(W) Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Mariko Tamaki (A) Clayton Henry, Michael Shelfer, Skylar Patridge, Jon Bogdanove In Shops: Nov 13, 2024 SRP: $5.99
Join the celebration as the original superhero series reaches its 1075th issue–packed with just as much Superman action as always nearly a century later! An all-star cast of talent and characters helps ring in this milestone, starting with the continuation of “Phantoms” by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry! Kal-El has traveled back in time to witness the birth of the Phantom Zone, crafted by his own father, Jor-El. Can father and son reconcile without destroying the time stream? And will the Man of Steel acquire what he needs to defeat Aethyr before his homeworld’s fate is sealed? Then, in a special Election Day story, Perry White’s mayoral ambitions come to a head…and the future of Metropolis will be forged anew with the outcome! Plus, Supergirl discovers there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the being she’s sworn to protect.
The Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1
(W) Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Kesel (A) Travis Moore, Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Jon Bogdanove, Butch Guice, Tom Grummett, and Doug Hazlewood In Shops: Oct 31, 2023 SRP: $9.99
ORIGINAL CREATIVE TEAMS RETURN FOR NEW STORIES STARRING SUPERBOY, STEEL, THE ERADICATOR AND CYBORG SUPERMAN! Superman returns! After the tragic events of more than 30 years ago, when Superman met his end at the hands of Doomsday, Metropolis mourned the loss of their greatest hero and soon turned their attention to the search for his successor. Four Supermen rose to the challenge: Superboy, Steel, Eradicator, and Cyborg Superman. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses, they fought in honor of the original Man of Steel. Little did they know, his return was just around the corner! To celebrate the Reign of the Supermen and Return of Superman, DC has brought back the original creative teams for new stories set in the wake of Superman’s death. It all begins with new Daily Planet editor-in-chief Lois Lane discovering Perry White’s journals from the time and the secrets he kept as he searched for who could be the next Superman. What could this discovery mean for our present? Find out in this special that’s sure to be a classic in the future!
The Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1
(W) Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Kesel (A) Travis Moore, Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Jon Bogdanove, Butch Guice, Tom Grummett, and Doug Hazlewood In Shops: Oct 31, 2023 SRP: $9.99
ORIGINAL CREATIVE TEAMS RETURN FOR NEW STORIES STARRING SUPERBOY, STEEL, THE ERADICATOR AND CYBORG SUPERMAN! Superman returns! After the tragic events of more than 30 years ago, when Superman met his end at the hands of Doomsday, Metropolis mourned the loss of their greatest hero and soon turned their attention to the search for his successor. Four Supermen rose to the challenge: Superboy, Steel, Eradicator, and Cyborg Superman. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses, they fought in honor of the original Man of Steel. Little did they know, his return was just around the corner! To celebrate the Reign of the Supermen and Return of Superman, DC has brought back the original creative teams for new stories set in the wake of Superman’s death. It all begins with new Daily Planet editor-in-chief Lois Lane discovering Perry White’s journals from the time and the secrets he kept as he searched for who could be the next Superman. What could this discovery mean for our present? Find out in this special that’s sure to be a classic in the future!
John Henry Irons – the DC super hero known as Steel – is in the spotlight, getting his own series with the“Dawn of DC” initiative, and the “Steel: Engineer of Tomorrow” story arc currently in Action Comics. On June 6, just in time for the characters 30th anniversary (first appearance: Adventures of Superman #500), Actor and science fiction icon Michael Dorn, picks up the reins in his comic book writing debut in Steelworks, a six-issue limited series. It features art by Sami Basri and color by Andrew Dalhouse. Dorn is no stranger to Steel, Metropolis or Superman, having voiced the character in the fan favorite Superman: The Animated Series.
The Metropolis of the future is here today, but can it survive a terrorist who’s out for revenge against its builder—John Henry Irons, a.k.a. Steel—and his company, Steelworks…and who possesses secrets that could undo everything John has worked so hard to build?
While John’s professional life is firing on all cylinders, his personal life is even better, as his on-again, off-again relationship with Lana Lang might be back on, permanently. Now he must decide whether it’s time to give up being Steel once and for all. But does John even know who he would be without his superhero identity? How does the other Steel—John’s niece, Natasha Irons—feel about his momentous decision? And does any of that matter if Steelworks crumbles around him when he lacks the superpowers to fight back?
