There’s no arguing that artist Kalman Andrasofzsky is one talented guy. So why not take a look at some of his more recent work? Specifically, his covers on R.E.B.E.L.S.? We swung by Editor Brian Cunningham’s office to get the lowdown. Take it away, Brian:

“I love how people stop in my office and marvel at how effective Kalman’s covers are. And they are just so different from your traditional comic book covers. I saw some of his Star Wars work at New York Comic-Con in February, and I felt the book needed a cool sci-fi sensibility like his. It really compliments the interior art of Andy Clarke, Claude St. Aubin and Scott Hanna.

REBELS #5 really balances the innocence and the creepiness so effectively. It almost looks like a Vertigo cover with a sci-fi sensibility. This one, more than any other Kalman has done, has provoked a strong reaction with most people who have seen it prior to publication. It’s on sale now, so check it out in print!

All I told him for REBELS #6’s cover was to channel his inner Frazetta. And he hit it outta the park.

REBELS #7 was a tough nut to crack. We wanted to get that Starro starfish shadow subtly in there, but still have the drowning Vril Dox visible. It’s the type of cover where you need to look at it twice to see the subtle star shadow.

For REBELS #8, Kalman really wanted to tackle the “all-new, all-dangerous” Omega Men. Without revealing too much, Tigorr and crew are seriously amped up, and ready to kick some Starro horde butt—and Kalman ramped it up to 11.

And REBELS #9…? Well, we gotta save something for later, right?”

• The Miami Herald’s Richard Pachter has a few kind words for the FINAL CRISIS HC, calling the collection “provocative, thrilling and resonant.” And because it’s not a blog post without me shamelessly interjecting my life into it, it’s nice to see my old stompin’ grounds giving DCU books some love.

• Continuing their concerted BLACKEST NIGHT coverage, IGN unveiled a first-look at GREEN LANTERN #43, a prologue to BLACKEST NIGHT #1 spotlighting Black Hand. And, in case you missed it the first time, up above is a spread from #43 which has a few hints about BLACKEST NIGHT, to say the least.

• Over at THE BEAT, Heidi has the 2009 Harvey Award nominees. Winners will be announced at the Baltimore Comic-Con, which will be held October 10-11, 2009. The ceremony and banquet for the 2008 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, October 10. Congrats to DC’s nominees, which include Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely for their work on ALL STAR SUPERMAN, Alex Ross for his cover work on JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA and Rob Leigh for his lettering on THE SPIRIT.

You heard the news, saw some art and know the basics about MAGOG, but it never hurts to show a bit more, does it?

Magog steps into the spotlight in September, tired of chafing at the restraints that being in the JSA comes with. But what happens when he takse justice into his own hands and begins to track down a group of criminals dealing high-tech arms to lowlife scum around the DCU? Be sure to check out the first issue, from writer Keith Giffen, Porter and Dell.

Here’s a look at artist Glenn Fabry’s cover to #1, an in-progress look at #2 and Howard Porter and inker John Dell’s variant for #1.

You’ve all read STREETS OF GOTHAM #1, right? As previously discussed, every issue will feature a MANHUNTER co-feature, from writer Marc Andreyko and artist Georges Jeanty, continuing the adventures of Kate Spencer as she learns the twists and turns that come with a Gotham City residence. And since today seems to be all about keeping people happy between issues, we’ve got some inks and finished pages from Mr. Jeanty and inker Karl Story for you.

It’s hard to wait, isn’t it? Fear not, Source readers. The first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE will be in your hands in a few short days. By now, you’ve probably seen the preview, so what else could we tease before the issue hits?

How about the cover to #4, by artist Mauro Cascioli?

Let’s start off Monday with a laugh, eh?

This is one of those instances where you let the pictures do the talking.

Ooh, look! Sun! I’d forgotten what that looks like. Neat. Today is a bit of a mad scramble (what else is new?). We’re wrapping up the lettering on ACTION COMICS #879, which means a lot of emailing back and forth with letterer Rob Leigh. He’s come up with what I think will be a stronger method for the English subtitles to all the crazy Kryptonian speak going on in the book. And if this doesn’t work, we’ll just start throwing sound chips in the book!

Also on the lettering front, Jared Fletcher, the man of many nicknames, has delivered the first round of lettering for SUPERGIRL #43, and man, he’s done a great job. We asked him to do something slightly different here for Kara’s narrative, and he’s knocked it out of the park. The whole issue is somewhat of a departure, and definitely a pallet cleanser after a few months of asking, “Who is Superwoman?” I swear, Sterling and Jamal are getting exponentially better by the issue! One guy who’s not getting better is Jon Sibal, and that’s only ‘cause he couldn’t possibly get any better. The fact that he’s crazy in a good way just adds to the joy of working with him. And Wil tells me that Jon tells him that he’s inking the last page of the issue right now. I love it when a plan comes together.

Just got a couple of new pages in from Javi Pina for the upcoming SUPERMAN ANNUAL (#14 for those of you keeping score at home). Man!!! I’ve worked with Javi before on a few occasions, but this is far and away the best work I’ve ever seen him do. James challenged him with a heck of trippy story, and I’m already dying to see what people think of the finished book. Well, August will be here before I know it.

