THE SOURCE: How do you write the first line of a new series?

ADAM GLASS: I always try and think of something that will grab the reader’s attention. With Suicide Squad I’m very fortunate that we open every book already in the middle of our adventure so it’s easier to do this and find great stuff to say.

How do you introduce characters?

My thought is to always try and introduce a character that is best going to move forward the plot and cause the most conflict within the group.

Who was the first character you followed?

Batman. I was obsessed as a kid. I had the doll, costume, lunch box and even the Batman underoos. Still have them.

What was the first series you collected?

Teen Titans and X-Men.

Who was the first writer you followed?

Marv Wolfman’s “Judas Contract” in the Teen Titans is my holy grail of comic books. I’ll never forget it. And Chris Claremont’s “Day’s of Future Past,” in X-Men sealed the deal and made me a life long comic book reader.

Who were the first artists you followed?

George Perez and John Byrne.

What was the first convention you attended as a fan?

I went to the Pena Hotel in 1981 in NYC and saw Marv Wolfman signing books.

What was the first convention you attended as a professional?

SDCC about four years ago.

What was the first comic book you read?

Detective Comics #463, which was the first introduction to Black Spider. Who I’m now writing on Suicide Squad. Life is crazy.

What was the first digital comic book you downloaded?

Hellblazer.

THE SOURCE: How do you write the first line of a new series?

KEITH GIFFEN: One word at a time, over and over until it feels right.

How do you draw a first panel of a first issue?

I usually work out of order so I aim for the panel I’m least looking forward to, and there’s one in every book. Get that out of the way and the rest comes that much easier. With Omac, it’s usually a pile-on fight scene.

How do you introduce a new hero?

Shoot for maximum impact, and that doesn’t always mean an action beat.

How do you introduce characters?

As naturally as the story will allow. No shoe horns need apply.

How do you draw a first appearance?

Fatalistically. Nine times out of ten, the first drawing of a character is the worst drawing of that character. It takes a bit of time to grow comfortable with him, her or it.

What was the first comic you ever worked on?

Huh… That’s a memory stretch. I think it was an inside front cover pin-up of the Sons of the Tiger. First whole story… The Sword in the Star for a now defunct marvel b&w mag. I really sucked.

Who was the first artist you followed?

Gene Colan.

What was the first convention you attended as a fan?

Some NYC Con way back when.

What was the first comic book you read?

An old Worlds Finest. The one with Batwoman and a green creature wearing Mickey Mouse gloves. A fan actually sent me a copy of the book. It’s the only individual comicbook I own, my own stuff included.

There’s been a lot of talk over the past few weeks about the villains in DC Comics-The New 52. You’ve probably noticed that we’ve been using the hashtag, “#thenewvillains,” both here on THE SOURCE and on Twitter . There will certainly be plenty of villains making their debuts in the coming weeks. While by now many of these villains have already been introduced, not all of them have been fully revealed just yet.

On Friday, writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee appeared together on Sirius XM’s “Geek Time” to discuss the launch of DC Comics-The New 52 and their first ever collaboration — JUSTICE LEAGUE. During the interview, they revealed the identity of the series’ first villain. What threat is so big that it brings together the team for the first time? If you don’t want to know who it is just yet, then whatever you do, don’t click after the jump (major spoiler alert!).

Read the rest of this entry »

THE SOURCE: What was the first comic you ever worked on?

NORM RAPMUND: Technically, Brigade #1 from Image Comics was the first but I ghost inked a parody book called Uncanny X-Cons.

Who was the first artist you followed?

John Byrne. I really loved the way he drew faces back then.

What was the first convention you attended as a fan?

The first and only con I’ve ever attended was a little one at the Disneyland Hotel in 1982. I remember buying 5 X-Men books for $90. My family thought I was crazy to spend that much.

What was the first convention you attended as a professional?

San Diego Comic Con 1992. That was quite the experience!

What was the first comic book you read?

Batman. I cannot remember which issue but it involved the Joker and Two-Face.

What was your first job in the comic book industry?

Extreme Studios/Image Comics. Inker…. and never picked up a 102 nib before…. true story….

What was the first piece of original art you bought?