Steelworks #1 features a main cover by Clay Mann, with variant covers by renowned Steel and Superman artist Jon Bogdanove, series artist Basri, Ariel Colón, and Héléne Lenoble, plus a PRIDE month variant cover by Joshua “Sway” Swaby.
Check out some art from the debut issue below as well as the cover to Steel: A Celebration of 30 Years!
Baltimore Comic-Con will return to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 8-10, 2023. The convention has started to reveal its 2023 guests, starting with comic creators Jon and Judy Bogdanove, Steve Conley, Greg Hildebrandt, Pop Mhan, John K. Snyder III, and John Workman. Tickets for the show are now on sale.
As one of the chief architects of the record-breaking epic The Death of Superman, Jon Bogdanove is best known for his long run as penciler and occasional writer on DC’s Superman: The Man of Steel (most issues between #1-#85) where his dynamic work brought to life many landmark Superman stories, including some of the best-selling comics of all time. He also co-created Steel with Louise Simonson.
At Marvel, Bogdanove penciled — and later wrote — Simonson’s Power Pack and drew Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men by Chris Claremont. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, a few of Jon’s other comics projects include X-Factor, X-Terminators, Superman vs. Savage Dragon 2, Superman vs. Aliens 2, and issues of Batman, The Hulk, Alpha Flight, Solomon Kane, and an upcoming science fiction series from Storm King, Terraformed.
In 2021, Jon drew animation keys and cycles for a special sequence in the episode of Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go, “Creative Geniuses”. In 2022, he reunited with Louise Simonson to draw a brand new Steel origin prequel story for DC’s The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special.
Judy Bogdanove aka Judith Kurzer, has worn many hats (she’s a Sagittarius) – singer, actor, composer, lyricist, teacher, editor, writer…wife to Jon and mom to Kal-El. In the world of comic books, she wrote for DC (Steel Annual #1) and for Marvel, stories in The New Mutants Annuals #5 and #7, and Power Pack #54, and was also editor of the Letters Column of Power Pack, during which time she had the pleasant task of awarding the coveted “No Prize.” She also wrote content for 8 DuckTales stories in Disney’s Weborama Audio.
As Judith Kurzer, she performed with the New School Opera Workshop, the St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral Choir, and with companies that presented opera excerpts for children in the New York City School System. She sang the roles of Katisha in The Mikado and Meg in Damn Yankees for Maine Community Theatre productions.
Her music includes composing the score for Petunia’s Perils, an off-off Broadway show, new lyrics for the World Premiere of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha: the Concert Version, and scores and lyrics for three shows with the Moving Target Theatre Company: I Suppose You’re All Wondering, Till Death Does Her Part, and So: A Guy Walks Into a Bar.
Long-time friend of the show, Ringo, Harvey, and Eisner Award nominee, and guest since our inception in 2000 (!), artist and writer Steve Conley has contributed to numerous comic titles, both printed and on-line. His Astounding Space Thrills was self-published, published by Image Comics, and collected as a trade paperback by IDW. He has been featured in titles such as JLA-Z from DC Comics, Star Trek: Year Four from IDW, and Michael Chabon’s Amazing Adventures of the Escapist from Dark Horse Comics. His self-published Bloop is available through his online store in print or soft copy editions, and you can find his Ringo and Eisner Award-nominated webcomic The Middle Age on his website, tapas.io, Line Webtoon, and GoComics, and hard copies and digital collections can be purchased from his online store.
The sons of a Chevrolet division chief, Greg Hildebrandt and his identical twin brother, Tim, were born in Detroit, Michigan in 1939. Both boys were avid artists and creative thinkers from a young age and carried their artistic passion with them throughout their childhoods.
After attending the Meinzinger Art School at age 18, Greg and Tim worked for the Jam Handy Organization and Industrial Film Production Corporation. They worked on animated training films for the auto industry, the military and major US corporations. In 1963, they moved from Detroit to New York City to work for Arch Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. He hired them to create art for his weekly TV show, Life is Worth Living, and to produce films on world hunger.
Eventually their focus moved on to commercial illustration, and in 1975, Greg and Tim illustrated the first of a series of Lord of the Rings calendars for Ballantine Books. This series of paintings launched the two men into international fame, with over a million calendars sold, and the name The Brothers Hildebrandt(R) was born! In 1977, Lucas Films hired the Brothers Hildebrandt to create the movie poster for the first Star Wars film, Star Wars: A New Hope. They only had 36 hours to create and paint the art. The movie was about to break in the theaters. They completed it on time. Lucas was very happy and another worldwide fandom was created.
