Beginning with July's Superman #700, written by super-star scribe J. Michael Straczynski, Superman will be trying to reconnect with the people who he has sworn to protect by walking across the United States. As a part of the upcoming 13-part story arc, Ground, Superman will be connecting with the everyday people of towns across America and DC Comics is asking readers to write in and campaign for their towns and residents to be depicted and the selections will be made by Straczynski and the rest of DC editorial team.

"Because Superman is a symbol of hope, I wanted folks to have a chance to bring Superman into their town, into their neighborhood, in the pages of the book," said Straczynski, in a recent article. "You have to remember that when Superman was initially created, his fights weren't against vast interstellar forces. They were against criminals preying on the average guy. Superman was created to be the ally of the average American, the guy who didn't have lots of money or friends in high places."

At the heart of this story line, is Superman's need to be reminded of why Earth is his adopted home and why he's committed to protect it.

"We will be asking hard questions, and Superman will learn the extent to which even he may not be able to change things," said Straczynski. "But at the same time, we will explore the language of hope and feature the stubborn noble strength of the average man and woman trying to survive in a difficult and changing world. We will see Superman through the country's eyes, and the country through Superman's eyes."

Check out Superman #700 for the first chapter of Grounded and visit www.dccomics.com for more information.

Recently, Geoff Boucher of L.A. Times' Hero Complex sat down with Christopher Nolan to discuss his plans for the both the upcoming Superman reboot and the highly-anticipated second Batman sequel. Nolan, who is currently in the editing stages for his upcoming sci-fi/thriller Inception, had this to say about his involvement with the Superman franchise:

"[David Goyer] basically told me, 'I have this thought about how you would approach Superman.' I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I've never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way."

Nolan also gave some indication the direction Warner Bros. may be taking their superhero films. He suggests that, like Christian Bale's Batman, Superman exists in his own world, devoid of other superheroes and that it is unlikely that either world will come together with that of the Justice League in any way.

As far as the third film in Nolan's Bat-verse, the director did not comment on any of the dozens of rumors floating around on the internet, but did mention the direction he planned to take the film.

"Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story, and in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story. We have a great ensemble, that's one of the attractions of doing another film, since we've been having a great time for years."

Although this new information is very telling, we still have not recieved any official announcements from DC Entertainment in regards to their plans for future fims.

Warner Bros. announced this week that they have turned to director Christopher Nolan to oversee the relaunch of another one of their flagship superhero franchises. Nolan, director of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, will be taking a leadership role in the development of a new Superman film. To ensure that it heads in the right direction, and appeals to both fans and critics, Nolan will serve as mentor to the project, helping to create the same success that the Batman franchise has seen. Many fans have been eagerly anticipating Superman getting the Nolan treatment, which brought an edgier, more sophisticated feel to the most recent Batman films.

According to a Deadline Hollywood article, this Superman film will not be a sequel to 2006's Superman Returns, which stared Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel and was directed by Bryan Singer, but a new take on the character that is more geared toward his comic book roots. The article also mentions that Nolan has approached Warner Bros. with an idea for the third installment of the Batman franchise, which is currently being scripted by David Goyer and Nolan's brother, Jonah.

Warner Bros. will partner with Legendary Pictures to co-produce/co-finance this upcoming Superman relaunch, as well as the third Batman film. This partnership has previously produced both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as well as Superman Returns.

Fresh on the heels of the highly-publicized, record-breaking $317,200 auction sale for a rare copy of Action Comics #1 - the ensuing news that spread across the globe has made the unbelievable happen:

Another original-owner copy of Action Comics #1 has been found that has never been brought to market.

"It's simply unheard of these days for undiscovered copies of Action Comics #1 to surface," stated Stephen Fishler, CEO of the comic book auction company, ComicConnect.com. 

"Due to all the press surrounding last month's sale [the most a comic book has ever sold for at auction], we received thousands of calls and emails from people who had reprints that they thought were original.  One of those calls stood out among the rest - and suddenly we realized the unthinkable has happened and lightning has struck twice."

"An older gentleman called from the Midwest regarding a comic book he and his brother, as young boys, purchased off the newsstand in 1938," added Vincent Zurzolo, ComicConnect.com's COO. "Sadly, his brother passed away last autumn, but the two had kept the comic for over 70 years. The man has decided to bring the comic book to market by consigning it to ComicConnect's current Event Auction, which is accepting bids and ends on Friday, May 1st ."

The Action Comics #1 is graded CGC 1.8 unrestored, and may be viewed from this link.

When the surviving brother first heard about the previous sale, he had no idea where the comic had been kept.  After spending two weeks searching his brother's house and looking into safety deposit boxes, he finally found it hidden somewhere among his brother's stored belongings.

Contact:  Stephen Fishler, ComicConnect.com.
212.895.3999 or email stephenf@metropoliscomics.com.

ComicConnect's next auction will begin on Friday, February 27, 2009 and will feature an unrestored copy of the first appearance of Superman, Action Comics #1, graded 6.0 by Comic Guarantee, LLC. (CGC). This copy, which was previously unknown to the collectible market, was recently on display at the New York Comic Con.

"The comic was displayed to the public for the very first time at New York Comic Con, and the reaction was overwhelming," said Vincent Zurzolo, co-founder of ComicConnect, in a recent press release. "Even little kids knew the significance of the comic, and made the pilgrimage to the ComicConnect booth just to see the book."

With an estimate of only 100-150 copies of Action Comics #1 in existence, this rare find is both exciting and potentially very profitable.

"It's the 'Holy Grail' of comic books," said Stephen Fishler, one of the leading experts on collectible comics, in a recent press release.

According the press release, Fishler is founder of New York's Metropolis Collectibles (MetropolisComics.com), the largest dealership of vintage comic books. He, along with partner Zurzolo, will manage the auction of Action Comics #1 via their online marketplace, ComicConnect.com.

 Although the book is currently listed in price guides for $126,000 in Fine condition (6.0), many leading collectors and experienced experts feel that the book could bring in much more. According to ComicConnect, bidding for the book will open at $1 with no set reserve.

For more information on the auction, please visit www.comicconnect.com.  

A high-grade condition example of the rare Supermen of America Action Comics prototype ring sold on eBay recently for $8,600.52.

This circa. 1940 premium ring received a total of 26 bids from interested bidders before selling. The seller noted that the ring was in near mint condition overall. A total of less then ten examples of this rare ring are known to exist.

A very good condition example of the rare Superman Prize ring from the Supermen of America club sold on eBay on July 20, 2008 for $4,050. The ring retained most of the silver plating as well as a portion of the original red paint that outlined the logo and Superman's symbol. Bidding was strong the final two hours as several parties aggressively went back and forth attempting to obtain the ring. A total of 34 bids were received.

This rare premium ring was issued by DC Comics in 1940 and currently there are only about 20 examples known to exist.

Heres a link to a mini-site Dc put up!

 

http://www.dccomics.com/sites/trinity/