The BLACKEST NIGHT darkens the skies over the Justice League in this important tie-in issue by the new team of James Robinson and artist Mark Bagley. Can the team get it together in time to survive the return of the undead Dr. Light? Or will his now-shadowy evil strangle everybody where they stand? Good, valid questions that we won’t answer here. But we do have a few Bagley pages to kick the week off.

Writer James Robinson and artist Mark Bagley are in the early stages of their run on JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, but they’ve been anything but quiet. As you saw in their first issue, some heroes have already fallen. And #39 brings the League into BLACKEST NIGHT. But what happens after? Well, that’d be telling. What I can do, though, is show you some pencils for February’s JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #42, from Bagley.

What would drive a Lantern to abandon the ways of willpower for pure rage? We’re not sure, but we’re curious to find out. So, we asked GREEN LANTERN CORPS Editor Adam Schlagman to give us some info. And he was kind enough to throw in some art. So, take it away, Adam:

What could turn the most bad ass Green Lantern into a crimson spewing red one? Find out in Green Lantern Corps #42 (on-sale November 11th) as Guy Gardner experiences a tragedy so utterly terrible that he loses complete control in Green Lantern Corps #43 (December on-sale) leading to his selection by a red ring of rage. Welcome to the Red Lantern Corps, Guy Gardner!

In the meantime, wet your appetite with this awesome design by Green Lantern Corps artist Pat Gleason then pick up Green Lantern Corps #42 on Wednesday to witness the shocking ending that only writer Peter J. Tomasi could tell.

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.

Few people have more skeletons in their proverbial closets than Niles Caulder, founder of the Doom Patrol. And with BLACKEST NIGHT doing a bang-up job of bringing those skeletons back in the form of Black Lanterns, you can only imagine how complicated things are going to get for the Doom Patrol. Caulder’s been playing god for years, and the time for a reckoning is at hand. Check out a few pages from this BLACKEST NIGHT tie-in issue below, from writer Keith Giffen and artist Justiniano, with a few pages from the METAL MEN co-feature, by Giffen, writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Kevin Maguire.

DOOM PATROL #4 hits 11/4.

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

• Over the weekend, the 2009 Harvey Award winners were announced at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Congrats to all the winners, with a special pat on the back for Grant Morrison, who won for Best Writer for his work on ALL STAR SUPERMAN, which also won as Best Continuing or Limited Series.

• The team at IGN continues their BLACKEST NIGHT coverage, with a preview of the final issue of BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN.

• Speaking of BLACKEST NIGHT, NEWSARAMA’s Vaneta Rogers sits down to chat with BLACKEST NIGHT artist Ivan Reis about his work on the series.

• And, in case you missed it over the weekend, at the DC NATION panel in Baltimore it was announced that Matthew Sturges will be stepping in as the new regular writer on THE WEB, replacing Angela Robinson after a one-issue cameo by Marc Guggenheim. Check back Friday for more on the new team.

But that’s not all the news we have percolating in Baltimore, folks. Check back here around 9pm EST tonight for some major news that’ll make coming to work tomorrow that much easier.

If you’ve been reading BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS (and there’s no reason to miss it, I say), then you know the once dearly-departed Terra plays a big role. So, it makes perfect sense to bring aboard writer/artist George Pérez to put pencil to paper for the cover to the mini’s final issue. Doubly cool? The artistic master plays homage to his own work, namely, the cover to NEW TEEN TITANS #30. But enough bluster. We caught up with BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS editor Brian Cunningham to get more details on the cover, plus the cover itself (and its inspiration) below. Take it away, Brian:

“Who better to homage the cover to NEW TEEN TITANS (vol. 1) #30 than its original artist George Pérez? He even did a baby Black Lantern Wildebeest on the logo! And Hi-Fi Design knocked the coloring out of the park. You might see Pérez and Hi-Fi team up again on another Titans project in 2010. Stay tuned!”

BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #3 hits 10/28.

You’ve been reading BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN, right? I would hope so. If you have, then you’ve noticed the powerful pencil work of one Ardian Syaf, a relative newcomer (and newly-exclusive DCU artist) who’s jumped into the deadl world of BLACKEST NIGHT feet first. The mini teams Syaf with writer Peter Tomasi, who’s no stranger to the Bat-universe, not to mention the world of Green Lantern. And with a collection of rogues as impressive as Batman’s, it’s no surprise that he has his fair share of baddies to bring back from the dead to sport those nasty Black Lantern rings.

So, fight your case of the Mondays with a nice piece of artwork from the third and final issue of BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN from Mr. Syaf, and stay tuned right here for more news about this up-and-coming talent.

NO.

In a very brief interlude with the mighty mite super-hero, the Atom, as he inexplicably jumped out of my phone, I was able to discuss the true nature of these creatures and assemble this list of why the Black Lanterns are not just the undead.

Zombies attack mindlessly.
Black Lanterns have all the characteristics of the living, just meaner.

Zombies growl and don’t speak.
Black Lanterns are nasty taunters.

Zombies want flesh, particular ones want brains.
Black Lanterns seek only our hearts feeding on emotion.

Zombies either shamble or run.
Black Lanterns can float.

Zombies wear the tattered remains of their clothes.
Black Lanterns accessorize their Black Rings with a dark version of their
clothes or costume.

Zombies can be stopped by chopping their heads off.
Black Lanterns reconstitute any limb that is severed.

Zombies have no purpose for rising from the grave.
Black Lanterns …. Do.