In 2015, Greg had the opportunity to return to Star Wars after 20 years for Marvel Comics. He painted three new pieces for them for Star Wars compendium covers. He also painted Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Secret Wars, Captain America vs. Hitler, Black Panther, Thor, Thanos, The Inhumans, Conan and Old Man Logan comic covers for them.
In 2015, Greg started a new series titled “The Dark Side”. In this series, he painted his favorite villains in extremely large paintings, focusing mostly on giant head shots. The first three in the series are The Joker, Harley Quinn, and Batman.
In 2018, Greg began a new series titled “What If”. What if he wasn’t a kid in the 40’s and 50’s? What if he was an artist hired to paint the movie posters for the films he has loved since his first movie at age 5? So, he started with Creature from the Black Lagoon. The second painting he completed in this series is a painting for King Kong, 86 inches tall! This one is a killer piece of art. Then, Greg decided to repaint the 1977 Star Wars poster. In 1977, he painted it in 36 hours with his brother Tim. This time, he painted it in 36 hours alone.
Recently, Greg was honored by the Air Force at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They requested a license to put one of Greg’s pinup paintings titled, “Keep em Flying”, on the nose of a transport plane. Greg, of course, said yes. This is a dream come true for him.
Pop Mhan was lucky enough to get his jump into the comics industry under the tutelage of Jim Lee at Wildstorm Productions. Since those early days, his art has graced the pages of comics from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Top Cow, Dark Horse Comics, and Tokyopop. His recent work can be seen at DC Comics, where he has been penciling licensed properties like Gears of War 3 and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Marvel Comics on All-New X-Factor and variant covers for Amazing Spider-Man.
John K. Snyder III is an Eisner-nominated illustrator and writer of comic books and graphic novels. Creator of the independent comic series Fashion In Action, and adapter/illustrator of the graphic novel adaptation of Grand Master mystery writer Lawrence Block’s classic novel Eight Million Ways to Die published by IDW, he has worked for nearly every major publisher including DC, Dark Horse, Marvel, IDW, and many others. Snyder worked on Suicide Squad during its classic 1980’s run with writers John Ostrander and Kim Yale, and provided covers for the 2007 Suicide Squad mini-series. Along with Matt Wagner, Snyder co-created the Pieter Cross version of Doctor Mid-Nite for DC and Lady Zorro for Dynamite. Snyder also worked with Wagner on the epic Grendel: God and the Devil storyline. John’s recent work includes work for The Doors’ graphic novel anthology, Morrison Hotel written by Leah Moore and published by Z2 Comics, and a return to Suicide Squad with new covers for DC Comics to coincide with the release of the Warner Brothers movie. John’s future work includes all-new Fashion In Action adventures to be published by Clover Press. John encourages all artists and writers, young and old, to actively pursue their own creator-owned aspirations.
John Workman managed to turn a love for the comics form into a career. During the past five decades, he has held the position of editor, writer, art director, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, production director, and book designer for various companies. He created (with some help from Bhob Stewart and Bob Smith) the offbeat stories in Wild Things (with much of that material having first appeared in Star*Reach and Heavy Metal) and both wrote and drew the comics series Sindy, Fallen Angels, and Roma. In 1991, he reflected on model Bettie Page in Betty Being Bad (Eros), and later produced the hardbounds Heavy Metal: 25 Years of Classic Covers and Innocent Images: The Sexy Fantasy Females of Viper and Kiss, as well as The Adventures of Roma, a reformatted graphic novel version of his earlier series. He continues to write and draw and to do a whole lot of lettering for a number of comics companies on an international level.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Jon Bogdanove (The Death of Superman), Judy Bogdanove (Steel Annual), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Amy Chu (KISS: The End), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Abby Denson (Uniquely Japan), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Barbara Friedlander (Swing with Scooter), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Gene Ha (Mae), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer), Matthew Loux (Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons), Adriana Melo (Action Comics), Pop Mhan (Gears of War 3), Ed Piskor (Red Room: Trigger Warnings), Joe Prado (Superman), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Jim Rugg (Hulk Grand Design), Andy Runton (Owly), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), and John Workman (Wild Things).
