Superman turns 80 with 1,000 issues of ‘Action Comics’
Acelebration 80 years in the making years kicks off this month with two historic Superman publications.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two young men from Cleveland, created one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world in the early 1930s. Superman, was unveiled to the world on April 18, 1938, in “Action Comics” No. 1.
The hard cover collection “Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman” is on sale now.
This collection will reprint the first appearances of the hero from Krypton, as well as Supergirl, Brainiac, the Fortress of Solitude and more. Also, a lost story from Superman’s creators will be seen for the first time: a previously unpublished story believed to be written by Jerry Siegel with art by the Joe Shuster studio will be released for the first time in this book.
Meanwhile, in “Action Comics” #1,000, on sale April 18, the Man of Steel welcomes his newest writer. Brian Michael Bendis, best-known for his work on titles like “Ultimate Spider-Man” and “New Avengers” at Marvel, will become the main Superman writer this spring. Bendis is joined by a host of creators for this anniversary issue, the first American comic book to reach 1,000 issues.
“The 1,000th 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 co-publisher Dan DiDio in a news release. “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.”
Marv Wolfman also is slated to script a story based on previously unpublished art by the late Curt Swan.
Other contributors to the issue include: Superman movie director Richard Donner and New York Times-best-selling writer Geoff Johns, in a story with art by Olivier Coipel; 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.
The red trunks of the superhero, streamlined away as part of the “New 52” reboot in 2011, will return in “Action Comics” #1,000. The main cover, by copublisher Jim Lee, showcases an updated version of the classic costume.
“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,” said Lee in a news release.
Bendis and Lee have collaborated on a 10-page story in the issue.
Variant covers celebrating each decade of Superman were made available for retailers to order. They include covers by Steve Rude, representing the 1930s; Michael Cho, the 1940s; Dave Gibbons, the 1950s; Michael Allred, the 1960s; Jim Steranko, the 1970s; Joshua Middleton, the 1980s; Dan Jurgens, the 1990s; and Lee Bermejo, the 2000s.
Bendis is set to take over writing the character in comics with a new “Man of Steel” miniseries beginning in May. July will see a new “Superman” #1 written by Bendis, as well as “Action Comics” #1,001.