DC Universe Executive Editor Dan Didio revealed on Wednesday that Geoff Johns and Gary Frank will leave Action Comics to bring us a six-issue miniseries re-telling how Clark Kent became Superman. Since the Infinite Crisis, hints have been dropped about subtle alterations to the history of the Man of Steel.

After reading Geoff Johns retooled secret origin of Hal Jordan in the issues leading into the Blackest Night event he has planned, I eagerly await what he has planned for Kal-el and his supporting casts in Smallville and Metropolis. Will we see Chloe? I kinda hope not. In Green Lantern, Johns took a well known origin and history and managed to add many elements, make it fresh and modern yet didn’t destroy anything that came before. It takes an amazing talent to make something old new again without pissing off the diehard oldschool fanbase - but he did it with style. I can’t wait to see what this team will do to the big blue boy scout.

Here are some excerpts from a Newsarama follow up interview with Geoff Johns about the early 2009 project.

Superman: Secret Origin will feature new looks at the origin of not only Superman, but some of his greatest allies, enemies and supporting cast and it will tie into everything Gary and I have done so far on Action Comics as well as setting the stage for the future.

It goes from Clark’s teenage years, through his first adventure with the Legion of Super-Heroes and into his arrival and introduction to Metropolis as Superman. We’ve included the first four covers with the interview and you can see a pretty big part of Clark Kent’s history is being reintroduced as well - namely, Superboy. But with a bit of a twist.

This isn’t Smallville or Superman: The Movie or Superman: The Silver Age, this is Superman: Secret Origin by me and Gary. It’s a different look at the beginnings of the characters and mythos of Superman that will set the stage for the monthly Superman comics. And this does not signify the end of my involvement with the Superman Family.

Hmmmm. Perhaps Adventure Comics will be their new canvas?

With the single exception of his death at Doomsday’s hands, followed by the emergence of Kon-el, the Eradicator, Steel and the Cyborg Superman, I hadn’t really cared about Superman or his stories since the John Bryne revamp in the 80’s.

Geoff Johns’ words combined with Gary Frank’s images have gotten me so interested in Superman again that it’s one of my most eagerly anticipated purchases. I can’t wait to read this and see what they have in mind to follow it!

Newsarama talked to DC Universe Executive Editor Dan DiDio to ask a number of reader questions about what’s been happening in the Superman titles and more. Some highlights…

The new stars of Action will be the new team of Nightwing and Flamebird. Flamebird is a character we’ve seen, but this is the first time we’re seeing her in costume. Nightwing is a character that we’ve known in the DCU for a little while, but he’s new to the Nightwing costume as well

(if it’s not Conner somehow back or cloned than the DC execs are cruel indeed - but I suspect a reintroduction of Superman’s look-alike second cousin Van-Zee).

A new series called Superman: New Krypton is coming from the creative team of writer, Andrew Kreisberg and artist, Pete Woods.

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank will be doing Superman: Secret Origin, the “definitive origin of Superman,” incorporating past and present changes that “we’ve seen or suggested since Infinite Crisis”.

Plus titbits about Batman, All Star Wonder Woman, Owl-Man and the Outsiders, Trinity and Final Crisis and Adventure Comics #1.

via Newsarama

Following closely on the stirring events of SUPERGIRL #35, “New Krypton” part 6 sees the unrest between the Kryptonians and humankind rapidly spin out of control. Superman knows it’s only a matter of time before widespread violence breaks out between the two cultures. But deep in the heart of the U.S. military, a deadly new Squad K is being organized. Its mission: clean up the “Kryptonian problem” before it gets out of hand!

KINGDOM COME co-creator Alex Ross revisits the Superman of Earth-22 in the upcoming JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman.

Spinning out of the “One World, Under Gog” storyline, the Kingdom Come Superman’s struggle with his place in the world brings a final conflict between the Supermen of Earths 1 and 22! Feeling the weight of his own world’s loss on his shoulders, the transplanted Superman searches for answers to the mystery of his life’s seemingly cursed existence and encounters “old acquaintances” on the way. This is the first fully written and illustrated adventure by KINGDOM COME co-creator Alex Ross, building to the storyline’s conclusion in JUSTICE OF SOCIETY OF AMERICA #22!

via Newsarama

New Krypton” Part 2! Picking up directly from SUPERMAN: NEW KRYPTON SPECIAL #1, 100,000 Kryptonians have descended on Earth. But their introduction to the world follows a bumpy road, and humans and Kryptonians alike are wary of one another.