Spend a few minutes chatting with Wil about a new costume we’re having designed for… well, don’t want to give that away here, in case anyone is actually reading this thing. The main design is coming along nicely, and we’re at the stage of small tweaks in order to put a wrap on the thing. This is going to be very, very cool.

Hmm. It’s 3. I should eat something, but what? Right, what I always eat—oatmeal. 10 minutes and a burnt tongue later, I’m back in action. Associate editor Sean Ryan brings by a couple of rate requests for me to sign. These are the forms by which we set up page rates for artists, writers and so forth. He’s been bringing me an awful lot of these lately. I’m starting to suspect he’s hiring childhood friends or something. I’ll have to talk to him about this.

Engage in a quick conference call with Wil and Greg Rucka about some costume designs going on there—next week is the start of July, and that means beginning work on our covers for the books that come out in December. Yes, we actually do plan ahead that far. Actually, in the case of the Super-books, we’re planned through the end of 2010. In fact, I take this blessed opportunity of basking in Greg’s phone aura to confirm when the Super-writers will engage in our next weekly chat—next week looks iffy. Something about a holiday. We’ve got a lot of work to do before we all meet up in San Diego in the days leading up to the convention, putting a lock on a few dangling items for 2009 publication so we can spend the time in sunny CA (indoors, ‘natch) planning in great detail the first half of 2010 and as much of the 2nd half as we can squeeze in.

Oop. Just missed a message from James Robinson. He’s included an odd comment on one of the profile pieces for August’s SUPERMAN SECRET FILES. My, he’s in a jaunty mood. It seems we’ve missed some important elements in the costuming of a non-superhero character, and he’s absolutely correct. He’s also got an idea for the inclusion of some characters normally outside the realm of Superman for next year’s stuff, and ways to maybe spin them out into something of their own afterwards. No wonder he’s so jaunty.

I mark the 4:00 hour by sending my lettering notes on SUPERGIRL #43 to writer Sterling Gates, and then remember he’s on a plane to Dallas for a convention. –Sigh- my day is empty without some correspondence from Sterling. Oh, well.

I settle instead on talking to Pete Woods, who’s juggling putting together a map of Kandor for the SECRET FILES while drawing the next issue of WONK (World of New Krypton). Man, he just gets better and better, and his design sense is incredible! He’s done an amazing job in less than half the series with really establishing New Krypton as a world, with all sorts of different sets and locales.

The feeling begins to return to my tongue just as a new batch of pages arrives from Gary Frank for SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #2. There really aren’t adjectives that I can apply to Gary—he’s in his own stratosphere, and I feel stupidly lucky to be working with him and Geoff on this project—it’s simply incredible. Geoff seems pretty happy with the pages, too, and I’m glad to have an excuse to give Gary a call, even if most of our conversations steer towards the insanity of Italian politics. (Don’t ask.)

I’m in the middle of typing up some notes on SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #1 for the mysterious colorist who only goes by the name “Blond” when Liz Gehrlein drops off two more jaw-droppingly cool profile pages by Francis Manapul for SECRET FILES. Ab-so-lute-ly stunning! This is going to be one special Secret Files. This reminds me that I need to turn in pages from artist Matt Camp, who’s illustrated a seven-page story that James wrote for the book. So many balls in the air, so few hands…

And then the next thing I know, it’s 6:00, time to close up shop, blow out the candles, and be thankful another day that I didn’t set my office on fire.

Two big things are hitting the wire today, so here we go:

Today marks the launch of IGN.com’s BLACKEST NIGHT mini-site, which will include previews, interviews, video features, sketches and more exclusive content. Check back on Monday, as IGN will unveil a first look at GREEN LANTERN #43, a BLACKEST NIGHT prologue, and early next month they’ll debut an exclusive video feature about the upcoming event, including interviews with series writer Geoff Johns. So, swing on over and bookmark the page, as it’ll be the hot spot for all things BLACKEST NIGHT.

The New York Tmes unveiled their weekly graphic novel bestseller list, and Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco and Doug Mahnke’s superhero epic FINAL CRISIS is atop it, in its first week of eligibility. Neat, huh?

Other notable titles making the list: BATMAN R.I.P., BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, JOKER and BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.

Happy Friday, Source readers. It’s been a busy week here at DCU headquarters, as usual. So why not head into the weekend with some cool pages? Fair enough. FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: RUN! #3 shows off everything you’ve come to love from the series: beatings, fire, explosions, guns, mean-spirited humor, stupid costumes and even stupider people. All this plus the Human Flame gets a new lady. And it’s all downhill after that…

FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: RUN! #3 hits 7/1.

Heard the big news from last week? Well, we announced the new creative team for JUSTICE LEAGUE. Specifically, writer James Robinson and artist Mark Bagley. But before Bagley — who just wrapped up a historic run on the weekly TRINITY series — steps aboard JUSTICE LEAGUE, he’s got a three-issue arc on BATMAN, pairing him with writer Judd Winick. We teased a page before, but we’ve got three more that you may want to check out.

BATMAN #688 hits 7/8.