We’ve shown the pencils and the inks, so it’d be shameful if we didn’t show Philip Tan’s final cover to OUTSIDERS #27, pairing him with our very own Dan DiDio. So, here it is, in all its glorious color.

You’ve seen the cover to OUTSIDERS #27, but what else does artist Philip Tan have in store for the team with writer Dan DiDio? Well, we don’t know all the answers, but we have some, courtesy of this week’s DC NATION column, which you can find in every DCU comic this week.

Lots of fun stuff going on around the web, so let’s hop to it, shall we?

• The gang at MTV SPLASH PAGE have an interview with BATGIRL writer Bryan Q. Miller discussing the first few issues of the series, with preview pages from BATGIRL #4. Worth a read.

• IGN previews pages from GREEN LANTERN CORPS #42. Stay tuned for more on that issue and #43 later today right here on The Source.

• NEWSARAMA’s got their latest installment of 10 Questions Plus One Answer with our very own Dan DiDio, and Dan gives some interesting teases about what’s in store for some key characters in 2010.

• And, in case you missed it, culture and entertainment site POP MATTERS has a lengthy and engaging essay on writer Grant Morrison’s run on BATMAN AND ROBIN. Perfect lunch break reading material.

On Tuesday, we showed you a prelim cover to OUTSIDERS #27, by Mr. Philip Tan. If you didn’t make with the click then, please do so now. I’ll wait. I have some emails to check and so forth.

OK, cool right? Well, we’ve got the inked cover for you to drool over now, too. See? Great things can get even better.

Nice, huh? Who are Mudslide and Dust Devil? And what disasters do they have planned for the Outsiders?

Happy Monday, Source gang. It’s been a while since we updated you on the Wonder Woman #600 postcard tally, mostly because we’ve been inundated by the response from fans. And while we’re holding off on giving you the final number, I do want to let you know that we’re ending the call for postcards. So, if you got to send one, great. If not, the gig is up.

And I know what the next question is — “Did we make it?” Well, we’re not telling yet. And I know what the question after that will be — “If we did make it, will the numbering go back to #600?” We’re not telling there, either. But rest assured we’ll have some interesting news for you in the coming weeks. Many thanks to all that participated, and stay tuned.

Hi everyone! Brian Cunningham, here—editor of such titles as TITANS, R.E.B.E.L.S., POWER GIRL and more.

When I’m not editing or shirking responsibility, I like to put stuff I like in my office. Some of the stuff is kinda neat, and some of it is admittedly kinda weird. But I like it, and since I gotta look at it all day, that’s most important. I like having stuff around me that inspires me or even relaxes me during those stressful days of deadline doom.

Take my stash of gum, for instance. Anyone who knows me understands that I always have a pack of gum at the ready. It can be at a convention, in the office, anywhere. You need gum, I got gum. Much like wielding a Green Lantern power ring, one can never underestimate the might of minty fresh breath. So I put out a pack of gum on my desk to help out my fellow editors should they feel they need it.

Now if only my generosity would inspire Matt Idelson to share some of his unlimited quantities of oatmeal…

In an earlier blog post a couple months ago, I waxed poetic about my 1976 DC Comics calendar I have hanging up. But what I held back—since I can be cagey like that—was that I also have a vintage 1986 DC COMICS CALENDAR POSTER. I got one’a these suckers for Christmas in 1985 and I don’t think I took it off my bedroom wall until well in 1988, that’s how much I loved it. I mean, c’mon—Pérez Titans! Rogers and Giordano Batman! Giffen Ambush Bug! How could I ever get tired of seeing this?

And, needless to say, 1986 was a HUGE year for DC—what with DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and WATCHMEN, among many other classics—so I like to have “1986” in the back of my head when I edit. I’ll never stop reaching for those lofty heights.

