John Romita, Jr. Talks Reuniting With Brian Michael Bendis For Superman Stories

Before Brian Michael Bendis came to DC, his time at Marvel was marked by notable working [...]

By Russ Burlingame - November 26, 2019 06:02 pm EST

Before Brian Michael Bendis came to DC, his time at Marvel was marked by notable working relationships with some of the finest artists in American comics. Among them was John Romita, Jr., who worked with Bendis on Avengers and Avengers vs. X-Men, and who reunites with the writer this week on Action Comics. For his part, Romita is no stranger to drawing Superman; he handled a run on Action with writer Geoff Johns, and has a new Superman hardcover in stores tomorrow. But working with Bendis was something he was excited for, and getting to do it on Superman has proven itself to be a rewarding experience for Romita.

Romita, who is out this week promoting his new Superman: Year One hardcover with legendary Batman artist Frank Miller, said that it wasn't working on Superman again that got him interested in working with Bendis. Instead, he reminded us, he has always been keen to rekindle that relationship, and this time around it just worked out.

"I salivated at the chance to work with Bendis," Romita told ComicBook.com. "Because when I heard he was coming over, I dropped a very, very, very innocent innocuous hint: 'I want to work with Bendis,' I wrote. Honestly, when I heard Brian was coming over, I said, 'If there's a chance that Brian and I could do something together, let's make it happen.' And fortunately, there was a moment. And now, here I am, working on Action with him, and he's a pleasure to work with, and he's a genius too. I get lucky with writers. And then I got a chance to work with Klaus. I don't think there's anybody that's better than Klaus on me right now. I'm just so happy with the way the work looks. He's brilliant. He's a brilliant artist, just like Danny Miki is a brilliant artist. And Brad Anderson, the color artist. Honestly, I'm lucky to have three artists on a project, and also myself, so this is a great combination on Action. I'm very happy."

You can check out the official promotional text for the issues, as well as some images from the upcoming story arc, below.

The team-up of Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson, Brad Anderson and Dave Sharpe begins tomorrow in Action Comics #1017! It's one of the biggest creator reunions in years, as Bendis and Romita Jr. join forces for the first time since their blockbuster turns on Avengers and Avengers Vs. X-Men. And one of the biggest Superman stories of all time continues in this first look at "Metropolis Doom" part two in next month's Action Comics #1018, guest-starring the Justice League, Young Justice, and more!

War and chaos strikes the heart of Metropolis as the Invisible Mafia, Lex Luthor, and the Legion of Doom all stand their ground to take over Metropolis. And, to kick off 2020 in Action Comics #1019 and #1020, Lex Luthor, the Legion of Doom, and Leviathan come to Metropolis after the Man of Steel discloses his secret identity to the public. Will Apex Lex turn to Batman for help…or to The Joker?