What is the LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON? Well, it’s basically New Krypton’s worst nightmare come to life, as Brainiac attacks the planet, determined to recapture the city of Kandor.

But General Zod has prepared for this moment since Brainiac first attacked the original Krypton. Only problem? Zod’s plan to save New Krypton will mean the destruction of the future.

So it’s up to Superman, Supergirl, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes to save the people of New Krypton and ensure the Legion won’t be wiped from the future’s existence. Good luck! Or, to quote editor Matt Idelson:

“This is the story that ties together tons of threads that have run through all the Super-books up to now, clearing the decks for the war we all knew was coming. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting months to see Brainiac restored to his full, horrific glory. And at last, we’ll get to see Superboy interact on an ongoing basis with the rest of the Superbooks’ characters.”

LAST STAND is a three-issue miniseries, weighing in at 30 story pages each, from writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates and artist Pete Woods. The first issue sports an amazing Andy Kubert cover and kicks off the latest chapter in the New Krypton saga, “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes,” which we teased right here not long ago. “Brainiac & the LOSH” is an eight-part story (plus an epilogue and a prologue) that will run in LAST STAND, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN, and because you demanded it, ADVENTURE COMICS. Secrets will be revealed, loyalties tested and would-be lovers will be reunited—for the first time? And, knowing that all signs are pointing to an epic WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, why not hop aboard now?

SUPERMAN: LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON hits in March.

From artist Mark Bagley, the cover to JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #43, continuing his run with writer James Robinson.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #40 hits 12/16.

We’re right in the thick of the holidays, but for the Superman books, it’s the dawn of a new day. James Robinson and Greg Rucka are in the same boat, balancing their holiday shopping with writing WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #12 and turning the other Superman books on their respective heads in anticipation of… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

WONK #12 (gosh, I’m going to miss that name) is the finale, the wrap-up, the cherry on the sundae that has been WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON for the last year. A very devious conspiracy has been afoot on New Krypton, one that could change the balance of power in our solar system, and not in a good way! Because we were all raised not to do things in a simple, easy way, that means change abounds in the related Super-titles as well. Since we’re not in a position yet to show you any interiors, check out this variant cover by Ladrönn, who handled the variant for the first issue of the series! (And as a bonus, check out this page by Pete Woods from WONK #11!)

While WONK is doing its death dance, in SUPERMAN James is bringing Mon-El front and center once more in a story that could only be called “Man of Valor.” Check out these pages from issue #695, due out in time for Christmas. Man, that Bernard Chang and Blond make a heck of an artist/colorist team, don’t they?

Meanwhile, Greg and the one writer who truly understands him, Eric Trautmann, are feverishly bringing the story of Nightwing and Flamebird to a head. Check out what they’re making the book’s artist, Pere Pérez, draw. Yikes! (And yes, that is indeed Guardian and Mon-El, along with their pals the Science Police—this is part one of a two-part crossover between ACTION #885 and SUPES #696 that will reveal, among other things, yet another of General Zod’s sleeper agents!)

So we’ve covered the middle of the month and the end of the month, but what about the middle? Well, that’s where you’ll find SUPERGIRL. Doing his own juggling act, writer Sterling Gates is keeping me on my toes with issues #49 and #50. Matt Camp, who did an amazing job with issue #47, is back for another go-around (where things take a turn for the worse for poor Lana Lang!). And your pal and mine, Jamal Igle, returns for our big, shocking, oversized issue #50, where, among many other things, we pick up on the story of the not-so-nice Superwoman and her even-more-not-so-nice father, General Lane!

But I’ve digressed, I fear. I started this off talking about balancing the present with the new day in the Superman titles. Come March, a brand new miniseries (emphasis on the “mini”) will arrive, taking the place of the dearly departed WONK. You’ll be learning a lot more about this in a few short weeks, but what I can tell you is that James and Sterling are teaming up with a recharged Pete Woods for this story. And weighing in at 30 pages per issue, it’s one heck of a page-turner for the Superman line. Oh, and I might as well mention that a certain colleague of Lex Luthor’s will be showing up. And if that weren’t enough, said miniseries will be roping in SUPES, ACTION, SUPERGIRL aaannnnddd… ADVENTURE COMICS! (And check out Wil Moss’ recent blog post for more clues to all of this!) Can you feel the excitement? If not, you will!

All of this — these events, these changes — are just the table-setter for what’s to come. Man, when May rolls around, readers and non-readers of the Superbooks alike will be very, very tickled. And, yes, I did just say “tickled.”

Hey, Dan DiDio here with special edition Digital DC Nation. And if you’ve been following The Source all this week you’ve gotten your first glimpses of the post Blackest Night DC Universe and a sneak peek as some the amazing stories and books we have planned for the 2010.

You’ve heard from Grant Morrison as he gave hints to the whereabouts of Bruce Wayne (possibly one of the wildest Batman stories ever to be told), while Group Editor Matt Idelson confirmed that Clark Kent will return to his famous costume just in time to enter into a WAR OF SUPERMEN (the culmination of over three years of Superman story telling) and have Marc Guggenheim join the writing team. And rounding out the trinity, I finally got to tell you the outcome to the Wonder Woman postcard campaign (and yes, issue 600 is heading your way in June).

Francis Manapul debuted samples of art that we feel catapults The Flash into the new millennium and master creator Len Wein encapsulated his plans for the narrative recounting of the history of the DC Universe in DC: LEGACIES. But like I said in the opening, if you have been following along on The Source, you know we didn’t stop there!

