It was such a good BLACKEST NIGHT (I was just lamenting in this very space how sad I was that it was over), but now come the white rays of a brand new BRIGHTEST DAY.

Mustn’t hit snooze… must get up…

…No rest for the wicked or Editors working with Geoff Johns.

Time to make the Comics.

With that bit of incentive, I leap out of bed and recharge starting off with reciting the DC oath—

“–When BRIGHTEST DAY must ship because BLACKEST NIGHT is over, no script or crossover shall escape my sight. Let those who do not obey the deadline right beware my power, an Editor’s might!”

With that my will is fully charged to deal with New York’s transit system. Aside from a hundred or more happy campers on the train, I have other company, one that will be haunting me for a while.

Deadman or currently after the events of BLACKEST NIGHT Aliveman.

“Hey, Boston.” I say. (yes, an occupational hazard for writers and editors is that we live with our characters 24/7). “What? You see me?!” he replies a bit startled. Note this is a huge deal for Mr. Brand because since he got back as the only bearer of a white ring he has been tossed from one resurrected person to another while remaining invisible as “seen” in BRIGHTEST DAY #0.
“Yeah, you doof,” I snort. “How else am I gonna tell Peter Steigerwald how to color you and add more glows to your White Ring effects?”
Noting I am not a morning person, Boston remains silent for the rest of the trip, which is good, people were starting to stare.

Finally arriving at the Dark Tower that is the fortress for DC Comics, I am greeted by my associate editor Adam Schlagman—I am convinced that Adam is a Manhunter robot as I have never seen him sleep and he is returning e-mails around the clock.

Speaking of which, I valiantly try to catch up to the rest of the world as I check in with Spain (6 hours ahead) and Ardian Syaf’s agent Pepe Caldelas to see how the latest pages on the Hawkman sequence are doing. He tells me inker Vincente Cifuentes will have the part with _________ in just a bit. It looks amazing especially the… you’ll see.

Then only an hour ahead in Brazil I check in with designer/finisher/agent extraordinare Joe Prado to see how he and Ivan Reis are doing with Aquaman and my pal Boston.

“Don’t worry. Be Cool, all will be well,” he confidently states in a deep voice that has a hint of his Portuguese accent.

OK then, seeing jpegs, I’m happy that mine and co-writer Pete Tomasi’s time watching the Discovery Channel has paid off giving Geoff an idea for a particularly nasty scene between Aquaman and one of his finny friends.

But I’m not making up any time, so I try to get the drop on L.A. (who we’re ahead of by 2 hours).

Nope. Geoff is already awake. He wants notes on the latest GREEN LANTERN. Does the White Lantern scene work with what’s happening in BD?

Before I’m even off the phone, I now have messages from both Pete and Pat Gleason to see if we like the design on the baddie that’s gonna make J’onn J’onzz life hell on Earth.

Yup, no looking back at past wins, we’re in full BRIGHTEST DAY mode here!

And I need another recharge. No oath this time.

I stop assistant editor Rex Ogle from ballooning for a bit to take a short trip across the street for some Starbucks. He fills me in on what Maxwell Lord is doing in JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST, and then Caramel Macchiato grande in hand back to work. Have to see if the other BRIGTEST DAY books, FLASH, GREEN ARROW, BIRDS OF PREY, TITANS, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, GREEN LANTERN CORPS and the upcoming GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS are all on track with their bits that will add to explain why the twelve have returned.

They are back for a reason!

For all involved there is no slacking this BRIGHTEST DAY!

Writer Chris Yost closes out his run on the series with an issue that serves as the culmination of a year’s worth of mystery, intrigue and Red Robin heroics. Who will win in a battle between Tim Drake and Ra’s al Ghul? Who has Ra’s been talking to all this time in the shadows? Why was Lucius Fox desperate to find Tim? And what made Tim so sure Bruce Wayne was alive way back in Red Robin #1? Find out here.

RED ROBIN #12 hits 5/5.

Got plans this weekend? No? Well, now you do.

In case you didn’t know, tomorrow is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, where comic book shops across the country open up their doors and give away a number of FREE COMICS to fans new and old from participating publishers. Yes, you read that right. Free. Comics. All day. Want to see what’s going to be on display? Visit the FREE COMIC BOOK DAY site for info on participating stores and locations.

Want to find your nearest comic shop? Use the very handy Comic Shop Locator.

As far as what DC’s got in store — well, where to begin? We have the DC KIDS MEGA-SAMPLER, which features stories from all our kids titles, including the critically-acclaimed TINY TITANS and BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM. TINY TITANS features the fabulous storytelling and artwork of Art Baltazar and Franco, two creators that have really made a name for themselves with their endearing stories that appeal not only to kids, but older fans. Guys, what say you?

“Awww yeah FCBD!!!! Free Comics- there ain’t nothing better!!! Unless there’s one with Tiny Titans, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, Batman Brave and Bold and the Superfriends- oh wait! there is!!” Franco said. “AND it also has a cover drawn by both Art and myself (historical for me)! I’m really excited about this- we’ve not only been a part of this for the past copule of years but it’s just so cool to be able to get new readers into DC because of this book! Aww yeah awesome!”

“FCBD will Rock! Can’t wait to hear what the kids think of our all SUPER preview of Tiny Titans!” Baltazar said. “Aw Yeah Fortress of Solitude! Man, I’m really diggin’ Mike Norton’s artwork on SHAZAM! The world will dig it too! AW YEAH!”

Aw yeah, indeed! Thanks, gents.

But there’s more. Kicking off tomorrow is THE WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, from co-writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates. Teaming with artist Eddy Barrows for the #0 issue, WAR OF THE SUPERMEN promises to be an epic battle worthy of the Man of Steel. Don’t believe us? Well, then take some cues from Mr. Robinson and Mr. Gates, willya?

