It’s almost Friday. Half the week is over. But we’ve still got two more days before the weekend is upon us. And we’ve got a few heavy hitters. Specifically, BATMAN #694 from writer/artist Tony Daniel, a lovely J.H. Williams DETECTIVE COMICS #860 cover and last, but certainly not least, Andy Kubert’s magnificent cover to the minty-fresh BATMAN 80-PAGE GIANT. Feast your eyes, folks. All three hit in December.

Isn’t that a lovely Andy Kubert cover? You know what’s better than that? Having an Andy Kubert cover with interiors by Mark Bagley. Words from Judd Winick don’t hurt either. And here, in the second installment of the three-part “Long Shadows” arc, we find the newly-minted Batman scrambling to retrieve the Arkham Asylum escapees, while Two-Face begins a ground war of his own. But what’s the Penguin up to? Catch a glimpse below.

BATMAN #689 hits 8/12.

What, news happens after San Diego? Believe it or not, the answer is yes. And because I know you’re surfing the web for anything that’d help distract from the fact that today is indeed Monday, here are two things well worth your time.

• THE NEW YORK TIMES has an excellent review of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? collection. Here’s an excerpt:

“Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” has morbid moments, but also bittersweet passages. Its title story, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Andy Kubert, imagines several variations of Batman’s death. This anthology, published by DC Comics, also includes other stories by Mr. Gaiman about the millionaire Bruce Wayne’s famous alter ego. The other tales are very good, but “Whatever Happened to …” packs enough emotional punch to stand solo.

• COMICS ALLIANCE’s Laura Hudson catches up with Blair Butler, who we recently announced would be gracing the cover to BOOSTER GOLD #23. Another sampling, because we’re nice like that:

ComicsAlliance: So, how did the whole “Booster Gold” cover with DC come about?

Blair Butler: I actually got a call from Dan DiDio who said he had a crazy idea for an upcoming issue of “Booster Gold.” Basically – and forgive me, because my memory sucks and I’m still recovering from Comic-Con – I recall that he said DC wanted to do a cover that sort of stood out for #23, and having a photo cover with a Booster fan was the main idea. It seemed oddly appropriate, since Booster is a bit of an attention hog. I think he’d not-so-secretly love the idea of having a lady-fan on the cover of his book. And, honestly, I was incredibly humbled that DC would ask me to don the Blue and Gold fan colors. I’ve loved comics since I had to stand on a stool to reach the quarter-bins at my local comic shop, so it’s pretty awesome to get to be part of a DC comic.

Well, you came to the right place. Yesterday, we showed off Andy Kubert’s amazing BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 variant. Today, we’ve got the first page of #2 right here:

For a few more pages, head on over to IGN. Nice way to end the day, huh? BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 hits 7/1.

Looks like Robin’s not having the best day, huh?

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 is on sale 7/1.

Yes, it’s only Tuesday. But look at it this way — that means a few more days of cool debuts here at The Source. Surely that’s motivation enough?

• In case you missed it, the team at MYSPACE COMIC BOOKS previewed SUPERMAN #687 and SUPERMAN/BATMAN #59.

• Over at Comic Book Resources’ Robot 6 blog, Tim O’Shea talks to R.E.B.E.L.S writer Tony Bedard about the series, and artist Claude St. Aubin’s upcoming stint as artist.

• In Batman news, Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s conclusion to “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” got positive review attention from Comic Book Resources, Newsarama’s “Best Shots” team and IGN. IGN also previewed the first issue of BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL — THE UNDERGROUND.

• Newsarama shows off some shiny TRINITY pages and Robot 6’s Tom Bondurant continues to annotate every issue. Impressive, eh?

• The build up to BLACKEST NIGHT continues, with IGN previewing GREEN LANTERN #40, and reminded people about that page Eddie Berganza posted last week. Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers spoke to artist Ethan Van Sciver at length about the looks for the different Lantern Corps and their symbols.

• And in case you were still hungry for Red Circle info after our debuts last week, superstar artist J.G. Jones spoke to Newsarama’s Matt Brady about his role in redesigning the characters for the DCU.

