‘Action Comics’ #1000 10 Variant Covers Revealed

In addition to a story by Brian Michael Bendis, the return of Superman’s red trunks, and a story by DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and Superman: The Movie driector Richard Donner, Action Comics #1000 will feature a total of ten covers, including one by legendary Marvel Comics creator Jim Steranko.

Besides the primary cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams — seen earlier this week with the announcement that Superman’s shorts were coming back — and a blank sketch cover variant, Action Comics #1000 will feature 8 variants meant to embody the spirit of a decade of Superman storytelling.

Most of the covers are not by artists who were active in the period, but rather artists whose work feels inspired by the period, with Steve Rude tackling the Superman of the 1930s, Frank Cho covering the Superman of the ’40s, and Watchmen‘s Dave Gibbons hitting the ’50s. As the eras begin to be closer to today, though, there is more consistency.

Madman creator Michael Allred, who recently did a lot of work on Batman ’66 for DC (and is thus as suited for the ’60s as Rude is for the Golden Age) provides that cover, while Steranko tackles the ’70s. Steranko has only done a small number of DC stories over the years (yes, including one Superman tale), and as far as we can tell, his only previous DC cover was a variant for Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1.

Joshua Middleton represents the ’80s, which is a big puzzling considering that Middleton began his career in 2000 and there are plenty of artists from the ’80s still active….but it’s something fans are likely to overlook considering the popularity of Middleton’s work on Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder.

Dan Jurgens, the current writer on Action Comics and arguably the definitive Superman artist of the ’90s, will tackle the ’90s cover (a task he was given when Superman Unchained launched a few years ago). Meanwhile, Lee Bermejo, who recently did an exclusive Justice League theatrical poster, will draw one inspired by the 2000s.

You can check out the official solicitation text for the issue below.

ACTION COMICS #1000
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
Stories and art by an all-star lineup of top talent
Retailers: This issue will ship with ten covers. Please see the order form for details.
Celebrate 1000 issues of Action Comics with an all-star lineup of top talent as they pay tribute to the comic that started it all! From today’s explosive action to a previously unpublished tale illustrated by the legendary Curt Swan to the Man of Tomorrow’s future—this very special, oversized issue presents the best of the best in Superman stories!

FEATURING ALL-NEW ART AND STORIES BY:
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
JOHN CASSADAY
OLIVIER COIPEL
PAUL DINI
JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ
PATRICK GLEASON
BUTCH GUICE
GEOFF JOHNS
DAN JURGENS
TOM KING
JIM LEE
CLAY MANN
BRAD MELTZER
JERRY ORDWAY
TIM SALE
LOUISE SIMONSON
SCOTT SNYDER
CURT SWAN
PETER J. TOMASI
MARV WOLFMAN
…AND MORE!

DECADES-SPANNING OPEN-TO-ORDER VARIANT COVERS BY:
• STEVE RUDE (1930s)
• MICHAEL CHO (1940s)
• DAVE GIBBONS (1950s)
• MICHAEL ALLRED (1960s)
• JIM STERANKO (1970s)
• JOSHUA MIDDLETON (1980s)
• DAN JURGENS (1990s)
• LEE BERMEJO (2000s)
…PLUS A BLANK VARIANT COVER!

PRESTIGE FORMAT • NO ADS • On sale APRIL 18 • 80 pg, FC, $7.99 US • RATED T