Brian Michael Bendis is going up, up and away from Superman. The prolific comic book writer has announced he is stepping away from DC's flagship Superman title soon. Bendis has yet to say, however, when exactly he is departing the high-profile comic book.
Bendis first spoke about his departure on the podcast Off Panel. "I'm heading towards the end of my run on Superman, so I've been more reflective on it. And it's — I'll never be more grateful than I got to heal my near-death experience through Superman, and get through this pandemic. No matter what's going on with this world, I get to spend a few hours each day with Superman. That's a gift." The "near-death experience" refers to a MRSA infection the writer suffered in 2018, shortly after he signed an exclusive multi-year contract with DC Comics.
Brian Michael Bendis first rose to prominence with indie success stories such as Torso, Jinx, and Powers, in addition to the Spawn spin-off Sam and Twitch. In 2000, Marvel debuted Ultimate Spider-Man, a then-modern re-imagining of Spider-Man's origins, written by Bendis. The book would run from 2000 to 2011, written exclusively by Bendis, who would also write Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, which introduced the much-beloved Miles Morales. In addition to Morales, Bendis also introduced the world to the troubled superhero-turned-PI Jessica Jones in the pages of Alias, which he wrote from 2001 to 2004. Bendis would also several high-profile projects for Marvel, including The Avengers as well as The All-New X-Men. After more than a decade of working for Marvel, however, Bendis caused shockwaves in the industry when he announced he had signed with DC Comics. He started writing Superman in Action Comics #1000, with his stint on Superman now nearing the two-year mark.
The biggest unanswered question, beyond the specifics of Bendis' departure from Superman, is just where the writer is going next. Although Bendis said on Twitter, he's still got some time before stepping away.
Bendis signed a multi-year contract with DC Comics, but it is unknown just how many years the contract contains before re-negotiation. There are certainly quite a few corners of the DC Universe Bendis could end up post-Superman, especially after the dust settles from the upcoming Death Metal storyline. However, given Bendis' indie pedigree, it's also just as possible that he could leave the Big Two publishers altogether and start independent work once more - but that's purely speculation. In 2014, Bendis released The United States of Murder Inc, published by Marvel's Icon imprint, so there's still a demand for his creator-owned material. Where ever Bendis ends up (or he likely remains at DC) it seems likely readers will follow him to his next project.