And some news!

As we announced not long ago, writer Jeff Lemire and artist Mahmud Asrar are teaming up to present BRIGHTEST DAY: THE ATOM SPECIAL, a one-shot focusing on the past and preent of Ray Palmer, the Atom.

What we haven’t done is show some pages – which you can click below to view. And they’re a beauty.

We’re also very proud to announce that Jeff Lemire has signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics, meaning only good things for fans of his mind-bending work on Vertigo’s SWEET TOOTH and his upcoming work on the ATOM co-feature in ADVENTURE COMICS and the ongoing SUPERBOY series.

We got a minute of Jeff’s time to get his thoughts on his new exclusive and DC work, so take it away, Jeff:

“As a life long DC Comics fan, I am incredibly excited to be a part of both the DCU and of Vertigo moving forward. Sweet Tooth has been a labor of love for me and I couldn’t have done it without the amazing support of Karen Berger and everyone at Vertigo. So, the opportunity to not only continue Gus and Jepperd’s saga, but also take on the new Superboy monthly and the adventures of Ray Palmer, The Atom is a dream come true for me!

Both the DC and Vertigo line ups at the moment are full of amazing creators and amazing characters and I’m thrilled to have the chance to be a part of that in the years to come!”

So, good news all around. Oh, and those pages…

The guest creative team of writer John Ostrander and artist R.B. Silva give us a tale of men who choose to hunt the most dangerous game in the world: The Secret Six. The team are tricked into traveling to a secluded island where they’re trapped in a fight for their livies.

SECRET SIX #23 hits Thursday.

In case you decided to sleep through the last two days, you may have noticed that we broke a little bit of news on Wednesday. Specifically, that Wonder Woman will be sporting a new costume starting with WONDER WOMAN #600, which hit stores earlier this week. The costume change is central to the storyline by acclaimed writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Don Kramer, which started in a short story in #600. And wow, did people respond to the new costume – designed by our very own Co-Publisher Jim Lee. Where to begin?

Well, the news broke with THE NEW YORK TIMES and JMS interviews then cropped up on IGN, COMIC BOOK RESOURCES, AOL COMICS ALLIANCE and NEWSARAMA.

But that was only the beginning. The news continued to spread, with mentions in THE WASHINGTON POST, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, SIRIUS XM RADIO, THE SUN (UK), THE GUARDIAN UK, BBC NEWS, SYDNEY MORNING PAPER (Australia), CNN.com, THE DAILY BEAST, THE ONION AV CLUB, TIME TECHLAND, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, CBS.com, EW.COM, NPR’s MONKEY SEE, WALL STREET JOURNAL’s SPEAKEASY BLOG, THE HUFFINGTON POST, GAWKER’s JEZEBEL blog, LA TIMES, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, FOX NEWS, THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, THE BALTIMORE SUN, KNOXVILLE NEWS, MS MAGAZINE, io9, THE NEW YORK POST, YAHOO!, MAXIM, ROBOT 6, COMICS SHOULD BE GOOD, iFANBOY, WIRED, TOPLESS ROBOT, GAMMA SQUAD, THE BEAT, ICV2, BUST MAGAZINE, MTV SPLASH PAGE, AFTER ELTON, KOTAKU, UGO and television segments on ABC NEWS and THE NBC NIGHTLY NEWS. Pretty impressive – and a testament to the iconic nature of Wonder Woman.

Done clicking through all those links? Well head home and enjoy a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. See you Tuesday.

Writing and drawing a Wonder Woman story was almost as much fun as being eight years old and finding my mom’s silver poster board, cutting it up and turning it into a pair of bullet-proof bracelets, and then getting my kid brother to shoot at me with his plastic pellet gun.

What an amazing week, huh folks? Not only did we hear from a legendary collection of Wonder Woman creators past and present, but we also got a bit of news as well. But more on that later today.

To close things out, we’ve got a gallery of Grade-A pinups from WONDER WOMAN #600, featuring some of the biggest and most talented artists to ever put pen to paper. So take a few minutes out of your Friday to see the Amazon Princess interpreted by the likes of Shane Davis, Ivan Reis, Guillem March, Jock and Greg Horn.

The thing I love most about Wonder Woman is her roots. Raised an Amazon warrior, her very essence combines the very best of mythology and modern day heroes. You could say she bridges the gap between the heroic tales the Greeks used to tell, to the modern day feats of the heroes that roam the DC Universe. In one word she is EPIC. Best of all she just plain kicks ass!

Wonder Woman is THE female icon of comic books and probably the most recognizable female super hero in the world. When I was a kid, I was first introduced to her by watching the Super Friends cartoons and the Linda Carter/Wonder Woman show and loved it despite all the camp. Just seeing comic book heroes come to life was a real treat back then. I rediscovered her with the George Perez comics in the 80s. Over the years, her power level and costume has gone through many changes but her character has always remained true. I think her best years are still ahead of her. I feel fortunate to be working with such an iconic character on such a momentous occasion.

“George Perez would like to draw a story for Wonder Woman #600, and he wants you to write it.”

What?

George Perez what?

He wants WHO to write it?

I’ve had some amazing experiences as a writer in the time I’ve been at DC Comics, but every comic writer will tell you there’re few things as thrilling as working with an artist you’ve adored for years. Every assignment is special and important, but writing JLA for Jose Garcia Lopez, writing Superman for John Byrne, or writing a Black Canary story for Michael Golden, well, those are moments a writer lives for.

But this is Wonder Woman, and this is George Perez.

You have to understand. I love Wonder Woman. And George is the biggest reason why. The buttkicking, compassionate, brilliant, daring, courageous, loving Princess Diana that we all know, no one made her come alive like George. He told her adventures in a way that made me feel like someone cared that I was in the audience.

He took her creator’s template and made it soar even higher. He gave her a heart and a mind and a soul that still resonate today. When comics were getting more about brutality, George’s Wonder Woman was literate, charming, funny, daring, and everyone knew this was it, this was the game-changer for Diana. When the world wasn’t quite interesting enough to hold her, he rebuilt the world around her; horrid, scary villains, terrific supporting characters, and the best sisters anyone could ever have in the mighty Amazons.

George is a hero of mine for too many reasons to count. I never see him doing anything at a con for himself, he’s always rushing to one charity signing or another. He encourages and inspires creators with tireless generosity. When many creators think tearing down is the way to create interest, George is a builder. To put it bluntly, I can’t imagine what the DCU would be like now without his influence.

Teen Titans, Crisis On Infinite Earths, and so many more.

And Wonder Woman.

Writing this short little story for issue #600’s celebration, just a little tale about where people find inspiration, for George to draw was one of the happiest experiences I’ve ever had as a writer. And of COURSE I stuck in a zillion characters and a huge fight scene, and of course…George nailed it. With an industrial strength nail gun.

See for yourself, he’s still the best.

Like everyone, I’m excited to see what the new creative team handles the greatest action heroine ever created. I wish them the best of luck and huge success. It’s an awesome responsibility writing Diana, but also intimidating because a certain writer/artist set the bar so unbelievably freaking high.

Thank you, George.

You’re a wonder.