The new JLA Oneshot JLA: Workweek was listed in the most recent issue of Previews for June release. It is about a normal guy, Marlus Randone, who gets left behind in the Watchtower and spends a week spying on the League as they come and go – its all the stuff that normally happens after the end credits. CBR have an interview with the writer Patton Oswalt (Spence from CBS’s King of Queens). He lists various sources including a number of real life people who he uses as the templates for a number of the characters in the book. On the nature of the League he comments “Like being in a band with Sinead O’Connor and Keith Moon. Think of the tour bus. Yeesh.” The interview is quite entertaining and was posted up a couple of days ago.

The 2002 Squiddy Usenet Fan Awards have just been announced on the rac.* groups. JLA/JSA related results include Best Original Graphic Novel for JLA/JSA Virtue and Vice (an award won by JLA Earth II three years ago) , Best Character Team for JSA (tied with the Ultimates), former JLA colourist Laura DePuy Martin won Best Colourist (for the 4th year in a row) and JLA Secret Origins artist Alex Ross won Best Painter (for the 9th year in a row!).

The Squiddy Awards have been runnning for over 10 years (replacing the earlier r.a.c awards). They are probably the only awards to be named after a typo – a poster accidently typed Suicide Squid rather than Suicide Squad and a legend was born.

• On Friday the Comics Continuum posted its First Looks at Batman #113, JLA #79, Green Lantern #181 and the vertigo Zatanna one-shot. And on Thursday the Continuum talked with George Newbern the Superman voice artist on Justice League cartoon show.
• New Green Lantern writer Ben Rabb talks to Newsarma about his new series. He talks about his opening six-issue cross-over with Green Arrow and his long term commitments to the title’s Silver Age heritage. Also on CWN is an interesting article about Creator Rights.
• Comic World News has an interview with the writer Keith Giffen (JLI, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE LEAGUE) where he briefly comments on his League work and his new Lobo miniseries.

DC just sent out a press release concerning a new Alan Moore trade paperback. Entitled “Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore” the trade collects the more obscure Alan Moore stories from a peroid when he was first breaking in the the US comic scene. The highlights for me are two Superman stories from SUPERMAN ANNUAL #11 illustrated by Dave Gibbons and DC COMICS PRESENTS #85 with art by Rick Veitch & Al Williamson. The Moore/Gibbons Superman story is one of the greatest Superman stories every told and for me represents the Silver Age Superman at his peak. Its set against the backdrop of the Fortress of Solitude and the arrival of an unwelcome guest. The second story is more introspective and features Superman and the Swamp Thing. The book will be listed in the April issue of Previews.

The list of the stories includes:

• The aforementioned “For the Man Who Has Everything” from SUPERMAN ANNUAL #11 with art by Dave Gibbons and “The Jungle Line” (featuring Superman and Swamp Thing) from DC COMICS PRESENTS #85 with art by Rick Veitch & Al Williamson
• “Mortal Clay” from BATMAN ANNUAL #11 with art by George Freeman
• The 2-part backup story “Night Olympics” (featuring Green Arrow & Black Canary) from DETECTIVE COMICS #549-550 with art by Klaus Janson
• The 10-page story “Footsteps” (featuring the Phantom Stranger) from SECRET ORIGINS #10 with art by Joe Orlando
• The 2-part story “Father’s Day” from VIGILANTE #17-18 with art by Jim Baikie
• Short backup stores from OMEGA MEN #26 & 27 with art by Kevin O’Neill, Paris Cullins & Rick Magyar
• Short backup stories from GREEN LANTERN #188 and GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #2 & 3 with art by Gibbons, O’Neill and Bill Willingham

CBR have just posted up an interview with the JSA artist Leonard Kirk including a couple of b/w covers from the upcoming Princes Of Darkness story-arc. Leonard hints about a spoiler involving Dr Mid-Nite and discusses fan reaction to his art. Leonard can ocassionally be found posting to the JSA Message Board on official Geoff Johns website. In a recent post he proposed that all of Dr Mid-Nite’s owls are actually clones.

For any of you who go for glossy coffee-table style history of comics books the master Les Daniels (he of the The Complete Histories) has a new DC book out. “DC Comics: A Celebration of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes” (ISBN: 0823079198, publisher Watson-Guptill Pubns) is out in May and sports a new Alex Ross cover which can be seen at Alex’s official site

A couple of really cool Alex Ross projects heading DCs way later this year. The first is a gallery of his DC work put together as another glossy coffee-table book by the master photographer Chip Kidd. To be called Mythology: The DC Art of Alex Ross it should be out around November. The second project (again expected November 2003) is an Alex Ross drawn JLA story called JLA: Truth and Justice. For a lot (and I mean a LOT) of really cool Alex Ross/JLA images check out the Ross Report from last November.

Twas a sad day yesterday that saw the final issue of Young Justice (both YJ and Titans are being pulled to make room for a new Teen Titan series). I’ve followed the series from the first issue and it has always been an excellent read. This issue rounds off the stories of Slo-Bo (the youth’ed Lobo) and the Secret, and clinches a long running subplot between to characters. Its in the stores now. Peter David has always been one of my favourite authors so I consider it a great shame that both his DC books are being cancelled at the same time. He does have a new DC book out sometime called Fallen Angel. Will have to make sure I remember to keep an eye out for it.

The YJ creative team: Peter David & Todd Nauck. You can find postings from Peter David under the id of PADguy in the newsgroup alt.fan.peterdavid. Both Todd and Peter have in the past posted to the YJ message board at DC Comics.

Trading card company Inkworks Cards have announced that they are producing a new series of cards based on the animated Justice League series. The 81-card set includes 18 “Friends and Foes” foil cards, 9 World’s Greatest Heroes cards, and 7 lenticular action cards. The release date for the first wave is June 25 2003.