Brian Michael Bendis Will Write Superman and Action Comics After Action Comics #1000

It looks like Brian Michael Bendis' contributions to Superman won't be ending with Action Comics #1000. After this short story, Bendis will write a six-issue Man of Steel mini-series, which will set the proceedings for his runs on Superman and Action Comics. That's right, Bendis will be writing both of Superman's monthly titles, with Superman getting a brand new #1, while Action picks up with #1001.

Bendis told Forbes that Man of Steel will set the new status quo for the character by introducing a "huge new blockbuster villain," who will be tied to Superman's origins somehow. The mini-series will be a weekly title with a different artist per issue. The artists for the mini-series are Ivan Reis, Kevin Maguire, Doc Shaner, Ryan Sook, Adam Hughes, and Jason Fabok. That's one hell of a lineup.

(DC Comics/Ivan Reis/Joe Prado)

What's a bit odd is that Bendis confirmed Superman will be the action-packed superhero book, while Action Comics will tell more personal stories of Clark Kent in Metropolis. Considering how one of those books is literally called Action Comics, it's easy to assume that the premises of both books should be reversed.

Despite promising a huge status quo shake-up, Bendis did say that the work of Dan Jurgens, Peter Tomasi, and Patrick Gleason won't be done away with:

"For those who are worried, they should not be. The last runs on Superman by Dan Jurgens and Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason have been phenomenal runs, and my run will be following their runs. We're not throwing anything out, we're not abandoning anything, we're following what's been going on and taking it to surprising new areas."

This isn't the first time a Man of Steel mini-series set the status quo for the character's future. Comic book legend John Byrne launched a six-issue mini-series also called Man of Steel back in 1986, literally retelling the character's origins and introducing fans to modern versions of Lex Luthor, The Kents, and Bizarro. After this, Byrne took over Superman and Action Comics.

Man of Steel #1 will debut on May 30, with a prelude chapter drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez debuting on the DC Nation #0 sampler, which comes out on May 2. Superman #1 comes out on July 11, while Action Comics #1001 is released in July 25.

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