The thing that gets me the most comments in my office—aside from “Uhh…why don’t you have some of your own gum…?”—is my collection of DC Direct BATMAN: BLACK and WHITE statues. I don’t have all of them, mind you, just the ones that I happen to really dig. They range from the Bob Kane version to Brian Bolland’s to my favorite, the Mike Mignola one (which captures Mike’s art so perfectly in a three-dimensional form). What’s really sick and twisted is that I’ve placed them all in chronological order—an off-hand suggestion by Alex Segura, who has quite a B:B/W statue collection of his own! Alex had no idea how brilliant that idea was, and how tailored it was to my O.C.D. mind. Makes me wish I knew exactly where the multi-era George Pérez one should go…

And that’s just a taste of the assorted stuff I have around me. Perhaps next time, if I’m feeling up to it, I may even show you my growing collection of various body parts that my boss Dan DiDio helped me acquire. We’ll see.

As some of you know, the Baltimore Retailer Summit is in full swing. We’ve got some news breaking during our presentation, so what better place to unveil it than here, on The Source?

Glad you agree. Our very own Dan DiDio has the info, so we live the rest of this blog entry in his more-than-capable hands. Take it away, Dan:

How big is Blackest Night?

So big that its power to make the dead rise has now moved from expired characters to old, canceled series.

That’s right, this January, the BLACKEST NIGHT mini series skips a month to make room for a very special Blackest night event. Eight classic titles from DC’s past will return from the dead for one month only to celebrate this mega-crossover throughout the DC Universe. Each series will pick up on its original numbering and feature characters from their original runs as they deal with the events currently unfolding in the DC Universe. And I have to say, this has been one of the more fun projects we’ve put together.

We scoured the list of series from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today to find the right titles to bring back from the dead. They are, in no particular order, as follows;

- POWER OF SHAZAM #48 Eric Wallace tells the tale in which Osiris returns from the dead to “chew the fat” with a very powerless Billy and Mary Batson.
- CATWOMAN #83 Fabian Nicieza has the original Black mask explaining to Selina why shooting him in the head was a bad idea.
- SUICIDE SQUAD #67 Gail Simone and John Ostrander are ringside for the epic fight between a very dead Suicide Squad and a possibly soon-to-be dead Secret Six.
- QUESTION #37 Greg Rucka has the one answer for when two Questions meet.
- PHANTOM STRANGER #42 Pete Tomasi reveals what Blackest Night means to the Phantom Stranger.
- WEIRD WESTERN TALES #71 Dan DiDio (weirdly talking about myself in the third person) lets you know what all the dead old west characters are doing in the new west today.
- ATOM AND HAWKMAN #46 Geoff brings you the double date from Hell, The Black Lantern Hawks work to reunite Atom with his long dead love, Jean Loring.
- STARMAN #81 James Robinson returns to the book he made great and visits some old haunts.

So there you have it! Eight great issues to show the amazing reach of this amazing story. And in case you are wondering why we skipped a month BLACKEST NIGHT, well, that’s just to give the immensely talented, and immensely overworked Ivan Reis a chance to prepare the over-sized final issue of this series out this March.

How’s that for fun?

To be continued…

DD

Last weekend, we broke the news that Dan DiDio and artist Philip Tan would be taking on the creative reins of THE OUTSIDERS. We even had a nice piece of Tan art. Well, now we’ve got the finished piece, which will be the cover to the team’s first issue, OUTSIDERS #26, hitting in January. So, why wait? Click away, friends.

And I thought I took my coffee seriously. I spent part of the afternoon with Philip Tan at his “office” which is a coffee shop. He drives 160miles round trip to work here because it provides him with the right environment to create. At first I thought he was crazy, but the place is comfortable, open ’till midnight and they serve what is easily the strongest coffee I’ve ever had. My hands are shaking while I type this. And as you can see from this Metamorpho sketch, the coffee shop has Mr. Tan in outstanding creative spirits as he gears up for his run on Outsiders with Dan DiDio. Coffee!