Coming in October to DC Comics

Well in the last few days, DC has announced story arcs coming in October. So I'm gonna give you guys their announcements right here in order of their announcement. First up, Batman's "Death of the Family":

This October, one of the most notorious villains in comic book history is making his return to DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. In the new storyline, “Death of the Family,” The Joker will come out of the dark in a horrifying, unnerving, and huge way. And the grave consequences of his reemergence will be felt by not only the Bat-family, but by all of Gotham City.

He crippled Batgirl. He killed Robin. What will The Joker do next? And what must Batman do to protect his secret identity and that of those who fight alongside him? The adventure begins in BATMAN #13 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion.

“Joker is my favorite villain of all time,” Snyder told THE SOURCE. “Not just in comics. In everything - film, books, TV. He's the greatest, hands down. So this story is something extremely important and personal to me - something I've been building in my head ever since I started working in Gotham. Basically, this is my big exploration of the Joker, my ARKHAM ASYLUM or THE KILLING JOKE, only bigger in scope. Bottom line: it's the biggest, baddest, most shocking Joker story I could tell. This is Joker completely unleashed. He has been away for a full year planning this revenge, watching, plotting, setting things up. And now he's back. He has his traps set, his knives sharpened... And wait 'til you see him. Greg's sketches literally gave me chills. Point blank: This is Joker like you've never seen him before. He has a mission. He has a secret. And he has a serious axe to grind with Batman. It isn't going to be pretty, but it's going to be a wild ride. Thanks for taking it with us.”

“When Scott told me that he'd written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn’t contain my excitement,” added Capullo. “Talk about a dream come true! For me, the Joker is the ultimate rogue and the villain I most wanted to draw. I gotta tell you, after hearing what the story is about, this isn't a dream come true. It's a nightmare! A macabre and bloody, flesh crawling nightmare. We hope you'll have the nerve to face what's coming. Warning: It ain't for the faint of heart!”

BATMAN #13 hits stores on October 10th. But in the meantime, take an exclusive first look at Capullo’s promotional art for “Death of the Family” below.

Sounds great, right? Secondly is the big Green Lantern crossover, "Rise of the Third Army":

This October, the “Rise of the Third Army” will spawn across GREEN LANTERN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS, GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS and RED LANTERNS.

To commemorate this exciting storyline, artist Ivan Reis has created a stunning piece of artwork that will be split into 4 interconnecting covers for each of the books involved. Take an exclusive first look below!

“This was the first time in my career that I’ve illustrated 4 interconnecting covers,” Reis told THE SOURCE. “It’s also the second time I’ve done a 4-page spread (the first one was in BLACKEST NIGHT). That one had just 12 characters so I loved returning to the Green Lantern universe to work on this image. I had too much fun working on these hundreds of characters.”

So how will the “Rise of Third Army” play out in all of these books? We asked the writers of each series to tease a little bit about what to expect from their respective titles come this October.

GREEN LANTERN writer Geoff Johns:

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely--and the Guardians time is finally here. The Lantern titles spent the first year of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 re-establishing themselves, but it all comes back together with year 2 starting with GREEN LANTERN #0 and leading into October's #13's - which share an amazing cover by Ivan Reis. In October, the Guardians' Third Army rises to replace the Green Lantern Corps - but how is horrifying and why will change the Guardians and their ancient mission forever. As we discover what the Third Army actually means, our strongest Lanterns are targeted for absolute destruction. From Atrocitus to Guy Gardner to our newest Green Lantern from Earth - who may have been wrongly chosen - all their darkest secrets and failures will come to light. What is Sinestro's ultimate fate? Who is this new Green Lantern and why was he chosen? What is the Third Army? What with Atrocitus sacrifice to take on the Guardians? What will Larfleeze give up to find the one thing he wants? What happens to Guy Gardner when he's targeted after Hal Jordan? And, most importantly, who is the First Lantern?”

GREEN LANTERN CORPS writer Peter J. Tomasi:

“How sick is that cover?! C'mon, on your feet -- let's give it up to Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Albert Oclair, and Rod Reis -- they've earned their own power rings for the willpower to finish this masterpiece! The Guardians and the Third Army want to break the Green Lantern Corps -- and they've now got their sights on Guy Gardner and John Stewart! The question is not IF the Guardians can accomplish their mission, but how horribly will they shatter our ringslingers’ lives!”

GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS writer Tony Bedard:

“In GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS, Kyle Rayner has gathered a team of Lanterns from all seven colors of the spectrum. As the Third Army strikes, Kyle must combine all seven shades of power within himself.  A bigger and badder lineup of New Guardians will push Kyle to become our secret weapon against the onslaught of the Third Army.”

And last but certainly not least, RED LANTERNS writer Peter Milligan:

“The Red Lanterns are continuing their mission to bring bloody vengeance to an unjust world when they run into (or are run into) a mysterious enemy with no mouth and a curious resistance to death. One Red Lantern succumbs to this new adversary, while Atrocitus finds a way to fight back – which entails returning to a place of great pain and associating with an ancient nemesis.”

Don’t miss the “Rise of the Third Army,” beginning with GREEN LANTERN #13, in stores October 3.

Covers, in order, to Green Lantern: New Guardians #13, Green Lantern #13, Green Lantern Corps #13, and Red Lanterns #13 by Ivan Reis I'll repost it in the original size later (it's huge)

Gah! Can't wait! Third up is the Batwoman story arc that'll be featuring Wonder Woman:

On October 17, two of the most legendary female superheroes in the DC Universe will team up to fight a grave threat. Beginning in BATWOMAN #13, Kate Kane will join forces with none other than the Princess of Amazons herself, Wonder Woman.

“We're super excited to be tackling Wonder Woman for a bit in the upcoming arc of BATWOMAN,” series co-writer and artist J.H. Williams III told THE SOURCE. “But also feel a sense of trepidation and responsibility, with her probably being the most iconic female hero of all time in comics. We needed to approach her with reverence and respect. And also wanted to give her a sense of purity in how she is drawn, something clear in her appearance, overt and forward. Now doing this, and then setting her next to Batwoman produces fascinating juxtapositions of their styles and nature of their characters. Batwoman being shadowy and a bit withdrawn, Wonder Woman being bold and vibrant. They do have things in common with their sense of purpose, but yet also things that make them quite different from each other, and them coming together brings out complimentary aspects much in the same way Batman and Superman do for each other as characters. The result is a compelling union of two iconic women that bring balance to how they can be perceived.”

BATWOMAN #13 is written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman and features art and a cover by J.H. Williams III. Take an exclusive sneak peek at the issue by checking out Williams’ cover below.

Up next is what's gonna happen in DC Universe Presents, featuring Black Lightning and Blue Devil:

The next arc of DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS marks the DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 debut of not one but TWO heroes – Black Lightening and Blue Devil!

Written by Marc Andreyko and illustrated by Robson Rocha, this 5-issue arc asks the question: can two very different heroes keep it together without killing each other long enough to unlock a new corner of the DC Universe?

“I can't begin to explain how excited I am to be writing this book!” Andreyko told THE SOURCE. “When I first heard the high-concept, I was instantly writing scenes in my head. I've always been a fan of the ‘buddy concept,’ especially when it's love/hate, and teaming these two seemingly disparate characters together makes for some great story dynamics. How did Blue Devil and Black Lightening meet? Why are they working together? Do they even like each other? All … well, ok,some … will be answered. Add in a bloodthirsty bad guy, a crazy drug, a guy in a demon suit and another who shoots electricity, mix well. Now enjoy!”

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #13 lands in stores on October 17th. Below, take a sneak peek at the DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 character designs for Blue Devil and Black Lightening done by artist Brett Booth.

After that, we're gonna get a new series featuring Joe Kubert's artwork, called Joe Kubert Presents:

This fall, don’t miss the start of a far-ranging collection of stories from comics legend Joe Kubert (BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL) and other great talents. A six-issue anthology mini-series, JOE KUBERT PRESENTS kicks off on October 31st.

The inaugural issue spans 48 pages and includes a Hawkman epic written and illustrated by Kubert, a tale of Angel and The Ape from writer/artist Brian Buniak, and a return to comics for writer/artist Sam Glanzman with a new tale of the U.S.S. Stevens.

“I've been given the privilege to design the kind of comic book that I would enjoy reading and one in which I'd like to participate,” Kubert told THE SOURCE. “This is it. I'll be doing Hawkman, Spit, The Redeemer, Sgt. Rock and The Biker in this 6-issue anthology. In addition, the book features the wonderful talents of Sam Glanzman and Brian Buniak. I had a blast doing it. I hope it blows you away.”

Below, check out an exclusive first look at Kubert's cover for JOE KUBERT PRESENTS #1.