You also learned that the stunning events of JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE go directly into the aptly titled one shot JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE AND FALL which then gives way to the two major storylines THE FALL OF GREEN ARROW (in his ongoing series) and the RISE OF ARSENAL (in his own mini series), all of which, should not be missed!

And capping it all off, we were intensely proud to announce the new Earth One series of original graphic novels. Joe Stracynski and Shane Davis on Superman and Geoff Johns and Gary Frank on Batman, a great start to what I hope will be a great line of books.

So there you have it, your first look into what’s in store for DC Comics for 2010. I hope you are as excited about all this as we are.

Oh… what’s that you say?

What happens at the end of Blackest Night?

Sorry folks. Not. Just. Yet.

So enjoy the egg nog and pop open the champagne, we’ll be back with more in January, and then, all, or at least most of, your questions will be answered.

From all of us to all of you, thank you, as always for your continued support, and have the happiest of holidays.

To be continued….

DD

Take a minute to process that amazing piece of Mauro Cascioli art. Ok. Done? Let’s go.

If you’ve been following JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE, then you know some major events have been shaking up Green Arrow and his supporting cast’s status. Specifically, Red Arrow finding himself one arm short of a pair.

What happens when a hero has a fateful decision to make? And how can another hero rebuild his world after a life-altering tragedy?

Both ideas are explored in two special books hitting in March, both written by J.T. Krul: JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE AND FALL #1, which bridges the gap between JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA  and the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE OF ARSENAL four-issue mini-series. Concurrently, readers of the ongoing GREEN ARROW series will deal with the fallout in a storyline titled “The Fall of Green Arrow,” starting with issue #31.

What happened? Who’s to blame? What does this mean for the Emerald Archer and his former sidekick? We don’t know, but we can shine the spotlight on Mr. Krul for a sec to share a few thoughts. Take it away, J.T.:

“I was super fortunate to be able to play a role in BLACKEST NIGHT, and I have to say I’m even more excited — if that’s possible — about being able to take on Roy Harper and Green Arrow as their stories spill out of Cry For Justice. James has been building to a monster climax in his book, and no two characters will be as changed as much as Roy and Ollie. And, the story isn’t even over yet. The title RISE and FALL says it all in terms of where these characters are headed. It’s going to be a dark and tragic road for both them and I’m hoping readers will be hooked by where Ollie and Roy come out in the end.”

And, because we’re all about giving you guys a tad more than usual this week, check out IGN’s interview with Krul.

Superman has left Earth in the hands of Nightwing, Flamebird, Mon-El and the Guardian.

The tensions between Earth and New Krypton are slowly rising. The winds of war are stirring.

As our very own Dan DiDio has teased numerous times, 2010 is going to be a huge year for Superman. But just what is going on has not been revealed.

Until now. Welcome to the WAR OF THE SUPERMEN.

This lovely piece of J.G. Jones artwork is the cover to WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #0, which will hit stands 5/1/10, as the DCU FREE COMIC BOOK DAY title, and will kick off an event that is sure to change Superman’s status quo.

What more can we say? Not a lot — we can tell you writer James Robinson and artist Eddy Barrows will be taking point on the issue — but we did manage to rope SUPERMAN Group Editor Matt Idelson for a quick tease about what’s to come. Take it away, Matt:

“WAR OF THE SUPERMEN is the culmination of literally years of stories in the Super-books, all building to a destructive conflict which can have no victors. This Free Comic Book Day #0 issue is going to show the readers that no cows are sacred, and that they don’t want to miss this event.”

Not sated? Of course not. Then swing over to TIME’s TECHLAND blog for a few more nuggets of info.

We pride ourselves on being able to answer your questions about upcoming storylines and such, and we’re able to do that here. Many of you have been wondering what the plan is for ADVENTURE COMICS immediately after writer Geoff Johns and artist Francis Manapul swing over to Central City to take over FLASH. Well, we’ll tell you! Or, better said, ADVENTURE COMICS Assistant Editor Wil Moss will tell you. Take it away, Wil:

ADVENTURE COMICS #8 is the start of a four-issue arc connecting ADVENTURE to the next big Superman story - “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes.” James Robinson & Julian Lopez will provide a 10-page story about the Legion members who are in the 21st Century; Sterling Gates & Clayton Henry will provide a 10-pager about the Legion in the 31st Century; and Eric Trautmann & DC newcomer Pier Gallo (wait till you see this guy’s stuff!) will provide a 10-pager about General Lane’s Human Defense Corps.

The Superman writers have crafted a really fun and epic story in “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” (which will run in ADVENTURE, SUPERMAN, SUPERGIRL and a tittle-to-be-named-later in March). Featuring Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, Mon-El and the Legion of Super-Heroes, it not only brings to a head all the Legion subplots that DC has been laying down since the JLA/JSA “Lightning Saga” story, but also sets the stage for this summer’s blockbuster Superman event!

Thanks, Wil. And, as promised, here’s the cover to ADVENTURE COMICS #8 by Francis Manapul with colors by Brian Buccellato - the sketches, the inks and the colors.

New Krypton is a planet so fresh, it’s experiencing countless things for the first time. Its first spring. Its first blooms. Its first birth of a child. And now its first homicide. When an important figure in Kandor is murdered, the suspect seems obvious to everyone but Superman. But can he make Zod or the Council believe this is more than an open-and-shut case? And can he uncover the real killer in time to save the life of the accused? It’s a dark mystery, and the truth may blow apart the civilized trappings of Kandorian society in the process. From writers Greg Rucka, James Robinson and artist Pete Woods.

SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #10 hits 12/2.

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.