(W) Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway (A) Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Butch Guice, Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, more In Shops: Nov 08, 2022 SRP: $10.99
Written by DAN JURGENS, ROGER STERN, LOUISE SIMONSON, and JERRY ORDWAY. Art by DAN JURGENS, BRETT BREEDING, BUTCH GUICE, JON BOGDANOVE, TOM GRUMMETT, and more! 30 years ago, the unthinkable happened. The Man of Steel died. After sacrificing himself to stop the unstoppable global threat, Doomsday, Metropolis and the rest of the DC Universe mourned the loss of their greatest hero. To mark this monumental moment in comics, DC has reunited the complete creative team behind the original event for four brand-new stories. Led by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, the special kicks off with a new Superman story and villain…DOOMBREAKER! Followed by a series of short stories revisiting some of Superman’s greatest allies and exclusive pinups done by some of comics’ greatest artistic talent including LEE WEEKS, GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, and WALTER SIMONSON. • “The Life of Superman” by Dan Jurgens (W & A), Brett Breeding (A), Brad Anderson (C), and John Workman (L) – A young Jon Kent finds out in school that his dad had died years earlier, as his parents never told him about that fateful day. In the midst of dealing with this emotional news, Jon and Clark need to team up to fight a new villain connected to Doomsday called DOOMBREAKER. • “Standing Guard” by Roger Stern (W), Butch Guice (A), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – The epic battle between Superman and Doomsday from the Guardians’ perspective. • “Time” by Louise Simonson (W), Jon Bogdanove (A), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – The story of how the death of Superman looked from John Henry Irons’s perspective. • “Above and Beyond” by Jerry Ordway (W), Tom Grummett (P), Doug Hazelwood (I), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – A powerful story of Ma and Pa Kent watching their son fight Doomsday live on television and going through Clark’s photo albums with the feeling that their son always prevails.
(W) Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway (A) Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Butch Guice, Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, more In Shops: Nov 08, 2022 SRP: $10.99
Written by DAN JURGENS, ROGER STERN, LOUISE SIMONSON, and JERRY ORDWAY. Art by DAN JURGENS, BRETT BREEDING, BUTCH GUICE, JON BOGDANOVE, TOM GRUMMETT, and more! 30 years ago, the unthinkable happened. The Man of Steel died. After sacrificing himself to stop the unstoppable global threat, Doomsday, Metropolis and the rest of the DC Universe mourned the loss of their greatest hero. To mark this monumental moment in comics, DC has reunited the complete creative team behind the original event for four brand-new stories. Led by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, the special kicks off with a new Superman story and villain…DOOMBREAKER! Followed by a series of short stories revisiting some of Superman’s greatest allies and exclusive pinups done by some of comics’ greatest artistic talent including LEE WEEKS, GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, and WALTER SIMONSON. • “The Life of Superman” by Dan Jurgens (W & A), Brett Breeding (A), Brad Anderson (C), and John Workman (L) – A young Jon Kent finds out in school that his dad had died years earlier, as his parents never told him about that fateful day. In the midst of dealing with this emotional news, Jon and Clark need to team up to fight a new villain connected to Doomsday called DOOMBREAKER. • “Standing Guard” by Roger Stern (W), Butch Guice (A), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – The epic battle between Superman and Doomsday from the Guardians’ perspective. • “Time” by Louise Simonson (W), Jon Bogdanove (A), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – The story of how the death of Superman looked from John Henry Irons’s perspective. • “Above and Beyond” by Jerry Ordway (W), Tom Grummett (P), Doug Hazelwood (I), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – A powerful story of Ma and Pa Kent watching their son fight Doomsday live on television and going through Clark’s photo albums with the feeling that their son always prevails.
30 years ago, Superman sacrificed himself to defeat Doomsday. To celebrate the special anniversary of this defining moment, DC has reunited the original creative teams of Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding; Roger Stern and ButchGuice; Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove; and Jerry Ordway and Tom Grummett for The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1. Available at comic shops on November 8, the comicfeatures four all-new stories that explore the lasting impact that Clark’s death had on his family and friends as well as nine pinups and variant covers by some of the top names in comics.
Each of the original creative teams from The Death of Superman has reunited to tell a story that shows how some of Superman’s biggest allies reacted during and after his fateful battle with Doomsday:
“The Life of Superman” by Dan Jurgens (W & A), Brett Breeding (A), Brad Anderson (C), and John Workman (L) – A young Jon Kent finds out in school that his dad had died years earlier, as his parents never told him about that fateful day. In the midst of dealing with this emotional news, Jon and Clark need to team up to fight a new villain connected to Doomsday called DOOMBREAKER.
