It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Wednesday a historic day, what with our major digital news and the details surrounding writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Eddy Barrows’ upcoming Superman “Grounded” arc.

Things kicked off with USA TODAY’s announcement of the news, which involves Superman walking across the US. Then we chimed in with more details on how you, the fans can participate by unveiling a “Superman Across America” contest.

A bevy of interviews soon followed, including JMS chats with IGN, CBR, AOL COMICS ALLIANCE and NEWSARAMA.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE NEW YORK TIMES and THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS also chimed in with stories, and we saw coverage by io9, TOPLESS ROBOT, MOVIEFONE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY and THE ONION AV CLUB.

With more to come!

And on that note, I’d like to wish you all a restful and pleasant weekend – plenty of time to start working on your contest entries.

“It’s been a hard year for SUPERGIRL. The WAR OF THE SUPERMEN resulted in the tragic loss of New Krypton, thousands of Kryptonian lives, Supergirl’s mother, Alura, and her best friend, Thara Ak-Var (a.k.a. FLAMEBIRD). For the next story arc, Supergirl will be wrestling with guilt over her own perceived culpability in New Krypton’s destruction.

“Supergirl will discover that no matter how hard we try to run from our problems, our lives make other plans for us. While Supergirl struggles with her inner demons, a strange and twisted version of herself appears in Metropolis: BIZARRO-GIRL! Bizarro-Girl will take Kara on a terrible journey across dark regions of space, eventually leading back to Bizarro World. There, Supergirl confronts an enemy that threatens not only to wipe Bizarro World out of existence, but every other populated planet in the galaxy, too! Will Supergirl be able to stop it in time?

“Speaking of time, fans of LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON saw the first meeting between Supergirl and the time-traveling Legionnaire named BRAINIAC 5. But Brainy seemed to know Supergirl, as if they’d met before…

“We’ll be picking up the threads of that dynamic this fall in SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #2, when Supergirl meets the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES for the first time! Yes, she’s met them a few times before, but the statement stands (and will make total sense when you read it). Supergirl and the Legion will square off against one of the scariest Legion villains of all, as a tear in the fabric of time leads to horrible consequences on Halloween in 30th-century Metropolis.

“Kara’s supporting cast will continue to play a major part in SUPERGIRL. LANA LANG, JIMMY OLSEN, NATASHA IRONS, INSPECTOR HENDERSON, DR. LIGHT, even GANGBUSTER – they will all influence Supergirl’s life. Daily Planet reporter CAT GRANT will launch a massive new campaign against our Girl of Steel this fall, and she’ll be surprised when fan mail starts coming into the office. When some of that mail turns deadly, though, Cat will have to ask a certain teenaged superhero for help…

“Across 2010 and 2011, readers will see: SUPERWOMAN’s fate; the invasion of Supergirl’s home, Hammersmith Tower; syllabus day at METROPOLIS UNIVERSITY; the biggest mistake in Lana Lang’s life; the tragedy of the terrible TOYMAN; Supergirl’s ever expanding rogues gallery; and just what happens when Brainiac 5 and Supergirl kiss!

“By the time we reach the mid-point of 2011, Supergirl will have a much more defined sense of who she is and where her life is heading. Right around then, though, just as Supergirl’s happier with her life than ever before…that’s when her greatest enemy returns … and brings along friends.”

SUPERGIRL #53, featuring art by JAMAL IGLE & JON SIBAL, is on sale now.

For me, Superman was, is and shall forever be America's hero. Yes, his mandate is to protect the people of the world, he doesn't take sides, he's not overtly political...but like jazz and comic books themselves, he is inexorably tied to our culture and way of life. He stands for all the things we like to believe we stand for, especially when standing is the most difficult, when it would be simpler and easier to turn away.

While there is always a place for vast, sprawling, interstellar stories about distant worlds and other civilizations, the farther Superman travels from America, from Earth, from us, the more he begins to lose focus. In issue 700, he is reminded -- starkly and plainly -- that his long absence from Earth has caused pain and distress, that he has not been here when we needed him, because he was out there somewhere.

So when DC's Dan DiDio approached me about re-invigorating Superman, my first thought was, take him back to his roots. Bring him back to the soil that nourished him, literally and figuratively. "Pin him to the Earth," I said. Let him set out on a journey across America, on foot, so that we can see ourselves in his eyes and he can see himself in ours, and gain a better understanding on both sides as to who we are, who he is, and where we're going. It's not so much that he has lost touch, it's that he needs to re-engage. From time to time, many married couples renew their vows. In some ways, this is a more important ceremony than the first one, because now time has passed, and all the flaws and failures and weaknesses on each sides have been revealed to the other, and there are no illusions about what the relationship might be. They know what is, and with that knowledge they create a new and deeper covenant that looks down the road to where they are going, and why, and what their hopes are for the day that they finally arrive, together.

