DC continues to expand its Black Label line, and today they’ve announced a new Black Label Superman series from a truly visionary team. The new series is titled Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum, and the creative team bringing the series to life happens to be the Eisner Award-nominated Ice Cream Man team of W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran. The signature storytelling that has made Ice Cream Man an Image Comics favorite is now making the jump to one of DC’s biggest icons, as Superman comes into contact with every type of Kryptonite under the sun, and you can check out your first look at the new series below.
The five-issue limited series looks to reimagine Superman through a genre-defying lens, and each issue of the series will explore different facets of Superman’s character, mythos, and moral core. While Ice Cream Man is known for its horror elements, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum won’t really feature those, focusing on introspective, fun, and genre-fluid storytelling.
“We’ve developed a reputation for pretty left-of-center experimentation, with respect to comics storytelling,” said W. Maxwell Prince, “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?”
The series picks up when four new Kryptonites have been discovered in deep space, and Superman sets out to learn what effect these new Kryptonites have on him. To figure out those effects, Superman calls upon his longtime friend Batman, who seeks to find out what Kryptonite colors like purple and cobalt have in store for Superman.
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“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,” continued Kaminski. “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,” countered W. Maxwell 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 will feature a main cover by Morazzo, and will also feature variant covers by Tula Lotay and Juan Ferreyra, a foil variant cover by Wes Craig, and a 1:25 variant cover by Alex Eckman-Lawn. The series will hit comic stores on August 13, 2025.
Are you excited for more DC Black Label? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics and DC with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
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