Meanwhile, Clark must say goodbye to a long-standing member of his supporting cast while the threat behind Atlas makes his next move against the Man of Steel!

via Newsarama

Superman’s Dad, Jonathan Kent died of heart failure Wednesday in the pages of Action Comics #870, 69 years after he was introduced. Jonathan died shortly after saving Martha, his beloved wife from a missile fired at their home after Superman defeated Brainiac. Death may be no stranger to the world of Comic Books, but it is also far from the final end it is in reality. Counting various media (he also died of a heart attack in the 1987 Superman movie and the Smallville TV series), this is actually at least 3rd heart attack death of Pa Kent. He has died before in the comics too, only to be resurrected as the entire reality of the DCU was rewritten in the 80’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Martha and Jonathan Kent were first introduced in June 1939’s Superman #1, published approximately 1 year after Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1. They were a major part of the Superboy stories that followed the tales of the original Boy of Steel as he learned how to be the hero he was born to be.

This is not even the first time Pa Kent has died in a DC comic book. In the original telling of the Superman mythos, both Ma and Pa Kent contracted a rare tropical disease from handling a pirates treasure, both dieing before Clark left Smallville for college in Metropolis. The Kents returned to DC continuity in Man of Steel, a 6 issue retelling of Superman’s origin by writer/author John Byrne that explained Superman’s post-crisis continuity.

It was the humanity taught by his loving adopted parents that shaped a powerful force into a paragon of goodness. Without Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman would NOT be the Big Blue Boy Scout we’ve all come to know and love.

Farewell Jonathan, for a fictional character, you were an inspiration in my youth, a shining example of the America of yesteryear and a wonderful parent. You will be sorely missed.

Comic book resurrections aside, barring another future reality reboot or an epic journey into the afterlife, Superman will most likely remain fatherless for the foreseeable future.

In other news that same issue also sees the return of the bottle city of Kandor, sans bottle. After defeating Brainiac, Superman first rushed Metropolis back into place and then took Kandor to near his fortress of solitude before its containment field failed. I look forward to the aftermath of 100,000 new Kryptonians.

At the very least we’ll see what Kryptonians were were NOT raised by kindly elderly Kansas farmers turn out like.

When I first came to your planet and demanded your homes, property and very lives, I didn’t know you were already doing so, willingly, with your own government. I can win no tribute from a bankrupted nation populated by feeble flag-waving plebians. In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote.

– General Zod
Your Future President and Eternal Ruler

via Zod2008 and MySpaceComicBooks

Superman was not born on Krypton, but in a small nondescript house in Cleveland Ohio. Inspired by Brad Meltzer, the Siegel and Shuster Society is working with OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld to hold a Superman memorabilia auction with the benefits earmarked to restore and preserve the home where a teenaged Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster cooked up the Man of Steel in 1932. Its a nice gesture, I hope they have luck with it. I wish I could afford to bid on the Jason Palmer piece.

Here is some artwork that will be up for bid during the month of September. Auction items include artwork, rare t-shirts, a spot on the cover of the Brian Michael Bendis comic - Powers, tickets to the Colbert Report and a walk-on role on Heroes. Check the complete list of items up for auction.

Meltzer’s involvement ALMOST makes me want to take back the harsh things I said about Meltzer’s creation Dr. Impossible getting Action Figure immortalization when far more deserving characters are ignored. ALMOST.

via CBR and OPCTW

DC Comics gave Newsarama the scoop on the new Alex Ross covers to Superman #681, Action Comics #871 and Supergirl #35 that combine into the lovely image below. The issues are parts 2-4 of the 9 part saga introducing 100,000 Kryptonians to Earth and vice-versa. The event begins in October with the one-shot Superman: New Krypton Special and will spill over into all Superman family titles.

