Following the piracy of "Batman" #17 in advance of its release date earlier this week, DC Comics has another leak on its hands. A photo of variant covers for "Batman, Incorporated" #8 has surfaced, nearly two weeks prior to the comic's February 27 release date. The photo shows three variant covers homaging Grant Morrison's "Batman: R.I.P.," with Damian Wayne's Robin standing in for his father, the Dark Knight. Additionally, the letters "R.I.P." appear at the bottom, using Robin's "R" icon, revealing a major spoiler for Morrison's upcoming "Batman, Incorporated" arc, which has been kept under tight wraps by DC. Damian's death as the focus of Morrison's newest arc has been a popular theory on Internet message boards, as Damian is nowhere to be found on the covers for May's Batman-related issues, even on the cover of "Batman and Robin" #19.

The photo comes from the Twitter account of retailer Al Mega, who posted an auction on eBay for "Amazing Spider-Man" #700 weeks before its scheduled release date. Mega's Twitter feed indicates he has access to advance copies of DC's books — on February 8, he posted a photo of a number of issues not set to release until February 20 including "Justice League of America" #1, "Justice League" #17, "Green Lantern: New Guardians" #17 and more.

When approached by CBR News about the leak, DC representatives replied, "No comment."

"Batman Incorporated" #8 is far enough from its release date that retailers shouldn't have received copies from Diamond yet. Retailers who opt-in to Diamond's early delivery typically receive issues on the Tuesday before release, which makes how Mega obtained the issues somewhat of a mystery. Timing-wise, the leak syncs with the "Amazing Spider-Man" #700 leak last year, when scans of the issue popped up online 12 days early, exactly the same amount of time before the issue was scheduled for release.

At the time, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso stated the publisher was investigating the matter.

"It's always disappointing when someone decides to spoil a big story by posting it on the torrents," Alonso told CBR. "Piracy affects fans, creators and retailers who look forward to a big comic book to put some cash in their registers — which 'Amazing Spider-Man #700' definitely will do. The fact that physical copies of the issue exist, but are accessible to a select few, is, of course, alarming."

Home Turf Is Live!

DC Universe Online is proud to present Home Turf, our sixth DLC Pack! Home Turf introduces customizable Player Bases, powerful new abilities provided by your Base's Mainframe, action-focused one on one Player vs. Player Lair Battles, engaging new solo story content in iconic Gotham City and Metropolis locations, and loads of new gear and rewards. Watch the brand new trailer below, then log in and start building your very own Base today!

I wanted to thank all the DC Universe Online fans out there for their support of our latest DLC Pack, Home Turf.  To ensure that we were as responsive to our players as possible, we did something new with the launch of Home Turf – we created discussion threads for each new piece of content or feature in the Developer Discussion section of our official forums.  The designers that owned the content have been monitoring and participating in those discussions, and we've received loads of great feedback.  As a result, we have been able to turn around a couple of server updates with polish, tweaks, and bug fixes in the first few days, with more to come. The discussions are ongoing, so if you haven't yet weighed in, we invite you to do so.  

Base Builder's Weekend

In celebration of the launch of Home Turf, we will be doubling your chances of getting Base loot this weekend.  Simply put, we will double the odds that you will gain Base items when collecting just about any type of loot in the game, starting Saturday.  This means that you're practically guaranteed to get some in Raid content, and close to certain to in Alerts.  So be sure to log in and deck out your Bases.

I'd like to especially thank our US PS3 players for their patience as we dealt with some load-related downtime over the last few days. Those issues are resolved and we're looking forward to a great first weekend. 

Best,
Larry Liberty
Executive Producer
DC Universe Online

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read JUSTICE LEAGUE #14 yet and do not wish to know what happens, stop reading this post now (major spoiler alerts ahead!)

Earlier this week, we teased that JUSTICE LEAGUE #14 would reveal the fate of the transformed Superman after being bitten by the Cheetah. Well if you picked up the issue when it hit stores this past Wednesday, you now know exactly what we were talking about!

In JUSTICE LEAGUE #14, the League continues their battle against the Cheetah and Superman, while simultaneously trying to protect the Man of Steel from the wounds inflicted upon him. Deep in the forest, they meet the tribe that the Cheetah was meant to protect. The head of this tribe details the long history of the Cheetah and reveals that the root of the problem is not that the Goddess of the Hunt is evil. Instead, it’s the woman possessed by her who is! 

After being captured by the tribe, Superman is cured, and Cheetah gets locked away in Belle Reve. But once behind bars, the villainess begins to talk to an unseen source, revealing that her imprisonment was all part of a larger and mysterious plan. Meanwhile, on the Watchtower, the League tells Diana that Barbara Minerva is a lie. She is actually a wanted criminal who continues to switch identities to escape the authorities. Hurt by this news about the woman she once called her best friend, Wonder Woman seeks comfort in the Man of Steel.

Much to the surprise of the local customers, Superman takes Wonder Woman to the Smallville Diner in an attempt to help her regain some incentive to be the superhero that she is. Afterwards, he takes her on a tour of the Kent family farm and the duo share another passionate kiss.

