Much of the comic book news circuit over the past few months has been dominated by Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel and joining DC. It was revealed this week that he’ll be taking over both Superman and Action Comics.
While that is certainly worthy of the noise it generated, let’s not forget about the writers that allowed for Bendis to commandeer two healthy and successful comic books. Writers Peter J. Tomasi and Dan Jurgens combined for 74 issues, along with guest spots by Patrick Gleason, Michael Moreci, and James Bonny.
When making the monumental shift from New 52 to DC Rebirth, Superman was at the heart of everything. Clark Kent of the New 52 was dead, Rebirth brought the original Clark into the main continuity. Superman, along with the readers, started out this new era for the publisher trying to figure out how he fit into it. It was no simple task.
The creative teams of Superman and Action Comics took a pretty outrageous concept and made it work. They roughed out all the conceptual edges and made us slowly forget how weird it is that this Superman isn’t from the same universe (kind of).
Exceptionally fun classic comic book stories like “Multiplicity” and “Men of Steel” lead to the ultimate “Superman Reborn.” This arc finalized the joining of two worlds and smoothed out some of the rough patches of continuity.
Clark wasn’t the only Kent to make it over either. We were also reintroduced to the original Lois. She had her own magnificent journey trying to find her way in a universe that already had a Lois Lane.
The biggest evolution for the Superman brand with Rebirth is Jon Kent. Clark and Lois’ adorable son whose discovering his Kryptonian abilities. Jon has been one of the brightest shining stars of Rebirth between Superman, Super Sons, and occasionally Teen Titans.
These creators took the opportunity that Rebirth provided and returned Superman to his former glory. Superman comics are fun again. They’re full of heart, adventure, and mystery.
They took a character that was floundering, made their bold adjustments, and made him matter again. Superman is proudly among the top of the DC kingdom again.
Now the torch gets passed to Brian Michael Bendis. He’s getting handed a bright and beautiful Superman landscape. It’s a healthy and inspiring atmosphere with plenty of life and momentum. He’s got more than capable hands but it’s also nice to know he’s getting the character during a time when Superman stories matter.
As we enter a whole new era of Superman once again, let us not forget how we got here. It wasn’t too long ago that reading Clark’s adventures was a chore.
This is a thank you to Dan Jurgens, Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Jorge Jimenez, Doug Mahnke, Jamie Mendoza, Mick Gray, Ivan Reis, Ed Benes, Sebastian Fiumara, Scott Godlewski, Tyler Kirkham, Travis Moore, Barry Kitson, James Bonny, Michael Moreci, Patrick Zircher, Stephen Segovia, Patrick Zircher, Ian Churchill, Jackson Herbert, Viktor Bogdanovic, Guillem March, Ryan Sook, Steve Pugh, Brett Booth, Will Conrad, and all the wonderful colorists, inkers, and letterers that make up this fantastic era of comic books for our beloved Man of Steel.