I bought back my first pin-up/poster I inked over Rob Liefeld. A memorable poster of Youngblood: Strikefile.

What was the first digital comic book you downloaded?

Batman/Superman #19 on my PSP.

The winners of The 2011 Harvey Awards were announced this weekend at the Baltimore Comic-Con. DC Entertainment took home awards for the following DC Comics and Vertigo titles.

Best New Series: AMERICAN VAMPIRE by Scott Snyder, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquerque
Best Single Issue or Story: DAYTRIPPER by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon
Best Colorist: Jose Villarrubia for CUBA: MY REVOLUTION by Inverna Lockpez and Dean Haspiel
Best Original Graphic Publication for Young Readers:TINY TITANS by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani.

Congratulations to all the winners! The full list of nominees can be found on the Harvey Awards website.

THE SOURCE: How do you draw a first panel of a first issue?

EDDY BARROWS: It is exciting to start something almost from scratch, create new characters and reshape others – especially when the character is as good as Nightwing. I am very excited about this opportunity.

How do you introduce a new hero?

For Nightwing, it was wonderful. At first, he appears on a big action scene, on a double page that took me a lot of work to get it done … but you guys will be able to see the outcome in September!

How do you introduce a new villain?

When I introduce a new villain, I always think about the type of guy I would rather not run into. That guy who would break someone’s neck just by looking at him/her. But there are villains who do not look like what they really are, who look like ordinary people, but deep inside are as dark as the others. They all take a lot of work. For Nightwing, I am creating the look of some of them, and the good thing is that they are based on what I just mentioned. There is a sequence right in the beginning where Nightwing fights one of them. I loved drawing those scenes.

What was the first comic you ever worked on?

Professionally? It was Stone Cold (Steve Austin) for Chaos Comics.

Who was the first character you followed?

Superman and Spider-Man.

What was the first series you collected?

I think it was Superman.

Who was the first writer you followed?

I usually bought comics based on the artists, but Roy Thomas was the first writer I really started to follow.

Who was the first artist you followed?

Without any doubt it was John Buscema.

What was the first convention you attended as a fan?

It was in Belo Horizonte, the city I live in. At the convention I got the opportunity to meet Will Eisner, Eduardo Barreto, Luke Ross and many other artists I admired back then. It was GREAT!

What was the first convention you attended as a professional?

San Diego Comic Con in 2007.

What was the first comic book you read?

Superheroes? It was Alpha Flight, by John Byrne, when I was 8. Before that I read Donald Duck and Mônica’s Gang, by Mauricio de Souza.

What was your first job in the comic book industry?

It was pencilling.

On your creative process:

I first read the script and then start working on the layouts. After that I send them to the editors so they can proof them all. Once they tell me I am good to go, I finish the pages. I usually work office hours, stopping for lunch and taking a few breaks. That way it is possible to spend some time with my family. After all, they are the ones who give me the support I need to get my job well done!

THE SOURCE: How do you draw a first panel of a first issue?

IVAN REIS: I always start by the easiest panel of the first page!

How do you draw a first appearance?

I always try to show the character in a full body shot, with all design details. Also, I avoid odd angles because I prefer clean shots and composition.

How do you introduce a new villain?

I go for the same idea as above, but always try to add more shadows and dark areas to the scene.

What was the first comic you ever worked on?

It was a horror story. I was only 14-years-old! The story featured a “Death Lady” (you got it? Lady Death) with the classic skull face and sickle.

Who was the first character you followed?

Conan.

What was the first series you collected?

Savage Sword of Conan.

Who was the first writer you followed?

Roy Thomas.

Who was the first artist you followed?

John Buscema.

What was the first convention you attended as a fan?

San Diego Comic-Con in 2004. It was surreal for me. I felt like Alice in Wonderland … minus the blue dress!

What was the first convention you attended as a professional?

It was the same convention (San Diego Comic-Con in 2004) Hey! It is so damn hard to separate the fanboy from the professional!

What was the first comic book you read?

It was a Brazilian comic, Monica’s Gang.

What was the first piece of original art you bought?

It was a Conan page by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga. That was a real treasure for me!

What was the first digital comic book you downloaded?

Blackest Night #O.

How do you draw a first panel of a first issue?

