Last fall DC announced it had gained one of the most prolific writers in the comics industry would be coming over to exclusively write for them: Brian Michael Bendis. It wasn’t announced which title he would be writing at the time, but Forbes has now revealed what Bendis’ project will be. He won’t be writing a team book much like he did with Avengers, but will instead be taking the reins on Superman and Action Comics.
“I’m very excited about this, it’s a very big deal,” Bendis told Forbes. “When I was first approached by DC, there was a lot of speculation about what I would do and what characters I’m interested in. But the one at the top of my list — and it surprised some people — but at the top of my list was Superman.”
Before taking on Superman’s two biggest titles, however, he will first write a short story in the oversized celebratory issue Action Comics #1000 with art from DC superstar and Co-Publisher Jim Lee.
“My first appearance in DC Comics will be Action Comics #1000,” Bendis said. “It was a lovely offer from DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio when we were discussing my plans and what I could or couldn’t do. He called me up the next day and he goes, ‘I don’t want to be greedy or rush you, but we happen to have this once in a lifetime Superman situation going on with Action Comics #1000.’ And I’m desperately in love with the DC anniversary editions, I’ve always been in love with them. Superman #400 for example is one of the best comics ever made, it’s such a celebration of art.”
His story in Action Comics #1000 won’t just be a one-off, however. “In that first story, it’s not just some random backup story or flight of fancy. It is a major chapter in what we’re doing, with some really big bombs we’re dropping in Superman’s life — and two of them happen right there in Action Comics #1000. So it’s a huge tease of what we’re doing and what’s coming up in Superman’s life.”
After the release of Action Comics #1000 on April 18, Bendis write a short Superman story in DC Nation #0 with art by the famed José Luis García-López that will lead into Man of Steel, a weekly 6-issue miniseries starting May 30 that will further lead into his Superman and Action Comics run. Published on a weekly basis, Man of Steel will have some of comics’ biggest artists illustrating the series: Ivan Reis, Evan “Doc” Shaner, Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes and Jason Fabok. DC released a first look at the original pencil art for four of the six covers for Man of Steel.
Bendis dove into what fans can expect from Man of Steel. “It’s six issues, and I’m writing all of them. They’re telling the giant new story that’s the status quo, what’s going to be going on with Superman and Metropolis and everything around him. Again, it’s following up on the big bombs we drop not only in Action Comics #1000, but following up all of those beats and digging in even deeper. The Man of Steel story will debut a huge new villain, a blockbuster villain who connects deeply to Superman’s origin story and to his birthright. We’re going to dig in very hard, this is one of my goals, to be as additive to Superman as possible. The characters we debut right away, including this new villain, will send ripples of horror across the entire Superman family and beyond!”
Once Man of Steel has completed, Bendis will take over writing duties on the Superman and Action Comics titles, which seems to be reverting back to a monthly schedule rather than shipping twice a month. Superman will actually relaunch with a new #1 issue on July 11 while Action Comics will continue its original numbering with issue #1001 on July 25. Superman will be an adventure-driven book while Action Comics will delve into Clark Kent’s daily life.
“The fallout of Man of Steel #6 is enormous,” Bendis continued. “It’s some of the biggest status quo changes to Superman literally since Crisis. So we’ll be launching Superman with a brand new #1, and that’s going to be very Superman-focused and big DC action stories. Action Comics will be launching with #1001, I’m very happy to say, and that will be focused more on Clark and Metropolis and the Daily Planet, and how the world of Superman effects the world of DC.”
“It’s pretty elaborate plotting and I’m excited about it,” Bendis said of writing both Superman and Action Comics. “It’s all new toys, all new characters — we’ll be introducing a lot of new characters, both heroes and villains. DC set up a situation where my partnership with them is so exciting, it inspires me to create as many new thing as possible. And Superman is long overdue for it.”