“War of the Supermen was a blast to do,” Robinson said. “It was wonderful to collaborate with Sterling Gates and the many artists involved in the project. With all the story lines coalescing it really has been two years in the making. As to who wins the war? Wait and see.”

“War of the Supermen #0 kicks off a massive Superman story, one that we’ve been working towards in the Super-books for the last two years,” Gates said. “James and I are excited and proud to bring you the opening salvo of the war on this year’s Free Comic Book Day, one of the most exciting days on the comic book world’s calendar!”

On top of the incredibly talented penciller Eddy Barrows (who draws one of the meanest Superman/Zod/Ursa/Non fights ever!), we’ve enlisted a number of other hugely gifted artists to help us with War #0, including Gary Frank, David Finch, Ethan Van Sciver, Aaron Lopresti, CAFU, Julian Lopez and Diogenes Neves.”

I think it’s fantastic the direct market gets one day a year that allows them to show off how awesome they are, and I’m beyond thrilled to join with James, Eddy, and the rest of the War of the Supermen team to bring you Free Comic Book Day’s War of the Supermen #0.”

I know, I know. Here I go, getting you guys all hyped up and now you need to wait until tomorrow to get your hands on these two great books, FOR FREE. But it’s Friday, and in the spirit of that, we’ve got previews for both issues right here. See you at the shop tomorrow! Let us know which shop you’ll be at in the comments below.

We’ve now seen them but what are the Entities that power “The New Guardians”? Does this variant cover hold any answers, courtesy of artist Alex Garner, who did the ACTION COMICS variant we posted not long ago.

Wait, you want more info? No problem. We visited with GREEN LANTERN editor Eddie Berganza for the scoop. Take it away, Eddie:

“Readers wanting to know more about the other Entities of the Emotional Spectrum are going to be very happy with what’s coming up in GREEN LANTERN’s ‘The New Guardians’ storyline. They play a large role in what’s coming up as well as fulfill a much demanded fan request. So don’t miss upcoming issues and see if you can get a copy of this variant for #54 by Alex Garner that begs you to ‘catch them all’ which is just what someone (ie. mysterious hood being in the GL) is trying to do.”

Last week we showed you pages from Cliff Chiang and JMS’s touching issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD and earlier this week we showed off some pencils and inks from the story. But did you also know Cliff was handling variant cover duties on the first issue of BIRDS OF PREY? And, coincidentally, we’ve got the cover right here.

Who is the Domino Killer? And, more importantly, will the Dynamic Duo find their way out of the “Batman vs. Robin” story arc from writer Grant Morrison and artist Andy Clarke? Your questions are answered, plus a surprising return. What more could you ask for?

BATMAN AND ROBIN #12 hits 5/5.

The WAR OF THE SUPERMEN is almost here, but before the battle begins, the LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON has to happen. When? Today, of course. Courtesy of writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates and artist Pete Woods. As if you needed any more enticement to add the issue to your pull list, we’ve got a look at the very talented Ryan Sook’s work on the issue’s cover, including his sketch, pencils, inks and color. Enjoy!

Before Captain Atom can move into the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST, he has some business to take care of. Specifically, in his co-feature, which has been running in the pages of ACTION COMICS in recent months, courtesy of writer James Robinson and artist CAFU. The story concludes in ACTION COMICS #889, and we — with some help from ACTION COMICS assistant editor Wil Moss — got a chance to check in with the creators about their story.

Take it away, James:

“It’s been an honor to work with the supremely talented CAFU for the past year, documenting the adventures of Captain Atom. We got to establish Sorcerers’ World in the 21st Century, which was a blast. We also got Captain Atom to a place where he is free and clear of his tangled past to stand among the heroes of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST. I’m very proud of my work on this co-feature and thank DC, my editor Matt Idelson, assistant editor Wil Moss, co-plotter (for the first few episodes) Greg Rucka, inker Bit, colorist Santiago Arcas and letterer Rob Leigh for being a part of this with CAFU and I.”

And CAFU:

“This is, by far, the project I’ve enjoyed the most doing, ever. I’ve enjoyed every single one of these chapters with Captain Atom born in James and Greg’s brilliant restless minds. For me, it’s been a great challenge – things as different as huge battle scenes with orcs against wizards; epic superhero fights, dinosaurs, and a lot of my favorite DC characters… This series has had it all! If you add Santi Arcas’ incredible color work that gave so many life to these stories, and Bit’s invaluable help in some of them, and the perfect work environment our editors Matt and Wil have created for all of us, everything has clicked! So I can just say…I’m very sorry it’s over!”

No tears yet, guys! Let’s take a look at a few pages from the final installment:

If you weren’t excited enough about next month’s LEGION series, courtesy of writer Paul Levitz and artist Yildiray Cinar, then we have just the thing to tip the scales — a variant cover by DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. But you don’t want to read what I have to say about it. Let’s get to the goods, shall we?

Pretty great, huh? For more, we pass the mic to regular Source visitor and LOSH editor Brian Cunningham. Take it away, Brian:

“Jim’s schedule is kinda busy, to say the least, but his love of the Legion ultimately prevailed! Jim’s idea for these variants is to spotlight a Legionnaire from a different era. The first cover — Saturn Girl in her 1970s outfit designed by the late, great Dave Cockrum — is sexy as all get-out! I’m not sure who will be on #2’s variant yet — I’m secretly hoping it’s Matter-Eater Lad, but whoever Jim wants to draw is fine by me!”

And what a pair of covers. For your viewing pleasure, here’s a first look at David Finch’s cover to BRIGHTEST DAY #1, along with Tony Harris’ take on the second issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST. Good way to kick off the day, no doubt.