And now it begins.

Anticipated by comic book fans since it was first teased in 2007 within the pages of Green Lantern, Blackest Night kicks off this month with the release of Blackest Night #1 by writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis.

The eight-issue mini-series promises to bring back a slew of dead DC heroes, reviving them as zombie-like Black Lanterns as part of an epic battle between the power rings of the Green Lantern universe.

As we follow up on our last conversation with Johns about Blackest Night , we get more details about what just happened in the last issue of Green Lantern and find out more about what’s coming in Blackest Night .

Ian Sattler, Senior Story Editor hosted Friday’s DC Universe panel, welcoming fans to the first DC panel of the Heroes Con 2009 weekend. Panelists included Jamal Igle, artist of Supergirl, Dustin Nguyen, artist on Streets of Gotham, and Editor Brian Cunningham.

Sattler began the panel by asking the panelists about their respective projects, beginning with Nguyen. The artist said that there is a difference between drawing Dick Grayson in the suit rather than Bruce Wayne, which is something that he reflects in the fighting style of the new Batman.

What’s in store for DC Comics for September 2009.

Green Lantern fans listen up – DC is going to be offering a very limited item this July at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. For the first time, fans will be able to collect Hal Jordan not only as a Green Lantern, but as a member of the Red, Orange, Blue and Yellow Corps as well. Interested? We thought you might be. Read on for the details, including which colors will be available on which days.

The most important details are these: you can only get these items during the San Diego Comic-Con and supplies are extremely limited. Fans will be able to line up at the Graphitti Designs booth (#2315) for these rare collectibles starting on Wednesday, July 22. But here’s the catch – you’ll have to visit the booth each and every day for the latest color. Each customer can only buy 2 of each figure.

Here’s the breakdown of availability:

Wednesday (Preview Night) – July 22 – 6:00 pm Hal Jordan: Green Lantern – 3,000 pieces available

Thursday, July 23 – 10:00 am
Hal Jordan: Yellow Lantern – 1,500 pieces available

Friday, July 24 – 10:00 am
Hal Jordan: Blue Lantern – 1,500 pieces available

Saturday, July 25 – 10:00 am
Hal Jordan: Orange Lantern – 1,500 pieces available

Sunday, July 26 – 10:00 am
Hal Jordan: Red Lantern – 1,500 pieces available

Each figure comes with its own lantern and a wearable power ring customized to each Corps. Each figure is available starting its respective day, and will continue to be on sale until it is sold out. As of press time, pricing information was unavailable. Each figure comes in its own four-color box. Be sure to check out the photos in this article for a better glimpse of each Hal Jordan figure.

One of DC’s biggest sales successes of the last five years remains the revitalization of their space-bound hero Green Lantern. Driven by fan-favorite writer Geoff Johns, test pilot Hal Jordan and his fellow Green Lanterns square off against an army of multi-colored Lantern Corps in July’s event epic Blackest Night, and Johns opened up about building an accessible mythology with an emotional base and Green Lantern’s potential for success as a Hollywood blockbuster.

Debuting with a special #0 issue on this year’s Free Comic Book Day and running through an 8-issue Blackest Night mini series as well as tie-in issue of Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and over a half dozen other mini series and one-shots, the new story earned its name at the end of Johns’ 2007 The Sinestro Corps War event. That sales success revealed that aside from the will-driven power rings of the Green Lantern Corps and the fear-inducing yellow energy behind the Sinestro Corps, even more color-coded groups of alien warriors would arise each with their own emotionally-powered rings including the rage-filled Red Lanterns and the hopeful Blue Lanterns. Toss in an army of zombie superheroes controlled by the villain the Black Hand, and Blackest Night seems crammed with kinds of minutia that superhero readers love. But Johns promised that the wide-ranging cast of characters works more as an inviting and organic story device than it does a marketing gimmick.

he Continuum continues a series of interviews with the creators and cast of Green Lantern: First Flight — the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28 — with Michael Madsen, who provides the voice of Kilowog.

In Green Lantern: First Flight, movie tough guy Madsen brings to animated life the brawny alien character Kilowog, trainer of all Green Lantern recruits. It’s the first animated voice role for Madsen, who starred in such genre films as Sin City and Species.

Following is an edited transcription of the studio-provided interview

As the DC Universe gets closer to Blackest Night, J.T. Krul is guiding the Titans as they encounter the Black Lantern versions of some of their former team members — including the return of Terra. Krul, the writer on both the Fathom and Soulfire series at Aspen Comics, is not only writing the three-issue Blackest Night: Titans beginning in August, but he’s also writing July’s issue of Titans #15 with artist Jose Luis – an issue he said will be important to fans Tempest.

Hello everyone, as you can see we are moving not only towards Blackest Night in the next month but also the new redesigned Green Lantern Spotlight, which will now be the GLspotlight. The new site will merge with the Green Lantern Corps. We will have a slew of new sections that include everything Green Lantern and Green Lantern related. Forums, the latest news, Movie reviews, Ryan’s Rants. Which will feature my look at other comics that I read and recommend. More comic book reviews on all things Green Lantern, our podcasts and much, much more. It’s going to be great.

As the Green Lantern titles head toward this summer’s Blackest Night event, things are looking grim for the future of the GL Corps.

Not only is there that pesky little Blackest Night prophesy that predicts the end of the universe, but all hell has broken loose on Oa in the Green Lantern Corps title by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. There’s a prison riot tearing the place apart, Sinestro is psychologically torturing his just-revealed Green Lantern daughter, Sodam Yat had to sacrifice himself to save others, and the Guardian named Scar is sneaking around, prodding the Guardians of the Universe to act in desperation. And that’s just the last issue. Of course, readers should have known there were big things coming from a storyline called “Emerald Eclipse,” the title of the current arc. In the Green Lantern universe, titles like “Emerald Dawn” and “Emerald Twilight” still get loyal Lantern fans talking, so all the writing was on the wall. While it may not be surprising that Tomasi is saying “nothing will ever be the same” after this story, what is surprising is that it looks like, in this case, the oft-used phrase may be true.
Working in conjunction with Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns, Tomasi is also writing the three-issue mini-series Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, which begins in July after Blackest Night #1. Tomasi will also be writing Batman: Blackest Night, where the zombies populating the DCU this summer take a truly gruesome turn for DC’s new Batman, Dick Grayson, when he faces the “Black Lantern Flying Graysons.”
Newsarama talked to Tomasi about his upcoming work on the Blackest Night tie-ins, as well as what’s coming up for the characters in Green Lantern Corps.