“The Culling” crossover event is coming this May – but what is The Culling? What is N.O.W.H.E.R.E., and how will it threaten the heroes and would-be heroes of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52? You’ll find out in next month’s crossover, but in the meantime – stay tuned to THE SOURCE all this week for Culling insights from the creators.

SUPERBOY editor Chris Conroy discusses what’s in store for the character, and how this week’s prelude kicks off the crossover:

“If you read this week’s SUPERBOY #8, the first official prelude to ‘The Culling,’ you’ve seen that Harvest, the driving force behind N.O.W.H.E.R.E., always intended for his home-grown Kryptonian clone to be a savage, unstoppable force of nature — and that it took a serious beating from one of the nastiest psychos Superboy’s met yet to bring that out of him. Well, in ‘The Culling,’ he’s put Superboy, the Titans, and the Legion Lost up against a veritable army of bloodthirsty killers — and there aren’t many more frightening than SUPERBOY #9 cover star Warblade. The man’s basically made of knives! And Superboy’s got to square off with him in a pit of molten lava. Suddenly, my job sounds cushy by comparison, paper cuts or no.

And speaking of guys with tough jobs... Allow me a moment to sing the praises of our amazing SUPERBOY artist, R.B. Silva. There are a lot of spectacular sights to see in ‘The Culling,’ but R.B.’s never been one to get lost in the shuffle. With over thirty unique characters to reckon with, a variety of awe-inspiring settings, and twenty pages of wall-to-wall action to visualize, R.B.’s stepped up and done some of his best-ever work. I get all dreamy-eyed just thinking about it. You will, too!”

(Cover and interior art by R.B. Silva for SUPERBOY #9)