The man the middle under Krypto in black and gold looks like a likely Nightwing candidate and the costume on the blond woman to his upper left has a distinct Flamebird flavor to it. The women in red and blue to the right of Supergirl seems reminiscent of the old continuity Kristin Wells Superwoman from the future. It’s nice to see the old school characters re-imagined.

I also noticed the guy to the left of Superman in robes similar to the ones shown on the -els in John Byrne’s Man of Steel. But other than that I have no further guesses. Anyone else spot someone familiar in any way shape or form?

Creators have revealed a few things. it’s going to get messy. These are not Kryptonians raised by Ma and Pa kent in rural Kansas. These are full blooded Kryptonians fresh from a Brainiac bottle. There are General Zod’s soldiers who were in Kandor when it was taken. I can’t imagine that this will remain the status quo forever. Earth isn’t big enough for the humans who live here and that many Superpeople.

via Newsarama

Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal. The “Brainiac” arc continues to set the stage for the SUPERMAN event of 2008…

Against everyone’s advice, Superman has journeyed to the deepest reaches of space to initiate contact with an alien being he thought he knew: Brainiac. But after learning about the truth behind Brainiac’s existence and his plans for Earth, Superman may regret his decision.

via Newsarama

Geoff Johns makes an appearance on the CBR Boat Show and talks about his upcoming stint writing an episode of Smallville, and not just any episode. The Legion of Super-Heroes are coming. I’m betting on Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad (maybe called Livewire) will be the envoy from the 31st century, any more Legionaries would be ultra-cool geektastic gravy.

ANSWER: Anywhere they want.

I thought the Brainiac arc was heading towards the rescue of the stolen Kryptonian cities, and looks like that is in fact the plan after all. Newsarama managed to corner the team behind the Super books (Supergirl writer Sterling Gates , Action Comics writer Geoff Johns, Superman scribe James Robinson and DC’s “Superbooks” editor Matt Idelson) to discuss the upcoming “New Krypton” storyline. Read all about it here.

No more “Last Son of Krypton.” Superman, Supergirl, Kristen Wells and Krypto will now be part of a much larger group of survivors. In the aftermath of the Brainiac arc, one hundred thousand Kryptonians will be free and ready to declare Earth “New Krypton.” Stay tuned.

via Newsarama

I already posted MY choices… here are the ACTUAL winners! The guys at Pulp Secret unveil the winner’s or Project Rooftop’s latest drawing contest… Superman Man of Style. But first they talk Batman R.I.P. (they can’t follow it either), Walking Dead and Cable.

Just in case you get bored, the winners are… 1st Place: Ming Doyle, 2nd Place: Kyle Latino and 3rd Place: Avi Bastermagian

Newsarama posted this great interview with Gary Frank about the return of Brainiac as a major Superman rogue, the future of Ma and Pa Kent and the reunion of the old gang at the Daily Planet.

I’ve been reading comics a loooong time. The last time someone took over a Superman title and I cared was when John Byrne did it in the 80’s. Don’t get me wrong. I still love the big blue boy scout. He’s a legendary icon. But thats often the problem. It’s not easy to tell an interesting tale with a star as iconic as Superman.

We think we know it all and many creators find it difficult to come up with something new that doesn’t crap all over what went before. Geoff Johns has shown us with his work on Green Lantern that he is NOT one of those writers, and Gary Frank has shown us with his reimagined Legion and now with his take on the Daily Planet bullpen that he is definitely NOT one of those artists either. Action comics has become a beautiful and dramatic story with compelling yet comfortably familiar characters. I didn’t mind the prolonged prologue quality of Action 866, but I can’t wait until something actually happens!

Was surfing youTube and came across this big hunk o muscle posing down in a Superman costume, and thought I should share. If posing musclestuds get you hot, check out chadahehe’s youtube Profile

Here he is wearing alot less.

One of my favorite animated clips of all time. From the JLU series finale, Destroyer. Superman shows everyone favorite Apokolyptian despot who’s boss. I would have liked to see a bit of this action in Countdown #1. But instead Supes sits on the sidelines to watch a family squabble.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geKjvg0rI9c[/youtube]