Sterling Gates is far from a newcomer to the DCU — but he’s certainly one that’s on the rise. With his work — alongside artist Jamal Igle — redefining and stabilizing SUPERGIRL, Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization. All of which can be seen month-in and month-out in the pages of the Girl of Steel’s ongoing series. Not-so-coincidentally, you can get a good sense of what we’re talking about here by picking up the newly-released SUPERGIRL: WHO IS SUPERWOMAN? collection, which shows Gates and Igle slowly unraveling the mystery behind the new, villainous Superwoman.

But why stop there? In addition to his work on SUPERGIRL, Gates has expanded his reach in Metropolis and Krypton, firstly by co-writing the recently-concluded “Hunt for Reactron” arc with writer Greg Rucka in the pages of SUPERGIRL and ACTION COMICS and now with WORLD’S FINEST, a mini-series slated to spotlight members of the Batman and Superman families of characters as they team-up to face off against common threats.

The first issue kicks off with Gates and artist Julian Lopez bringing Red Robin and Christopher Kent/Nightwing together to help track down a missing Flamebird — but as readers have come to expect from Gates, things are rarely that linear, so fans should be in for a treat. But don’t take my word for it — check out some pages from the first issue below.

Now that you’ve gotten the lowdown on CODENAME: PATRIOT from our very own Matt Idelson, we’ve got a few preview pages from the second installment, written by Greg Rucka with art by artist Julian Lopez (with another installment of Rucka and James Robinson’s CAPTAIN ATOM, featuring art by CAFU).

Part two finds Nightwing and Flamebird in pursuit of the sleeper agents Nadira and Az-Rel. But our heroes run into another deadly duo — Reactron and Metallo. How does this all tie into General Lane’s plans? And what happens when Superman and Supergirl reach Earth looking for the shooter?

ACTION COMICS #880 hits 8/12.

How about a little news with your coffee?

This August — ACTION COMICS #880, to be exact — will see Julian Lopez (ORACLE: THE CURE, BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS) step in as the regular series artist, just in time for a crossover with the other Super-books. I could summarize the plot of said crossover, or hint at stuff, like Superman maybe returning to Earth, or New Krypton/Earth relations hitting an all-new low, but that’ll just make you impatient for August, right? Not to fear. We have some sketches from Mr. Lopez to tide you over until then.