In Superman, that road is made manifest as he travels through the streets and alleys, cities and towns of America. To further bring Superman into the heart of the country, we will invite fans and readers and average follks across the country to invite Superman to visit their towns and cities on his travels, visits that will be realized in the pages of Superman. (DC will have more information about this elsewhere.)

It should be mentioned that this journey is not intended as a blind paean: as he moves across rich areas and poor ones, though the midwest and the rust belt, through cities on the rise and those on the downward slide, we will be honest in what we show: there will be casual cruelties and drive-by selfishness, as well as problems and difficulties that even he can't solve. Powerful as he is, he cannot defeat poverty, or inequity, or our blind, headlong drive toward self-destruction. But alongside those faults we will feature the charity, the decency, the compassion and the stubborn, noble courage of the human race, and rediscover why he has come to represent the best of us while never shrinking from the worst of us.

When Siegel and Shuster first created Superman, he was the ally of those who had no allies, no recourse, no chance and no hope. In those early issues of Action Comics and Superman, he fought against arsonists, extortionists, saboteurs, spies, war criminals, the violent, the pathological, against anyo9ne who preyed upon those without the benefit of well-paid guardians or low friends in high places. He was the avenger of the average guy, and it is our intention in "Grounded" to re-engage with Superman on that level and return him to his roots.

Along the way, he will also encounter threats and menaces and dangers that are far from average -- one never knows who, or what, has taken residence in the shadowed corners of abandoned factories, foreclosed homes or towns that don't seem to appear on any map -- but we will not lose sight of our mandate: to re-engage, reconsider, and re-examine.

For twelve issues, he will walk the streets among us, sharing our joys, our failures, our rages and our hopes as seen from the ground up, not from the distant sky down. At the end of "Grounded," we hope that we will have helped to draft a newly-minted covenant between Superman and those he has sworn to protect.

And if you'd like to walk that long road beside us, we'd more than welcome the company....

J. Michael Straczynski

All this week, we’ll not only be checking in with writers and artists about their contributions to SUPERMAN #700 and their thoughts on the character, but we’re also getting sneak peeks into the upcoming events unfolding in the pages of ACTION COMICS, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN and SUPERBOY. First up, we have writer Paul Cornell – who, in a bit of news we’re happy to announce here, just signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics – talking about his first arc on ACTION COMICS, which pairs him with artist Pete Woods. The focus? Someone we’re all familiar with – the evil mastermind known as Lex Luthor.

But first, let’s see what Paul has to say about his new exclusive deal. Take it away, Paul:

“I'm delighted to have signed exclusively to DC Comics. The work Pete, Matt, Wil and I are doing as a team on Action Comics has been tremendously satisfying, and I'm enjoying my other creative partnerships here just as much. I feel thoroughly cosseted! And hey, Lex Luthor! Who wouldn't be psyched to get to play with name recognition like that?”

Thanks, Paul. But don’t stop there. What’s coming up in the pages of ACTION COMICS?

“With his experiences in BLACKEST NIGHT, LEX LUTHOR learned what true, unbridled power feels like, and it’s left him focused on regaining that power—and more. He’s an addict now. So Lex has found himself a plan, a way to scratch that itch.

“As Lex proceeds on his quest, we’ll see more of what drives him, what’s inside this man. We’ll also see how he deals with encounters with the greatest villains of the DC Universe, characters from outside his genre and his comfort zone, as he discovers the path to ultimate power leads him to several surprising places on Earth and beyond.

“To name just a few of the villains we’ve got lined up… in the forbidding terrain of Antarctica, Lex will face off against DEATHSTROKE. He’ll match brains and brawn with VANDAL SAVAGE, leading to a crossover with SECRET SIX. He’ll find himself the target of LARFLEEZE, the Orange Lantern, himself still lusting for power. And he’ll match his own savagery against that of GORILLA GRODD. That battle leads to an encounter with a really unexpected character. And we’ve held back a few of the most interesting and surprising names he’ll be going up against.

“All of this leads to issue #900. Which will be a responsibility, and a milestone, and a beast of a book. So no pressure. It brings Lex’s quest to an end, and solves several mysteries introduced along the way. I think it’s a great story, and I’m proud to be working with a great team to bring it to life.”

ACTION COMICS #890, featuring art by PETE WOODS, will be on sale June 30th.