Interesting fact about Lt. Joe Higgins, a.k.a. the Shield: he does not consider himself a hero, let alone a super one. For Lt. Higgins, the experimental warsuit he wears saved his life and enables him to continue doing his duty. It’s his honor to serve his country and uphold its ideals, and even if the style of his uniform has changed, his commitment to it has never wavered. Higgins doesn’t think of himself as a hero, he thinks of himself as a solider of the United States Armed Forces, now and until the day he lays down his arms.

Today, Lt. Joe Higgins will complete his first mission, aided by former Marine Lance Corporal David Reid now known as Magog. For both of them, their commitment to upholding the virtues of their country is paramount, and their sense of duty remains strong, just like their real-life brothers and sisters in arms. So before heading off to your comics store, join all of us
here at DC in thanking the true heroes today for their service and sacrifice. To all members of the U.S. Military, past and present, we salute you.

Since “Codename: Patriot,” Earth’s hatred for Kryptonians has only escalated – which is what makes it so odd that Nightwing and Flamebird pick now to go public as super heroes. Meanwhile, Lois Lane finally meets with the man she thought long dead – her father, General Lane. But he has a message to deliver to his journalist daughter: “You’re either with us or against us.”

And in part 5 of the new co-feature, Captain Atom, now back on Earth and knowing the truth about his mission, must face an old foe: Major Force. All courtesy of the team of Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann, James Robinson, Pere Pérez and CAFU.

ACTION COMICS #883 hits 11/11.

Hola, folks!

I wish I could be like my ultra-trendy pal Michael Siglain, and give you a nice Halloween theme here, but let’s face it: on New Krypton, everyone wears a costume 24/7, and they don’t have candy there. (Notice none of the Kryptonians are overweight—well, except for Kal’s lawyer, but that’s genetic.) You’d think having been trapped in a bottle for decades they’d all be out of shape—or at least have invented Malomars. Whatever.

In celebration of not celebrating Halloween in space this year, here’s a shot from WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON (WONK to you insiders) #9, featuring Kal-El, some bodiless heads that are really big, and a couple of people I really wish were just dressing up, courtesy of James Robinson, Greg Rucka, Pete Woods and Nei Ruffino.

You can get the full horrific scoop of what’s going on here next Wednesday, the 4th, which is not just the first Wednesday of November, but about the time I’ll be trying to figure out a “What Superman’s Thankful for This Year” theme for the next column. Continuing our non-scary tour of the DC books, check out this upcoming page from ACTION #883, which comes out November 11th.

Wow, who knew Flamebird’s super-power was a knockout kiss? And hey, that Brimstone dude’s kinda Halloween-like, right? At least Rucka, Eric Trautmann, Pere Pérez and Javier Mena think so.

Check out this page from November 18th’s SUPERGIRL #47. Guess we know what Alura Zor-El thinks of Halloween, huh?

And if you want to see something that’s really scary, just imagine this day which Alura has been both eagerly anticipating and dreading simultaneously, as she at last comes face-to-face with the man who murdered her husband—Reactron!

Bet you wish you knew what they were saying, huh? My thanks to Sterling Gates, Matt Camp and the aforementioned Nei Ruffino for these glimpses into Supergirl’s future—well, her book’s future, anyway. Which brings us to November 25th, Thanksgiving eve, and SUPERMAN #694. Anyone remember Javi Pina? He teamed up with James Robinson to bring you this past summer’s SUPERMAN ANNUAL. Well, the scream team is at it again, this time for SUPERMAN #694, a.k.a. “Man of Valor” part 1, the arc which will bring Mon-El back in time to the very day Halloween was conceived, and… okay, it has nothing to do with Candy Day, but Bizarro is pretty scary, right? Huh? Please?

Wow, that’s some heady stuff, particularly with Blond’s coloring in place! Why, I—er, what? Oh, okay. That was Alex Segura on the phone, telling me I have failed utterly in my Halloween themage. Maybe I’d better get an early start on the Thanksgiving column. Anyone have a good suggestion for words that rhyme with “Turkey”?

In January, ACTION COMICS #885 and SUPERMAN #696 will cross over as Nightwing and Flamebird’s hunt for Zod’s sleeper agents leads them right to Science Police Headquarters in Metropolis, home of the Guardian and Mon-El. James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann packed these two issues with so many twists and turns, we needed the covers to be as equally dynamic – and since the amazing CAFU regularly draws both covers, why not have the covers cross over as well? We cornered Superman Editor Matt Idelson’s able assistant Wil Moss for more info. Take it away, Wil:

Once the joint cover idea was hatched and we thought up a concept, CAFU sent in his first round of sketches. We all liked option A the best, and then with one piece of sage advice from Dan DiDio (“Wouldn’t it be nice if readers could see the heroes’ faces?”), CAFU came back with another version of option A. We all quickly approved the new sketch, then came CAFU’s inks, and finally the sublime colors by Santiago Arcas.

ACTION COMICS #885, featuring interior art by Pere Pérez (with CAFU handling the CAPTAIN ATOM co-feature), is on sale January 13. And SUPERMAN #696, with interior art by Bernard Chang, is on sale January 27. Make sure and check out the last page of #696 – that one’s gonna knock over quite a few dominoes …

Spinning out directly from last month’s “Red Circle” event from superstar writer J. Michael Straczynski, we’ve got a first look at THE SHIELD #1, the debut issue of the new ongoing series chronicling the patriotic hero’s exploits. Along for the ride is an INFERNO co-feature. The main story, written by Eric Trautmann with art by Marco Rudy takes Lt. Joe Higgins — a.k.a. the Shield — into the hot spots across the globe where civilians fear to tread. His first mission finds him in Bialya, the nation destroyed by Black Adam in the pages of 52. There’s something lurking in the mountains beyond militia activity, and it’s up to the Shield to investigate.

