Action Comics gets another noteworthy change in July

Action Comics #1033
(Image credit: DC)

Update: DC has given Newsarama a look at July's main cover to Action Comics #1033 by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Daniel Sampere. July is the month the core Superman titles go through a minor revamp (see below for all of those details).

But wait, didn't they already release Sampere's cover to Action Comics #1033 with the earlier announcement?

They did. This is the new, updated version.

See if you can spot the difference? Check out the new version first and the previous version in our gallery. 

Yes, that's right, Action Comics, the second-longest-running ongoing series in comics, has gotten a brand new logo to kick off this new Superman era.

Tell us what you think about the new logo on Twitter and Facebook and look for DC's full July 2021 solicitations ... soon? 

Original story follows...

This summer, Superboy will become Superman.

Superman and Lois Lane's son, Jonathan Kent, will take up his father's mantle (and superhero name) in the long-running Superman comic book series - but with a relaunched #1 and a slight name change, to Superman: Son of Kal-El.

Beginning this July, Injustice writer Tom Taylor and Young Justice artist John Timms will follow this new Superman as he takes over guardianship of Earth while his father branches out to outer space (more on that in a second).

"Jonathan Kent has experienced a lot in his young life. He's fought evil with Robin (Damian Wayne), traveled across galaxies with his Kryptonian grandfather, and lived in the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes, who were intent on training him for the day his father could no longer be Superman," reads DC's description of Superman: Son of Kal-El #1. 

"There is a hole in the Legion’s history that prevents Jon from knowing exactly when that will happen, but all signs point to it being very soon. It's time for the son to wear the cape of his father and continue the never-ending battle as a symbol of hope for his home planet."

Here's the primary cover to Superman: Son of Kal-El #1 and several of the planned variants:

Meanwhile, his father (Clark Kent, aka the original Superman) will continue his quest for truth and justice in Action Comics and its current story arc of liberating the slave population of the alien planet Warworld. Action Comics series writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson will continue on the book with this arc, joined by artist Daniel Sampere.

"This issue takes the action to Atlantis and the Fortress of Solitude, where Warworld refugees have taken possession of dangerous Warworld tech, bringing it to Aquaman's undersea kingdom and risking an all-out war that even Superman may not be able to prevent," reads DC's description of Action Comics #1033. "Meanwhile, some of the escaped Warworld prisoners have found the Fortress of Solitude…and along with it, Lois Lane!"

Here is the primary cover to Action Comics #1033, along with two planned variants:

This storyline will be expanded in the previously-known limited series Superman and the Authority by Grant Morrison and Mikel Janín.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #1 goes on sale July 13, followed by Action Comics #1033 on July 27.

Read all of the best Superman stories of all time.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)