Steel makes his New 52 debut in "Action Comics" #4

This December, the Man of Steel will be getting some backup.

DC Comics announced today that with the fourth issue of their revitalized "Action Comics," the book will start to carry backup stories tied into Grant Morrison and Rags Morales' reinvention of Superman. On their blog The Source, Associate Editor Wil Moss revealed that Morrison hand picked "Batman: The Brave & The Bold" comic writer Sholly Fisch to pen the tales, which should come as no surprise given Morrison's praise for the Johnny DC title, which he's called "beautifully written and just great."

The backups will focus on various members of Superman's world, starting with the hero Steel who Morrison and Morales will introduce in full in issue #4. Moss revealed that "last we saw of John Henry Irons, in 'Action' #2, he had quit his military job in protest over Lex Luthor torturing Superman under General Lane's command. Now, as the Terminauts lay siege to Metropolis, it's time for John Henry to put his money where his mouth is and go help Superman defend the city."

The first backup in #4 focuses on the fight between Steel and the Metall-0 in the story as drawn by artist Brad Walker before #5's feature moves to the lives of Ma and Pa Kent as drawn by ChrisCross. Each artist will do one more backup each before issue #8 wraps Morrison's first arc with a full feature drawn by Morales.

The publisher revealed Walker's first take on Steel's early armor, based on a design by Rags Morales. For more, see The Source, and stay tuned to CBR News for more on "Action Comics."