Meanwhile, in the INFERNO co-feature by writer Brandon Jerwa and artist Greg Scott, we meet Inferno — but who is he? And why are the Dark Men after him?

THE SHIELD #1 hits 9/9.

Well, it’s Friday, and I’ve managed to finagle the day off. But fear not — we’ve got our regularly scheduled “From the Editors” post right here. This time, it’s Editor Rachel Gluckstern giving us more info on the upcoming THE SHIELD ongoing series. Take it away, Rachel:

With the Red Circle event now underway, I just have to share some art from the amazing team on the monthly Shield book. From Francis Manapul’s amazing cover to the dream art team of Marco Rudy and Mick Gray, everyone’s pulled out all the stops to live up to Eric Trautmann’s impressive first script.

The Shield #1 goes on sale 9/9, leading the way for the Red Circle monthlies and featuring Inferno by Brandon Jerwa and Greg Scott. But how can you resist such a perfect team of talent and characters? Look for the Shield #1 in September!

On 9/2, writer Eric Trautmann and artist Marco Rudy team up for THE SHIELD, a new ongoing series spinning out of The Red Circle one-shot and featuring an INFERNO co-feature.

We’re still closely guarding a first look at a full-on preview, but The Source is all about teasing stuff, no? So here’s a first look at a lovely spread from the main story, by Mr. Rudy. Pretty neat, huh?

You may have noticed a trend here at The Source. Sometimes, it’s just better to go straight to the, well, source when we want to shine a light on a given title. Today, I popped by Editor Rachel Gluckstern’s office to get the lowdown on JSA VS. KOBRA, which will have its second issue on stands shortly. Take it away, Rachel (and Eric and Don!):

JSA vs. Kobra #1 hit the stands last month to high critical acclaim and enthusiasm. And it’s just getting started! Check out what Eric Trautmann and Don Kramer had to say about this series and why you should be picking it up. Eric?

“Because Don and Michael are doing amazing work. Like my work, hate my work, whatever: it’s going to be a damn pretty book.”

Eric’s way too modest. C’mon, guy, anything else?

“Plus, people vomit snakes. It’s for the kids, really.”

And Don had this to add:

“We have poured everything into this book and think everyone will definitely be surprised with how intense it is.  Plus, it’s allowed me to do some of my best work I’ve ever done for DC!”

That is the truth!

JSA vs. Kobra #2 is on sale July 15th. You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t get this one. It’s going to be big. Ask for it by name.”

One of the benefits of being a few short steps away from DC Editorial is the slew of great art that is passed around daily. One minute you’re in Mike Marts’ office marveling at Francis Manapul’s new RED ROBIN cover, the next you’re talking about symbolism in comics. One such event involves JSA VS KOBRA: ENGINES OF FAITH,by writer Eric Trautmann and artist Don Kramer, with covers by the one and only, Gene Ha. Sometimes the most interesting thing isn’t only the final product, but the discussions that went into creating it. So, here, thanks to JSA VS KOBRA editor Rachel Gluckstern, is a look at just that. Take it away, Rachel!:

See that stunning cover there? That’s the cover to JSA Vs. Kobra #2, by the incomparable Gene Ha. What should particularly jump out at you is the bloody snake graffiti threatening to overshadow our fearless heroes. That symbol isn’t just Gene drawing pretty, it’s something born out of inspiration and much discussion with writer Eric Trautmann.

Frankly, it was awesome to watch these two smart dudes bounce ideas off each other, delving equally into Eastern philosophy, DCU continuity and real world politics. These guys aren’t messing around, as you’re about to see.

Eric wanted something simple and low-tech that could be scrawled across the DCU as evidence Kobra was in the vicinity. It had to be something that fit his interpretation of the modern Kobra cult as something both religiously extreme and completely contemporary in its terror tactics, as well as convey its goals of ushering in a new age — the Kali Yuga — all in one simple design. A tall order, for sure, but fortunately, Gene was up to the task.

So a day later, here’s what Gene sent our way:

“A01- Not much spiritual symbolism beyond the cobra itself (species Naja naja, which is also the hindi binomial name). It is the one that best matches the old chibi Kobra symbol, without getting too close to the GI Joe Cobra symbol. If I do a tighter version of this, I’ll emphasize the scales in the ‘eye’ markings on the hood. In Hinduism, the king cobra is associated with both the current supreme god Shiva, and all snakes are associated with the male demon Kali of Kali Yuga.”

“A02- A few symbols are worked into here. The infinity symbol, upright and stacked with the top loop broken. DNA. Progress. It also hints at dualism, essentially Siamese twin king cobras. The lower right snake head bowing before the greater upper left cobra (Jeffrey submitting to Jason’s godhood).”

“A03- Infinity loop, with Kobra rising up beyond the shackles of reincarnation and achieving spiritual awareness.”

“A04- Kobra looped around the world, and also forming a subtle swastika.”

“A05- Kobra as part of the infinity loop.”

After we sat around stunned at this display of speedy, yet thoughtful, genius, Eric voted for #2 or #5. A quick consultation with Art Director Mark Chiarello (who knows a thing or two about great art, which you all know from the Wednesday Comics previews, right?) and a tweak to the fangs later, #5 was chosen as the “face” of the new Kobra. It can be sprayed on a wall, scribbled in a note, or emblazoned in blood. No joke. JSA vs. Kobra #2 has just that within its pages. We’re not putting anything on these covers that won’t be in the book.

Now think about THAT. And keep your eyes peeled for the next appearance of that snake sign. It means you’re in the presence of Kobra, and nothing’s safe anymore. Stay alert and keep reading…