At the San Diego Comic-Con DC Editorial VP Dan DiDio told ICv2, 'As Batman and Superman go, so goes DC.  We've turned Batman around (with the Jim Lee, Jeph Loeb Batman Hush series), and now we've got to do it with Superman. I am convinced we can, and when we do, everything will fall into place.'  DiDio is wasting no time in his campaign to revamp the Man of Steel.  In an interview that appeared on Wizarduniverse.com this morning Jim Lee announced that he and Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) would be doing a 12-issue run on Superman starting with the March 2004 issue.  Lee's announcement opened the floodgates of speculation on comic sites all over the net.  Newsarama announced that Greg Rucka and Chuck Austen would also be working on Superman titles, while the Pulse countered that neither Rucka nor Austen's appointments with Superman had been confirmed.  Meanwhile over at Comic Book Resources, Rich Johnston was adding Grant Morrison, Art Adams, Jeph Loeb and Pascal Ferry to the Superman mix.

Right now only the Jim Lee/Brian Azzarello Superman collaboration is for sure, though given DiDio's game plan (see 'DC Signs Grant Morrison et al.'), it is obvious that DC will be pumping up the Superman books with topflight creators in 2004.  But don't expect any more official announcements from DC before Wizard World Chicago.  Marvel took it on the chin at San Diego, and odds are that Jemas & Co. will come out fighting with some major announcements of their own in Chicago.   DC will likely want to keep a few bullets in reserve to help fight off the expected Marvel counterattack at Wizard World.  Will there be any more signings of top talent to exclusive contracts or will it just be a matter of matching the talent already available to the various books of the Superman line?  Whatever the case, it should make the folks who scheduled Wizard World Chicago after San Diego this year very happy.