“Standing Guard” by Roger Stern (W), Butch Guice (A), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – The epic battle between Superman and Doomsday from the Guardians’ perspective.
“Time” by Louise Simonson (W), Jon Bogdanove (A), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – The story of how the death of Superman looked from John Henry Irons’s perspective.
“Above and Beyond” by Jerry Ordway (W), Tom Grummett (P), Doug Hazelwood (I), Glenn Whitmore (C), and Rob Leigh (L) – A powerful story of Ma and Pa Kent watching their son fight Doomsday live on television and going through Clark’s photo albums with the feeling that their son always prevails.
Highlighting the milestone, The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary will feature variant covers by artists including Jim Lee and Scott Williams; Dan Mora; Ivan Reis and Danny Miki; Francesco Mattina; Dan Jurgens; and Brett Breeding. Fans can also order a premium polybag variant that features a black armband with The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary logo and the main cover inside.
DC had previously announced details of The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, which will include Superman: Day of Doom #1-4 for the first time ever and will be available at comic shops and local bookstores on December 6, 2022. DC will also be releasing Superman #75 Special Editionfeaturing the original story by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, which will be available at local comic shops on November 1.
The Batman/Catwoman series has been showing us the romance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle as it has changed over their lives, but what about their connections from BEFORE they became costumed adventurers? The upcoming Batman/Catwoman Special (on shelves Tuesday January 25) traces the life of Selina Kyle from its earliest days to her entry into the criminal underworld and reveals that Bruce was a presence in her life all along. Whether fate or coincidence, it’s even more of a reason why the Bat/Cat romance is one of the most enduring love affairs in all of comics.
Now expanded to celebrate the legacy of iconic artist John Paul Leon, whose untimely passing after a long battle with cancer shocked the comics world this past May, this special will feature the work Leon completed for the original story plus tributes to the renowned artist created in his name by some of his closest friends and admirers. Bernard Chang, Shawn Crystal, Mitch Gerads, and Dave Stewart will bring the original story to its conclusion, lettered by Clayton Cowles, while comics’ top artists gather to celebrate Leon’s creative legacy through pin-up pages and essays in the special, including Lee Bermejo, Denys Cowan, Joëlle Jones, Dave Gibbons, Walter Simonson, and more.
Batman/Catwoman Special #1 will publish on January 25, 2022 with a cover by John Paul Leon and variant covers by Lee Weeks and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Original Story “Interlude”
Tom King – Writer
John Paul Leon – Artist (p.1-13), Breakdowns (14-20) and Cover
Heritage Auctions and numerous comic artists are teaming up to raise money of the Ed Asner Memorial Fund. Bill Sienkiewicz is one of those creators who after getting involved, helped convince other artists to do the same.
Beloved for generations for roles that included gruff-but-lovable Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Santa Claus in Elf and Carl Fredericksen in Pixar’s Up, Ed Asner died Aug. 29, leaving a legacy as a giant among Hollywood stars and a champion for numerous special needs communities. Matthew Asner, the center’s president and CEO, and his wife, Navah Paskowitz-Asner, continue their tireless work of creating programs and services for those with special needs. Among the most important is raising funds to support the center, through events like Heritage Auctions’ Inktoberfest for the Ed Asner Family Center Charity Auction. Bidding for the event – Heritage’s third on behalf of The Ed Asner Family Center – opens Sept. 30 on HA.com; the event closes Oct. 28.
The event is one of the center’s primary annual fundraisers, thanks to generous contributions from some of the comic-book industry’s best and best-known artists.
The result is an extraordinary event, with roughly 140 lots of art donated by the artists who created them; the proceeds will go to support the programs and services offered at The Ed Asner Family Center. The list of artists who have contributed to the event reads like a Who’s Who of comic art, among them Sienkiewicz, Kevin Nowlan, Don Maitz, Jim Lee, Ibrahim Moustafa, Philip Tan, and Arthur Adams, to name but a few.
Without Ed’s involvement, this year’s event, of course, holds special significance to Matt and all involved with the Ed Asner Family Center.
Proceeds from the auction will go directly to the Ed Asner Memorial Fund for programs and services at The Ed Asner Family Center, “a one-stop shop for neurodivergent individuals and their families seeking wholeness in all attitudes of life.” The center “gives children and adults of all levels of ability a chance at dignity, confidence, and self-respect” through an assortment of arts and career advancement programs that are offered after school and on weekends, as well as counseling and mindfulness classes.
