DC Comics‘ Summer of Superman might make way for the Fall of Superman, if the creators of the hit Image Comics series Ice Cream Man get their way. The publisher has announced that W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, and Chris O’Halloran are tackling Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum, a new five-issue Black Label series beginning in August.
“We’ve developed a reputation for pretty left-of-center experimentation, with respect to comics storytelling,” said W. Maxwell Prince via a press release provided to Comic Book Club, “and this is basically what we’re doing over the 5 issues of Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum: using our unique voice in comics to tell a Supes yarn that’s both strange and timeless—out there and also totally grounded. You might know what Green, Red and Black Kryptonite does to Superman, but what about Purple? Or Cobalt? Or Speckled?”
DC is careful to note that the team (probably) won’t kill Superman or go full on nihilistic, as some issues of Ice Cream Man tend to do. Instead of existential dread, look forward to “introspective, fun, genre-fluid storytelling.” The plot? Four new types of Kryptonite have been discovered, and Superman has to find out what they do, alongside Batman. And each issue of the series will explore a different genre and part of the Superman mythos.
“Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum is a story about new types of Kryptonite, and the effect those new types have on Kal-El and his world,” said DC group editor Paul Kaminski. “The series offers an opportunity to unleash the acclaimed Ice Cream Man creative team on the DCU, with episodic tales that play with storytelling styles. These tales are often warped, suspenseful and occasionally horrific, and lean into the rich stylings of the silver age Superman franchise.”
“Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum is art-pop storytelling with Superman by a creative team that makes as much of a statement about the book as its contents. This book stands out as a statement that the Man of Tomorrow is still looking toward the future for the kinds of talent and creativity that will feed the franchise for its next 85 years.”
“Paul’s not wrong,” added Prince, “But Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum isn’t just about the new Kryptonites and the wacky things they do to Supes. Martín, Chris and I want to tell a bonkers story that also explores real, human problems. These Kryptonite shards are, in fact, pieces of Kal-El’s home. It’s his own home that hurts him. This idea that ‘home hurts’ can also be applied to Batman, Wonder Woman, et al. So, we’re exploring that idea inside this framework of our usual experimental storytelling. Home can be traumatic—and yet there’s no place quite like it, as Dorothy reminds us. We’re interrogating all this stuff within the bookends of something decidedly wacky, and full of make-your-jaw-drop Man of Tomorrow moments. It’s what we do best: an admixture of sad, funny, and strange. (And, because it’s Superman, HAPPY!)”
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 hits stores on August 13, 2025. It features lettering by Good Old Neon, a cover by Morazzo, and variant covers by Tula Lotay, Juan Ferreyra, Wes Craig, and Alex Eckman-Lawn. Check out several unlettered pages and the covers below (and click for larger versions).
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