Now Superman Gets An Annual

DC Comics announced via its blog today that Superman Annual #1 will be released from the publisher on August 29, joining yesterday's announcement that Detective Comics would get an annual at the same time. Like Detective Comics, Superman will not be written and drawn by the regular monthly creative team. Keith Giffen, the co-writer on Superman, will write the book, but he apparently won't have co-writer and penciller Dan Jurgens with him. Recent rumors have suggested that Jurgens and Giffen may be leaving the Superman title in September, replaced by writer Scott Lobdell, although not only is that unconfirmed but even the rumor doesn't yet have an art team attached. There's no announcement yet on the art team for the issue, but the cover was drawn by Mystery in Space's Tyler Kirkham and Batt. "Ever wonder what's out there beyond the farthest known reaches of the DC Universe?" Giffen teased. "Superman's about to get the answer to that - in spades - as we introduce an entirely new cosmic realm and drop him into the middle of it. The DC Universe's cosmic presence is about to be dramatically expanded and it all starts with ... a game show?" Sounds a bit like Silver Age Superman stories with a touch of Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis' Justice League International sprinkled in for good measure, none of which is an entirely bad thing, although Jurgens' sharp pencils will be missed. Giffen on cosmic, though, is a thing to behold. Along with Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, it was his work on Annihilation which brought Marvel's cosmic presence to the next level in the last decade.