DC has released a preview of Superman '78, including pages from the first issue and a number of covers from the first four issues of the series, which is set in the world of Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Set to premiere on August 24, Superman '78 follows the version of Superman played by Christopher Reeve, and does so in a way that resembles the recent Batman '89 comic featuring the Michael Keaton Batman in new adventures set in the weeks after Batman Returns. The series hails from Hawkman and Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters scribe Rob Venditti and Batman '66 veteran Wilfredo Torres.
Here's how DC describes it: Beginning this fall, decades after Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve's Superman: The Movie introduced generations of fans to a silver screen version of DC's Man of Steel, DC returns to this beloved property to tell new stories set within this world with the publication of Superman '78.
"There's no fictional character that I love more than Superman," Torres said in a statement released by DC. "and of all the many interpretations of the big guy in Comics, Animation, TV and Film, the Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner version is the one I love the most. Working on this project is very literally a childhood dream come true."
"My earliest memory interacting with the DC universe is seeing Christopher Reeve fly across the screen," added Venditti. "While others might say that the John Byrne era is their Superman, or the Dan Jurgens era is their Superman, Reeve is mine. Superman is and has always been my favorite superhero, but Superman '78 is a project I never dreamed of working on because it didn't seem possible it could ever exist. This is the gig of a lifetime."
In this first look preview, Superman '78 #1 begins with all the classic elements of Superman: The Movie on full display. Check it out, and then scroll through for more information about this new comic book series launching in print and digitally on August 24!
In Superman '78, bystanders are surprised and delighted by Superman's abilities, and Lois Lane doesn't (yet!) know that Clark Kent is secretly Superman. The sheer thrill of seeing a man fly, leap, or stop a bullet will be reflected in this environment where Superman has just been introduced! Inspired by Donner's classic, timeless style of superhero storytelling, in Superman '78 Venditti and Torres will remind fans that a man can truly fly.
Superman '78 #1 by Rob Venditti, Wilfredo Torres, Jordie Bellaire and Dave Lanphear arrives on August 24 with a cover by Torres, plus variant covers by Evan "Doc" Shaner (open to order) and Torres (1:25).
