS writer and artist Tony S. Daniel. “I wanted to nail down a more vintage detective/crime story aspect to the storytelling, a film noir style to my stories,” Daniel told them of the series. “The style here is the bleak, pervasive menace to Gotham City in Batman's world.” DETECTIVE COMICS #2 hits stores next week.

GAWKER’S IO9 interviewed BATWOMAN creative team J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman about what to expect from the series. “We're trying to establish that Batwoman operates in more of a supernatural portion of Gotham,” Blackman teased. Her opponents and some of the storylines have a supernatural bent to them, which in my mind makes them feel very different than the other Bat-stories. We're combining horror with romance with vigilante action, but there's also that strong supernatural angle as well.”

And if you’re still not sure what titles to pick up this week, there's a number of high profile exclusive previews to check out. In an interview accompanying their exclusive preview of TEEN TITANS #1, Scott Lobdell tells USA TODAY that the first issue is "designed specifically so that as you're sitting down to read this book, you're learning about Kid Flash, Red Robin and Wonder Girl. Pretty much what you see on the paper is what we know about them and what they know about each other." THE LOS ANGELES TIMES’ HERO COMPLEX and IGN channeled their dark sides with their respective exclusive previews of I, VAMPIRE #1 and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1. UGO has the exclusive first look at THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1, while MTV GEEK premiered their exclusive preview of THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1.

To be continued …

Buzz and anticipation for DC Comics-The New 52 continues to build

This Wednesday, 8/31, DC Comics-The New 52 will officially kick off with the midnight release of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s JUSTICE LEAGUE #1. Over the past few days, the excitement and chatter leading up to the just-around-the-corner launch of DC Comics-The New 52 has been amplified. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

THE NEW YORK POST ran an exclusive preview of BATGIRL #1 (in stores next week). "It’s tremendously exciting to see her smiling on the cover of her own hit book finally, ready to kick ass against Gotham City’s worst monsters," series writer Gail Simone told NEW YORK POST. This exclusive 5-page preview of BATGIRL #1 is the first of many high profile previews running over the course of the next few weeks (but don’t worry – we’ll be linking to all of them on THE SOURCE for your convenience).

USA TODAY has a slew of exciting features. Head on over to their website to read their extensive coverage of the launch of DC Comics-The New 52, watch a new video interview from San Diego Comic-Con with DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and JUSTICE LEAGUE artist Jim Lee, read an interview with DC Entertainment’s SVP of Digital, Hank Kanalz, about the same-date initiative and see an exclusive preview of FLASHPOINT #5.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ran a piece on the launch of DC Comics-The New 52, with quotes from DC Entertainment’s Co-Publishers, Dan DiDio and Jim Lee. The article touched on various aspects of DC Comics-The New 52, including the addition of Cyborg to the Justice League team. "Cyborg is the 21st Century superhero," JUSTICE LEAGUE writer Geoff Johns said. "By telling Cyborg's origin story as part of the origin of the Justice League, we put a spotlight on one of DC’s greatest characters. He's part man, part machine. He's us. When we text or connect to the net with our smart phones and iPads, when we use technology as an extension of our daily life we are by definition a cyborg."

THE BOSTON HERALD featured a story on the kicking off DC Comics-The New 52. “Any time you do something like this,” Dan DiDio explained, “there’s always a level of risk. To improve the quality of material, we had to change the look of the characters, make them younger and accessible and bring new sensibilities to our storytelling.”

UGO has compiled a guide to DC Comics-The New 52, which chronicles all the changes being heralded in. Learn about costume redesigns, day-and-date and more here.

Keep checking back to THE SOURCE as we link to more coverage and exclusive previews in the days and weeks ahead.

Know Your Rogues

THE FLASH Omnibus Volume 1 is on sale now. Written by best-selling comics superstar Geoff Johns and with art by fan-favorites Scott Kolins, Ethan Van Sciver and Angel Unzueta, this gorgeous collection includes: THE FLASH issues #164-176, FLASH:IRON HEIGHTS #1, FLASH SECRET FILES #3, and FLASH OUR WORLDS AT WAR #1 and more!

Check out the great review over at UGO.

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Want to know more about Weather Wizard, Girder, Magenta, Murmur, Mirror Master, Plunder, and Blacksmith? Here's everything you need to know:

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