DC Comics has officially announced a sequel to the best-selling "Superman: Earth One" from the original's creative team of writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Shane Davis in a move that will see the writer step back from his ongoing monthly comics work for the publisher.

According to The Source, the moves were made due to the strong critical and fan response to "Earth One" as well as its sales success including the book's debut in the #1 spot on the "New York Times" bestsellers list for graphic novels. DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio reaffirmed this take, stating, "it made sense to fast-track a sequel, and we definitely wanted to go back to the same amazing creative team."

In a brief statement, Straczynski announced he'll be leaving his scripting duties on both "Wonder Woman" and "Superman" earlier than expected, with writer Chris Roberson stepping in to finish the "Grounded" story arc with "Superman" #707 and Phil Hester taking over the reins on "Wonder Woman" with #605. However, the writer stressed that he isn't simply walking away from his stories. "I'll dive in on occasion as needed for important story points. It's still my story, I'm involved in both books, and they're going to continue in the direction we set up. I'm looking forward to seeing what Chris and Phil have in store."

JMS will instead shift his focus at DC to done-in-one stories and shorter series, saying, "I'm taking full advantage of the situation to take a one- to five-year sabbatical from writing monthlies in order to go exclusively into writing graphic novels like 'Superman Earth One' and 'Samaritan X,' along with the occasional high-visibility mini series. I think that's where the business is going, and creatively, limited series and graphic novels have always been my strong suit in that they let me tell cohesive stories with a beginning, middle and end."

Last week, Davis discussed the possibility of a follow-up to the first graphic novel, telling CBR News "I've heard the rumor of a second one. Doing that would be great for the comic industry and great for the fans that pick up the book. I've read Dan talk about how there are talks for a second book going on now, so fingers crossed, and let's see. I think it'd be a smart thing to continue "Earth One." I don't know if this is official yet, but we may be headed towards a sellout. When you see that and people liking the story so much, I think it's the industry's job to keep supplying folks with great comic book stories."

For more on this story, check The Source, and for more on the future of the "Superman" and "Wonder Woman" monthlies, stay tuned to CBR in the days ahead.