WEDNESDAY COMICS, the groundbreaking weekly series featuring the all-star talents of Neil Gaiman, Joe Kubert, Lee Bermejo, Brian Azzarello, Kurt Busiek and many more, was a critical and commercial success across the board, featuring DC’s greatest characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern, in stories from the most talented creators in the industry. For 12 weeks, fans were treated to an historic and energized collection of newspaper strips compiled by editor Mark Chiarello that ranged from standard and captivating superhero drama to the surreal and innovative. But wait, there’s more?

Just announced at the Baltimore Retailer Summit, we’ve got the details on the WEDNESDAY COMICS collection, a topic that’s been hotly debated and prognosticated by fans since the inception of the series.

The hardcover collection of the series, which will retail at $49.99, will clock in at 11 x 17 inches, which will present the series in a deluxe, big-screen format befitting the series, which was originally printed on broadsheet newspaper pages.

So, there you have it. WEDNESDAY COMICS, presented in oversized and deluxe glory. Not too shabby, huh?

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.

WEDNESDAY COMICS #1 is on stands. Let the games begin, folks.

Haven’t headed over to the comic shop yet? To whet your appetite, USA TODAY has the first installment of John Arcudi and artist Lee Bermejo’s SUPERMAN — both in today’s print edition and online. USA TODAY will continue to serialize the strip weekly on their site.

Still on the fence? Well, first off — shame on you. Who can resist a weekly series that features the talents of Neil Gaiman, Brian Azzarello, Mike Allred, Karl Kerschl, Joe Kubert, Walt Simonson, Dave Gibbons, Kyle Baker, Kurt Busiek, Amanda Connor…to name a few? But because we’re all about doing our due diligence here, why not peruse THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS’ piece on the title and Dan DiDio’s interview with THE CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER? Or THE TOLEDO FREE PRESS’s feature on the weekly series?

More? Ok. Well, both PUBLISHERS WEEKLY COMICS WEEK and THE HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN chatted up WEDNESDAY COMICS mastermind Mark Chiarello, who’s the man responsible for gathering such an impressive lineup of A-list talent.

And if you’re not at least a foot out the door by now, keep your eyes peeled at COMIC BOOK RESOURCES and AOL/ASYLUM’s COMICS ALLIANCE blog, as both will have interviews with Chiarello up later today.

And,  in case you missed it this morning, our own Dan DiDio swung by the offices of  the FOX BUSINESS channel to talk up the series. Check  out the video here.

Well? Hop to it.

Happy Monday, Source readers. Why not start off the week with some major DCU news?

You’ve all seen a smattering of pages from next month’s WEDNESDAY COMICS, the newspaper-format weekly series spearheaded by DC Comics Art Director Mark Chiarello. The collection of talent, characters and format is a first on many levels, and just from looking at the first few pieces, it’s not an understatement to say the highly-talented creators participating are pouring their best into their respective projects. When the list of talent working on the book includes Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Brian Azzarello and many more taking on the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and every corner of the DC Universe, you’re entering new territory.

But the history-making doesn’t stop there.

Starting Wednesday July 8, when the first issue of WEDNESDAY COMICS hits stands, USA TODAY will be syndicating writer John Arcudi and artist Lee Bermejo’s SUPERMAN strip every week over the course of the 12-week series. The first strip will appear in print on July 8, and subsequent strips will appear each Wednesday on USATODAY.COM, day-and-date with the respective issue. Additionally, each online preview will be promoted weekly in USA TODAY’s print edition. USA TODAY announced the news this morning.

It just makes sense, no? A weekly series created to remind readers of the joys of standalone comics and the newspaper strips many of us grew up on debuting in the pages of one of the most well-known and widely-read newspapers ever.

The first issue of WEDNESDAY COMICS, and the debut of the SUPERMAN strip in USA TODAY, hits on 7/8.

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.

Of course not. You got a look at SUPERMAN and BATMAN yesterday, and today we unveil a look at Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred’s METAMORPHO tale, plus a page from Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook’s lovely KAMANDI strip.

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.