After eighteen years at Marvel, Brian Michael Bendis left the House of Ideas to work for DC Comics exclusively. The American comic book publisher makes a lot of noise for his arrival, with Bendis taking the rein of Superman, making his debut with Action Comics #1000.
What follows was, I’m gonna speculate, not what DC hopes, as Bendis’s run on Superman/Action Comics (as he writes BOTH series) became divisive quite quickly.
Here’s the official synopsis: A new era begins for Superman as a threat from his earliest origins reemerges to destroy the Last Son of Krypton. As Superman struggles to come to grips with what has happened to his wife and son, he must also face a new threat that’s determined to burn down Metropolis!
What to read before Superman/Action Comics by Brian Michael Bendis?
Before Brian Michael Bendis took over creative duties on Superman/Action Comics, the character was handled by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Dan Jurgens since the beginning of Rebirth. Bendis deals with some elements of this run, mostly by getting rid of Lois and Jon at the beginning of his run. This is not required reading for Bendis, as he creates quickly a new statu-quo, but this is quite a popular run among Supes fans, worth checking out:
Superman/Action Comics by Brian Michael Bendis Reading Order
As this reading order is dedicated to Bendis’ run on the character, it does not include the Justice League, where Superman is a supporting character. You can go to our Justice League Rebirth Reading order for more information (Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV were the main writers on the title).
- The Man of Steel
Collects The Man of Steel #1-6 and stories from DC Nation #0 and Action Comics #1000
Although there are references to each other in the series, Superman and Action Comics are largely independent.
- Superman Vol. 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth
Collects Superman #1-6. - Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Invisible Mafia
Collects Action Comics #1001-1006 - Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: The House of El
Collects Superman #7-15
At this point, Supergirl becomes tangled with Superman’s story. Following is the order issue by issue:
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- Superman #12 & Supergirl #31 (same story)
- Superman #13
- Supergirl #32
- Superman #14-15
- Supergirl #33
You can find those Supergirl issues in Supergirl Vol. 2: Sins of the Circle.
Lois Lane is going solo with her own 12-maxi issues series titled Lois Lane: Enemy of the People written by Greg Rucka. It is the moment to read the first five issues.
You can read here Superman #16 (collected in Superman Vol. 3, see below!), which is followed by Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium (collected in Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1, also see below!), a prelude to The Legion of Super-Heroes with Jon Kent, written by Brian Michael Bendis.
Bendis tackle his first DC event with the mystery thriller Event Leviathan. To know in which order to read the issues collected in those editions, you can consult our Event Leviathan Reading Order.
- Superman: Action Comics Vol. 2: Leviathan Rising
Collects Action Comics issues #1007-1011 and the Leviathan special. - Event Leviathan
Collects Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1, Event Leviathan #1-6, DC’s Year of the Villain #1 - Superman: Action Comics Vol. 3: Leviathan Hunt
Collects Action Comics #1012-1016. - Superman: Action Comics Vol. 4: Metropolis Burning
Collects Action Comics #1017-1022. - Lois Lane #6
Collected in Lois Lane: Enemy of the People
- Superman Vol. 3: The Truth Revealed
Collects Superman issues #16-21.
The second part of Lois Lane: Enemy of the People takes place during The Truth. Following is the order issue by issue:
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- Superman #17-18
- Lois Lane #7
- Superman #19
- Superman: Heroes #1
- Lois Lane #8-12
- Superman: Villains #1
- Superman Vol. 4: Mythological
Collects Superman #20-28.
You can follow Jon’s adventures written by Bendis in Legion of Super-Heroes, beginning with Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: Millennium.
- Superman: Action Comics Volume 5: The House of Kent
Collects Action Comics #1022-1028
What to read after Brian Michael Bendis Superman/Action Comics?
Following the Future State initiative, we enter a new era and a new chapter in Superman’s life in the company of Phillip Kennedy Johnson. Check out our Superman Infinite Frontier Reading Order to know more about it!
