Love him or hate him, you have to acknowledge that every superhero you admire today owes their existence to the Man of Steel – and it all started back in 1938 with the release of Action Comics #1. In those pages, we saw the debut of Superman, who soon went on to completely take over that title and headline an ongoing series of his own.
Originally created by Jerry Siegel and the Joe Shuster, Big Blue has since inspired fans in radio productions, animation, live action cinema and especially the realm of television, which is seemingly never bereft of Kal-El or his supporting characters for too long.
Not surprisingly, DC Comics intend on honoring his enduring legacy next year with the historic release of Action Comics #1000, the first comic book to organically reach that milestone. (Face it, Deadpool‘s tongue-in-cheek thousandth issue doesn’t count.) And as such, it obviously won’t be your average twenty-odd page release.
As it turns out, this anniversary issue will be written by Pete Tomasi and Dan Jurgens, and “will be published as a special, oversized edition featuring an all-star talent line-up writing back-up stories, including a story co-written by Geoff Johns and Superman film director, Richard Donner.”
Additionally, the publisher plans on putting out a hardcover book that looks to be an anthology of sorts. Here are the first details:
Join us for an 80th anniversary celebration of the single most important comic in American history: ACTION COMICS #1 and the birth of Superman. Revisit classic stories from over the decades featuring the debuts of Superman, Supergirl, Brainiac, the Fortress of Solitude, the Human Target and so much more. Read Superman stories by generations of top writers and artists and enjoy sparkling essays from literary wizards who’ve won Pulitzers and become bestsellers, including Jules Feiffer. Plus a historical essay by guest editor Paul Levitz, and all 1000 ACTION covers collected in a new poster. And as a bonus, an UNPUBLISHED 1940s Superman tale believed to be by Jerry Siegel and the Joe Shuster studio salvaged from the DC files fifty years ago and hidden away until now.
Action Comics #1000 is slated to arrive in comic shops in March of 2018. In the meantime, be sure to check out the first piece of promo art below.
