Announced today via Forbes comes the news of sweeping changes for the Man of Steel. In November, the world learned that superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis would be leaving his rather lengthy tenure with Iron Man but, as a whole, Marvel Comics. Speculation has abounded about which titles Bendis would take over. Would it be SHAZAM? Justice Society Of America? Even as late as this week, Bendis was teasing about Batman and the potential to tell the story of a lost crossover between Daredevil and Batman. But now we learn, via the article, that Bendis is taking over the Superman family of titles.
I suppose, in hindsight, it is obvious. I mean, the clues were all there. His first project is a twelve-page backup story in the upcoming landmark thousandth issue of Action Comics. But it’s not “just a back-up” In fact, Bendis commented on its’ importance when he says;
“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.”
Right after that April 18th launch of Action 1000, it has been revealed, Brian M. Bendis will be putting out a six issue mini-series entitled ‘Man of Steel’. Man of Steel #1 will hit comic book shelves at the end of May. D.C. Comics has paired some of their top tier artist talent with Bendis for the mini-series. The arc contained therein will be picking up on some of the elements and “bombs” that were dropped in the pages of Action Comics #1000.
After the mini-series concludes, Bendis will then be taking over writing duties on both Superman and Action Comics. ‘Superman’ will relaunch with a brand new first issue on July 11th whereas Action Comics will pick up on July 25th with issue #1001.
The changes are massive, Bendis says;
“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.”
And goes on to say later; “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.”
Between the end of the Man of Steel mini-series and the relaunch of the Bendis era on Supes, will come a special one shot issue called DC Nation #0. It will be released on May 2nd to be precise. It will also feature the work of artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and it will further set up the events that will take place in the upcoming Superman titles.
The other excited part of this new reveal comes the revelation that D.C. Comics will also publish his (c0)creator-owned work under the ‘Jinxworld’ banner. “They’re going to take my entire library — and by mine I mean the stuff I own with my co-creators and collaborators — from Powers to Jinx, and to Scarlet and others, and we’ll be releasing it all digitally and in print through Jinxworld, through DC Comics.”
But the news doesn’t stop there. Bendis further reveals he will be overseeing and curator a new imprint for D.C. Comics: “separate from Jinxworld, is that I will be hosting and curating an imprint, a custom imprint not unlike what Gerard Way is doing with [DC imprint] Young Animal. It’s going to be a select series of special comics, and we’ll debut what those are later in the year. I’ll be writing some of those and curating the others, but they’ll all be under this imprint and add a very special flavor to the DC Universe.”
Wow! Lots of news and reveals and tons of exciting new things on the horizon for D.C. Comics, Superman fans and for Bendis himself.
Heavy emphasis has been on Batman for decades. Are you erasing Jon and Convergence and this recent Earth?