Little do these lovebirds know, someone is watching their every move! It’s their teammate, Batman. And judging by the look on his face, he seems less than thrilled about his friends’ developing romance. How will the Dark Knight’s knowledge of Wonder Woman and Superman’s relationship impact it? And more importantly, what will this mean for the Justice League itself? Place your bets in the comments section!

Below, take a look at the final pages of “The Secret of the Cheetah” as Superman and Wonder Woman kiss under the watchful eye of Batman. Setting the stage for next month’s epic crossover event with AQUAMAN, “Throne of Atlantis,” JUSTICE LEAGUE #14 comes to you from the creative team of writer Geoff Johns and artists Tony S. Daniel, Matt Banning, and Sandu Florea. Pick up the issue, in stores now!

Hey folks! 

I know I've been a bit lax with the Injustice: Gods Among Us promotion, but there's a reason. There is sooo much DC goodness out there that sometimes I lose track of the really awesome stuff. And when I lose track of something as extraordinary as Injustice, the updates concerning it pile up into such a giant mass that it develops it's own gravity & then smashes me upside the head at warp speed.

So here are a few things I've seen that I found pretty cool:

Injustice was named the Best Fighting Game of E3.  Definitely a good sign of a quality gaming experience.

Promotion for Injustice was strong at this years ComicCon.  Those shirts, bandanas & boots are awesome. To whomever is in charge of promotion, can I have them? I'd ask for the banner too, but I think it's a bit too big for my living room. Then again, I might be able to make it fit…

Catwoman has joined the Injustice roster.  I can't wait to sharpen my claws!

Injustice: Gods Among Us will have a COLLECTOR'S EDITION.  HUZZAH!! 

The North American package will be available beginning April 2013 in limited quantities for the XBox 360® video game & entertainment system from Microsoft & Playstation®3 computer entertainment, & will retail for $99.99.

The North American Collector's Edition will include:

• An exclusive 13" DC Collectibles statue featuring iconic characters Batman & Wonder Woman, the Fortress of Solitude, & the Last Son of Krypton's escape ship. 
• A special Collector's Edition of a brand new DC Comics series.
• A digital download of the DC Universe animated film Justice League: Doom.
• Three exclusive skins based on Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman from DC Comics — The New 52.

Green Arrow has joined the Injustice roster.  Catwoman? Who's Catwoman?? I want to play with HIM!!!!

What will the cover art look like? Who will be on it?  Ohhh shiny!

Can we get a better picture of the Joker & Green Lantern?  Yes we can.

And perhaps a few cool Harley & Bats pics?  

That's all I have at the moment, but we still have a few months until we can get our hands on this gem. The odds are good we'll hear more from DC Comics, Warner Bros, NetherRealm Studios & the critics in the near future. Stay tuned.

Same Arrow time. Same Arrow channel.

–Babs

[Source: Facebook]

The organizers of the North East Geek Expo thought the same thing, and figured out they could bring geekism to what some of the own residents called “a blackhole” for culture. Needless to say they exceeded expectations on all accounts. The festivities were open to all geek’s, everyone from gamers, comic enthusiast, artist and cosplayers, With costume contest for kids and adults, panels for organizers of the event, a silver age museum of comics, fencing and martial arts demonstrations to even a discussion on the philosophical ramifications of the green lantern universe (which yours truly served as a panelist). Many will say that with the bigger cons out there like NYCC and SDCC, the idea of the original con gets lost in the midst of all the big companies, sometimes even comic books themselves. So its great to see an expo that focuses on the people and the art more than anything. I was able to interview several interesting people at the expo, all of whom were excited to be there and loved to not only be part of it but partake in most of the activities.

Mark Levis and Anthony Loveridge : Organizers

It takes great courage to undergo a project like this, some may say an uphill battle, but for organizers Mark and Anthony this was just another way for them to bring all things geek to an unseemingly geek place. The second annual North East Geek Expo exceeded all expectations for the organizers, whereas the first year it was done mostly out of pocket, this year they were able to make enough to secure the venue for next year. A lot has to be said about the organization of the event, The panels were on time, the layout of the expo were excellent, showcasing all of the booths equally and the entrance was inexpensive. Overall the whole day was an amazing experience for newcomers, veterans and kids. I had the pleasure to talk to a lot of the attendees and all everyone had to say was that is was a great experience.

Many have directed the blame solely onto the shoulders of Cartoon Network, but the cable network may not be the ones responsible for this fiasco.

Rumor has it that negotiations between DC Comics & Milestone Media may be behind the sudden move to postpone new episodes in the DC Animated block. To be more specific, the use of Milestone characters such as Static, Rocket & Icon in shows such as Young Justice may be to blame.

The latest issue in the Young Justice comic series seems to corroborate this theory. The original cover art solicit for issue #21 shows Icon clearly positioned above & behind both Superman & Superboy. But in the final version of the cover, the character has been removed & text has been inserted to fill the blank space created in the composition.

Could this sudden drop from the Cartoon Network be a ploy to allocate enough time to retool the animated episodes to exclude the Milestone characters? Or is this sudden decision being used as a way to provide more time to negotiate the airing of these already completed episodes as-is?

No official word from Warner Bros or DC Comics has been provided. Only time can tell.

–Babs