Hey Source gang,

Just wanted to drop you all a quick note letting you know the DC offices will be closed until January 4 starting today at noon. Coincidentally, that means the blog won’t be updating. It’s hard to properly describe just how much fun it is to basically spend the day sharing cool art, news and information about your favorite comics, character and creators with such a fervent and dedicated group of fans, so I won’t try to. But, suffice to say, it’s been a great honor to sail this tiny Source ship with you all in 2009. Hope you’ve all enjoyed the ride. Have a wonderful holiday season, and we’ll see you all in 2010 for another exciting year in the DC Universe.

Alex

What happens when the world’s most legendary fighter enters the ring against the world’s greatest hero?

Well, if you were around in 1978 to pick up a copy of SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI, then you know what it was like. The historic one-shot featured the Man of Steel teaming up with The Greatest Boxer of All Time to stave off an alien invasion of Earth.

Why are we getting all nostalgic about this comic? Well, if the trip down memory lane isn’t enough for you, here’s some news: DC will be reprinting the story — co-plotted and written by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams with art from Adams — in two formats: The first is a deluxe hardcover edition featuring an expanded sketch section and additional content with a new cover by Adams. For all those fans of the book in its tabloid form there is also a limited edition hardcover in the original trim-size with the complete, original cover of the landmark issue. Both collections will hit in the fall of 2010.

Stay tuned here to The Source for more news on this collection in the coming months.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #7 hits today, as Catwoman takes charge as the other Sirens fall victim to their most dangerous challenge yet.

We’ve been posting a few stories from the DCU HOLIDAY SPECIAL this week to get everyone in a holiday state of mind, so why not post another? Here’s a silent tale of the Dark Knight, from writer Jay Faerber and artist Peter Nguyen.

Have you been following Batwoman’s origin? If not, now’s your chance to catch the concluding chapter. DETECTIVE COMICS #860, from writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III hits 12/23.

The holidays are in full swing, and with that in mind, we decided it’d be nice of us to unveil a few more March covers, all of which will hit later today. Take a look at upcoming covers for WONDER WOMAN, SECRET SIX, DOOM PATROL, JONAH HEX, BOOSTER GOLD and more below.

It’s not a stretch to say Guillem March is one of the most talented artists in the Batman group. Doubly talented when it comes to creating compelling and great-looking covers. So, it was a no-brainer to suggest having him chat on the blog about just what his process is. Especially when the very talented Bat-editors Mike Marts and Janelle Siegel send me some pretty art to post. So, here’s his take on the creation of GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #8. Take it away, Guillem:

When I was thinking about a concept for this cover, I focused on Poison Ivy since the issue is about her. I had the idea of a frontal closeup of the face. I like face close-ups and I´ve drawn others, like the covers to Oracle #2 or Gotham City Sirens #2. In this case I went further and the face is so big that it´s only shown partially. It´s a very simple idea, but I don´t remember many covers like this, and that´s the point–making something new and eye catching! I made some layouts of this idea, some of them with additional elements to make the other Sirens appear in the final image.

Once editor Mike Marts and Artistic Director Mark Chiarello had selected one of the layouts, I decided the technique I´d use for it. Sometimes I do painted covers, and sometimes I follow the typical process of penciling, inking and coloring by computer. For this cover I did the same as for the Gotham City Sirens #3 cover, a painted illustration in gray wash, with a plain color applied on it by computer. I drew the face on the back of the DC regular paper so I don´t have any blue guides on it. It was a little bit of a challenge for me, as I´m not used to painting such an oversized view of something that is usually only a few millimeters in the interior art, and it´s easy to lose the sense of proportion. The leaves falling were drawn separately so I could then compose the whole image better by computer.

The last step of coloring had no complications, but has a vital importance for the final result. While coloring I noticed the huge iconic content that the colors of Poison Ivy have. The gray wash shows a woman´s face, but green skin and red hair means Poison Ivy with no doubt, without needing to put the leaves on it.

What, did you think we’d stop at one? We continue to bring the holiday cheer today with another great story from the pages of the DCU HOLIDAY SPECIAL. This time we present you a tale of Sgt. Rock, by writer/artist Billy Tucci, who did a bang-up job on the recent SGT. ROCK: THE LOST BATTALION mini-series. Enjoy.

DC Nation, it’s Go Time. The second wave of the Red Circle heroes is upon us! And with them, an array of talent so dizzying, you may need some Dramamine after this post! So hold on tight and read on!

It all begins in The Shield #5 when Marco Rudy brings the Jaguar to life as the Shield battles Nazi robots deep in the Brazilian jungle. Check out Marco’s amazing design as he showcases the feral side of this mysterious new hero! Will he help the Shield – or hurt him?

In this same issue, the Inferno co-feature gains its own strange encounter when the Comet comes face to face with our fiery man on the run! Duncan Rouleau came up with one stellar design for our cosmic character, and what Greg Scott does with it – well, you’ll just have to pick up the issue and see for yourself!

Next up is the rise of the Black Hood, found in the pages of the Web #5! Our killer guest team of new ACTION writer Marc Guggenheim and the aptly-named Talent Caldwell are exploring the impact of the Web’s unconventional approach to crime fighting and what that will mean for Mateo Burland. So far, the odds are against a happy ending!

And keep your eyes peeled for Mr. Justice floating through the Hangman co-feature in the Web #5! Once more, we turned to Duncan Rouleau to deliver a design, and he delivered strong! Just wait until you see how Tom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz have brought this spectral savior to life (as it were)!

(By the way, father/son writer team Michael and David Uslan wanted me to tell you all they’re working on a Mr. Justice co-feature with artist extraordinaire Justiniano, but I said it was too early to discuss that. So don’t say anything to them yet, ok?)

So that’s FOUR new characters popping up in the Shield and Web #5! And brought to you by extremely talented creators all, no less. And with JSA All-Stars writerMatt Sturges taking over the Web as of issue #6, can we even find room here for just one hero more?

Oh yes, we can.

Starting in March, Inferno will go on a four-issue hiatus from the Shield, and in its place will be running the origin story of the FOX! Brought to you by Inferno writer Brandon Jerwa and POWERS artist Michael Avon Oeming! Follow Paul Patten Jr. on his journey to unravel the decades-long mystery behind his father’s death, as he learns secrets of the Tokyo underworld and the mysterious ways of the Kitsune spirit. It all kicks off in the Shield #7 along with a brand-new mission in the lead feature! Don’t believe us? Check out Michael’s amazing designs below!

So that’s the state of the Red Circle as we go into 2010. New characters, new stories and new talent are all rounding out the latest corner of the DC Universe. Make it your New Year’s resolution to try out a new book – you won’t be disappointed by the level of quality and excitement everyone’s bringing to these titles!

Well, we gave you a little tease last week — with some help from Matthew Sturges –about JSA ALL STARS #4 (which we’ve kindly included below), but what of the other titles tied to the team? I’m staying tight-lipped, but these cover images should help give you an idea to what’s coming up.