Friday, April 18th marks 87 years since Superman first showed up in comics pages, and DC is not going to let that slide without at least a little bit of a party.  With James Gunn’s Superman hitting theaters this summer, DC is ramping up for a big few months for Big Blue. We already talked about a bunch of their plans in comics pages – everything from the return of Lex Luthor to Dan Slott’s new Superman book to an all-ages book that I’m almost certainly buying for my kid. But today, on the big Supermanniversary, DC is really going over the top. If you’re in Burbank and you have some time on your hands, there is a sold out, very special, Superman-themed Warner Brothers Studio Tour that starts with a hang with some comic greats – Dustin Nguyen, Jon Bogdanove and Scott Koblish – and ends with a special screening of the classic Donner film, hosted by TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz.  If, however, you are not within spitting distance of southern California nor connected to the seedy underworld of studio tour ticket scalping, DC’s still got you covered. For the school aged among us, they’re running virtual tours of DC’s offices for school groups, with a focus on Superman and storytelling, something that likely pricks up most nerd parents’ ears. And for folks who are too old/cool for school but have a local comic shop available, DC’s got something too: new printings of comic classics.  There are special, Superman Day editions of All-Star Superman and Superman Unchained; and free copies of Superman for All Seasons #1 and All-Star Superman #1 in stores especially for the 18th.  Superman for All Seasons is a classic coming-of-age tale about Clark leaving Smallville, written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale at the peak of their Long Halloween-period. It’s widely regarded as one of the best Superman comics of all time – Sale’s art is phenomenal, especially. This story was the foundation of the Loeb-produced Smallville show, and apparently it’s an influence on the new movie. Superman Unchained was a New 52-era miniseries written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Jim Lee and it’s a very interesting, very well-made comic. It’s interesting because it came from a period in Snyder’s career where he hadn’t yet developed the bombast he would write with post-Metal, but he was also writing for Jim Lee. So, like any sane person, he made the biggest comic he could, and the result was fun and gorgeous.  All-Star Superman is arguably the greatest Superman story ever told. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are perfect together and the story is everything right about the character.  Expect plenty more Superman celebrations as the summer goes on, and we’ll have all the news you’ll want to know about it.