Over at WIRED.com’s UNDERWIRE blog, Scott Thill interviews acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman about “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”, his two-part story with artist Andy Kubert, which concludes today in DETECTIVE COMICS #853. The entire interview is worth a close read, but here’s a sampling, as Gaiman reminisces about The Dark Knight:

Wired.com: Reading Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? one gets the idea that Batman has lived in your heart for a while.

Gaiman: When I was 5, I was in a car with my dad and he mentioned that there was this Batman TV show in America about a man who dressed up in a costume and fought crime. The only bat I ever knew was a cricket bat, so what I thought he looked like was rather odd, based on that. Months later, the series hit the U.K., and I remember watching and being affected by it. Really worrying, genuinely worrying, on a deep primal level, “Will he be OK?” That is the way it was with every deathtrap. If I missed the end of an episode, I’d get my friends to tell me he was OK.

Sometimes you’re just better off showing the art. On July 22, the Deluxe Edition of NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Neil Gaiman and artist Andy Kubert’s two-part “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” story will hit, and will also feature an all-new cover from Kubert. Consider this an early Christmas gift.

You just saw the first four pages from DETECTIVE COMICS #853 over at IGN, but why stop there? It’s Neil Gaiman, New York Times bestselling novelist, winner of more awards than we can list and one of the true trailblazing creators in the industry. Artist extraordinaire Andy Kubert. Batman. Here, for your continued reading pleasure, are two more pages from the issue — which concludes the two-part “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” story — picking up where IGN left off.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Computer’s on, the day begins… 45 emails overnight, argh. Start with the easy ones first. No, wait—Executive Editor Dan DiDio is pulling the Bat Group down into his office for an urgent meeting. Topic: BATGIRL.

Just emerged from Dan’s office. Decided the fate of several characters. As usual, we created more questions then we set out to answer, but hey—that’s the fun part of the job. I’m surprised we ended up where we did, but WOW. Can’t wait to actually start on the title.

Back to the emails… confirmation that BATTLE FOR THE COWL #2 made it safely to the printer. Phew. That’s a relief. We just made it in time. Tony Daniel drew twelve pages in five days! Issue looks great…  Jeremy Haun completed his final page of BATTLE FOR THE COWL: ARKHAM ASYLUM—and he saved the best page for last—readers will think of the LOST map when they see this page…  Heard from that New York Times best-selling fantasy author I’ve been speaking to. She wanted to check in on the artwork of the hardcover we’re doing… Oh yeah—also received new artwork from Frank Quitely on BATMAN & ROBIN #2. Truly amazing artwork.

Got through emails… on to the phone calls. Andy Kubert to run over DETECTIVE #853 balloon placements. Pete Tomasi to talk about the OUTSIDERS roster issues. Tony Daniel to discuss plot notes on BFTC #3 and his AMAZING cover to BATMAN #688… DCU Publicity Manager Alex Segura and Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler stop in for meeting with IGN.com to discuss “the wall”… have Neil Gaiman’s lettering corrections come in yet? Must check with Janelle.

Have to push back color deadlines for SGT. ROCK #5 and ARKHAM ASYLUM… more BATGIRL discussions… have I eaten lunch yet?

Received RED ROBIN cover sketches from Francis Manapul—three great designs to choose from…should we have the camera looking down at the grave or up from inside it? Also received final colors on Freddie Williams RED ROBIN cover… talked to Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen about cover to STREETS OF GOTHAM #3—too risky to put Tommy Elliot on the cover?

Ate lunch, finally… Email from Grant Morrison, checking to make sure correct tombstone reference was used… plot discussions, more plot discussions, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Misfit…

Just realized three phone calls will have to wait till tomorrow… Frazer Irving’s final colors on AZRAEL #2 just came in…breathtaking. Script in from Fabian Nicieza, script in from David Hine…do quick balloon placements on both and send down to lettering.

Wait—is the day over? Still so much to do… ah, tomorrow’s another day.