Via press release sent out this morning, DC Comics has laid out their plans for “Action Comics” #1000, featuring some of the biggest names in comics, the debut of Brian Michael Bendis, some un-used Curt Swan art, and more. But first, let’s get the big news out of the way.
DEM UNDIES ARE BACK, BABY
For the first time since the Flash ran on the Cosmic Treadmill, undoing the events of “Flashpoint,” our boy Superman looks like himself again. The above image, the cover to “Action Comics” #1000, was drawn by DC co-publisher Jim Lee, who is also illustrating a ten-page story written by Bendis, his first DC story.
Other stories in the book come from the usual “Action” and “Superman” creative teams of Dan Jurgens, Peter Tomasi, and Patrick Gleason, as well as a slew of others, including:
– Richard Donner, Geoff Johns, and Olivier Coipel
– Paul Dini and José Luis García-López
– Tom King, Clay Mann, and Jordie Bellaire
– Brad Meltzer, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin
– Louise Simonson and Jerry Ordway
– Scott Snyder and Tim Sale
The press releases states that more teams will be announced. But the most intriguing story is one that features previously unpublished Curt Swan art, with a script by Marv Wolfman. While I’m not really one for picking up scraps of unused stories and letting them be published for profit, Swan is one of the all-time Superman creators, and it is cool to see DC trying to recognize a wide variety of eras in this book. Seeing Louise Simonson on a Super-book is something I’ve wanted for a long time, and folks like García-López, Ordway, Jurgens, and Johns all deserve a spot in this book for what they’ve done with the character. With some of the more contemporary creators, DC also recognizes folks like Tom King and Scott Snyder as the modern day equivalent of some of these talents.
With the tease of ‘more to come,’ there are a slew of creators that feel like they should have a home in this book including (but not limited to) Elliot S. Magin, Roger Stern, Grant Morrison, Frank Quietly, Kurt Busiek, John Byrne, J. Michael Straczynski, Tom Grummett, Ed McGuinness, Karl Kesel, Greg Pak, Rags Morales, Francis Manapul, Greg Rucka, Aaron Kuder, Mark Millar, James Robinson, Butch Guice, and Alex Ross. Even longshots like Mark Waid and Alan Moore really deserve a spot in the issue.
The Jurgens and Tomasi/Gleason stories will each be 15 pages long, and the length of the other stories has yet to be announced. Via Newsarama, the book will have 80 pages, cost $7.99, and feature a series of variant covers, themed to the various decades of Superman’s existence. The artists and decades are: Steve Rude (1930s), Michael Cho (1940s), Dave Gibbons (1950s), Michael Allred (1960s), Jim Steranko (1970s), Joshua Middleton (1980s) Dan Jurgens (1990s), and Lee Bermejo (2000s).
“Action” marks the first US superhero comic to reach four digits, even if there’s a little weird math required to get there (like adding the 52 issues of the New 52). Theoretically, it should have taken a little over 83 years for the book to hit #1000 publishing monthly, but the publication schedule has changed in the past, allowing it to hit #1000 in just 80 years. The book came out weekly for 10 months between 1988 and 1989 and is currently running twice monthly.
Almost seven years ago, DC released “Action Comics” #900, which celebrated Superman in a similar fashion, featuring stories by some of the same creators (Johns, Donner, Jurgens, Dini). That issue also wrapped up the storylines that were running through the Super books at the time (‘Reign of Doomsday,’ ‘The Black Ring’); it remains to be seen if this will also wrap up the stories in “Action” and “Superman” or not.
Read the full press release below, and be glad that our boy has been reunited with his trunks.
THE RED TRUNKS RETURN IN ACTION COMICS #1000
Landmark 1,000th Issue Features Jim Lee Cover Revealing New Costume
Brian Michael Bendis Debuts First Story for DC
Continued belowDC Veteran Writer Marv Wolfman to Script Story Based On Unpublished Art
by Golden and Silver Age Icon Curt Swan
All-Star Lineup of Contributors Includes Richard Donner, Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi, Pat Gleason, Dan Jurgens, Brad Meltzer, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, Tom King and Scott Snyder and More
(BURBANK, CA) – (January 19, 2018) – DC is going all-out to celebrate the one-thousandth issue of ACTION COMICS—the longest continually published comic book of its kind in history, the series that introduced Superman to the world and the title that launched the superhero genre. The Jim Lee-drawn cover features a new costume that integrates a variety of classic and new elements, including the Man of Steel’s trademark red trunks.
“ACTION COMICS #1000 represents a watershed moment in the history of not just comic books, but entertainment, literature and pop culture,” said Lee. “There’s no better way to celebrate Superman’s enduring popularity than to give him a look that combines some new accents with the most iconic feature of his classic design.”
Available at comics retailers and digitally on April 18, ACTION COMICS #1000 features the DC debut of acclaimed writer Brian Michael Bendis in a 10-page Superman story featuring art by DC publisher and celebrated artist Jim Lee. This milestone issue will also include two 15-page stories from two of DC’s current and most popular talent teams: SUPERMAN writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Pat Gleason, as well as ACTION COMICS writer and artist Dan Jurgens.
“The one-thousandth issue of ACTION COMICS is an incredible milestone in pop culture and a testament to the vision of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster,” said DC publisher Dan DiDio. “Without this book, along with Siegel and Shuster’s fertile imaginations and boundless creativity, the superhero’s place in literature may have been wildly different, if not altogether nonexistent.”
This must-have collector’s item comic book will also feature previously unpublished art from Curt Swan, whose dynamic, iconic style many consider the definitive look for the Man of Steel throughout comics’ Golden and Silver Ages. Acclaimed DC writer Marv Wolfman will script a story based on this never-before-seen content. In addition, the comic will include a collection of memorable bonus stories from some of the most celebrated names in comics and entertainment.
Contributors to this once-in-a-lifetime issue include legendary Superman movie director Richard Donner and New York Times best-selling writer Geoff Johns, with art by Olivier Coipel. Other contributing creative teams will include Paul Dini with José Luis García-López; Tom King with Clay Mann and Jordie Bellaire; Brad Meltzer with John Cassaday and Laura Martin; Louise Simonson with Jerry Ordway; Scott Snyder with Tim Sale and more to be announced.
This celebratory comic book is just the beginning; this milestone will be recognized across the DC superhero line for the month of April with a series of Superman-themed variant covers and even more to come. Check out the website at www.dccomics.com or the DC YouTube channel for the latest news regarding Krypton’s last son and his elevation to pop culture icon.
About DC Entertainment:
DC Entertainment, home to the iconic brands DC (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, the Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics in the world.
