DC’s Superman Comic Gets A #1 Relaunch With Brian Bendis Writing

Last November, longtime Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis shocked comic book fandom by leaving the company to write for DC. Months later, his role at the new company has been revealed: he’ll be leading the way on a weekly miniseries, which is a lead-in to a brand new Superman book.

Bendis makes his debut in April with Jim Lee in Action Comics #1000, but in the following month, he will be helming Man of Steel, a six-issue weekly miniseries. The comic, which features six interconnected covers by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado–seen below–is a retelling of Krypton’s final days as well as Kal-El’s journey to becoming Superman. In addition, a new villain will be introduced to the DCU and a secret about Krypton’s destruction will be revealed. Joining Bendis for this miniseries are artists Ivan Reis, Evan “Doc” Shaner, Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, and Jason Fabok.

Covers 1-4 for Man of Steel. Courtesy of DC Comics

Following Man of Steel, Bendis will be writing Superman #1, which debuts on July 11. Ivan Reis will be supplying the art for the book. In addition, Bendis will join artist Patrick Gleason when he takes over for Action Comics, starting with issue #1001 on July 25.

In addition to Superman, Bendis’ noir crime titles, including Jinx, Powers, Scarlet, and more will find a new home at DC. Some of his Jinxworld series like Brilliant, Total Sellout, and Fire, Fortune, & Glory will be available in the digital format this spring. DC revealed that there will be new stories from the Powers, Scarlet, and The United States of Murder INC series throughout 2018.

Brian Michael Bendis is best known for his long comic runs at Marvel, which primarily includes Ultimate Spider-Man, which kickstarted the Ultimate Comics line at the publisher. He and artist Sara Pichelli are credited for the creation of the second Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales. Bendis’ work has also made it to the small screen, with Powers, a show about a former superhero turned police officer that ran for two seasons on the PlayStation Network.