This week's issue of Superman #23, which continues the Psi-War arc, is shipping with a different creative team than solicited. Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort were originally solicited, but the finished cover tells us that the issue is written by Michael Johnson and illustrated by Jesus Merino. Furthermore, the inside credits Eddy Barrows on thumbnails. The issue still sports Rocafort's cover.
Perhaps this change was made to meet a deadline, but a fair amount of creators have exited DC lately due to disagreements with editorial. If Lobdell truly is off of Superman, what does this mean for the title for the remainder of the year? Lobdell is also currently the interim writer for Action Comics, which is also part of the Psi-War crossover. Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder take over Action in with issue number 25 in November.
The elephant in the room remains the Superman title itself because not only is Lobdell the solicited writer for the Psi-War arc, he's expected to contribute to the upcoming Krypton Returns crossover that starts with October's Action Comics Annual #2 and continues into select Superman family titles in November. I'm not sure what's going on in December, but John Romita Jr. has been said to take over Superman as writer and artist within the next year.
I'll keep CBM readers apprised if any major Superman announcements are made.
UPDATE: Scott Lobdell has since Tweeted the following in response to Bleeding Cool: "Poor @BleedingCool with another non-scoop! Try, try again @richjohnston." This supports my theory that the creative shift for this issue was done to meet a deadline. Love him or hate him, I don't like to see creators taken off a story in mid-arc. Hopefully these stories continue as planned.