JOE PRADO: It has to be either something mysterious that attracts the reader’s attention or something super-dynamic. Of course, you can take a different approach, but for me, this attracts my attention as a reader and a fan – not just as an artist.

How do you introduce a new hero?

Ah! Easy! Well, for me a splash-page is perfect for that.

What was the first comic you ever worked on?

It was on the Brazilian market and was a comic book series called U.F.O Team – a bunch of superpowered aliens! Super fun and written by the talented Marcelo Cassaro. In the U.S. market, it was Thundercats: Dogs of War#03. And fun fact: my editor back then was the uber-talented color artist, Alex Sinclair!

Who was the first character you followed?

Easy! BATMAN! During the Dick Sprang Era, followed by Jim Aparo’s run on The Brave & The Bold!

What was the first series you collected?

Batman as well!

Who was the first writer you followed?

Marv Wolfman on New Teen Titans.

Who was the first artist you followed?

Ah! 2 artists at the same time! George Pérez on New Teen Titans and John Byrne on Uncanny X-Men!

What was the first convention you attended as a fan?

San Diego Comic-Con in 2004! It was also my first time in the US! It was a blast meet all the professionals I was working with back then! And also some of my idols, such as George Pérez, Tim Sale, and many others! So my first time was as a fan, and a professional as well.

What was the first comic book you read?

A Brazilian edition of Batman with Dick Sprang’s art.

What was your first job in the comic book industry?

A penciller on the Brazilian mini-series, U.F.O. Team.

What was the first piece of original art you bought?

Well, it was 2 pieces around the same time. A George Pérez Wonder Woman original and Mike Grell’s pencils for a Warlord issue! It’s sooooo awesome to be able to see these masterpieces in your own hands!

What was the first digital comic book you downloaded?

Blackest Night #0.

On your creative process:

For me, the creative process has everything to do with inspiration, and great, GREAT teamwork. If there’s a great collaboration, you can be sure that everybody is putting 101% of their own on the job. And working with Geoff Johns, Iva Reis & Rod Reis on the new AQUAMAN series is basically that! WE share a lot of thoughts and ideas and everyone is inspired the each other’s work. Normally, I’m a penciller, but in the last couple of years, I had the chance to work with Ivan as his inker/finisher on books such as BLACKEST NIGHT and BRIGHTEST DAY. The coolest thing about that is that we achieved a great balance between how I should ink his work, and keep it recognizable, and how I can put elements of my own art-style. After all, in the end, doing comics is a collaborative effort! And people, will be blown away by the new AQUAMAN series. It’s going to be a blast!

In order to catch up to his grandfather, Bart Allen will have to race against the speed force itself. As he is bounced around through time collecting multi-dimensional speed force energy from various members of the Flash family, Bart needs to gain all of the necessary tools to reach Barry in time to deliver a message that could save the universe. But will he be able to reach the world’s last hope for restoration before the speed force catches up to him?

In FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #3, Bart Allen finally realizes the personal sacrifice he must make in order to save his family and the people he loves. By Sterling Gates, Oliver Nome, Scott Kolins and Trevor Scott, the final issue in this miniseries races into stores on Wednesday.

With our series of Who’s Who interviews this week we wanted to not only continue to get people excited for DC Comics The New 52 but also turn the spotlight on the creators that are telling the stories.

But not all the activity is happening here on The Source. DC Comics’ fabulous roster of creators have been – and will continue to be – sharing glimpses of artwork, looks at new and newly reimagined characters through their individual Twitter feeds. While there are too many to possibly list here we’re Retweeting many of their updates from the @DCComics account. So while you may not be following each and every artist and writer individually you can still catch the best of what’s revealed in one convenient place.

This past week there have been a number of creators using #thenewvillains as a way to highlight the work they’ve been doing on creating new villains for our heroes to face. In coming weeks look for creators to use different hashtags to categorize that week’s theme when it comes to reveals both big and small.

We’re less than two weeks away from the launch of DC Comics The New 52 and everyone’s more excited with each passing day. As we get closer to the release of Justice League #1 we’ll be continuing to not only make sure you’re seeing great stuff from DC Comics’ talent but also asking you what you’re most excited about. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook where there will be even more great information shared.