It’s not often that indie comics creators get to take a stab at a Big Two hero like Superman, but that’s just what W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo are doing this week in Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum. Ever the offbeat and out-of-the-box creative team (just look at Ice Cream Man), the new DC Black Label series proposes that there are even more types of kryptonite, but what do they do? That’s the big question Superman and Batman are going to figure out in a wholesome and creative first issue.
Right off the bat, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 is very new-reader-friendly. The first two pages sum up Superman’s origin as well as the notion of multiple kryptonite types. There are four known colors that affect Superman in different ways, but Superman and his trusty Fortress of Solitude robots fight an asteroid with all-new spectrums. To crack the mystery behind each, Superman enlists Batman to help him out.
An extra-sized issue, the pacing of this opener is even-keeled, positively taking its time. We linger on Batman, who is fighting Professor Pyg, for instance, and we see him fight and talk to Superman over a page. After establishing why Batman is needed, he is the greatest detective there is after all, and setting up Lex Luthor, testing must get underway. The first kryptonite color? Purple!
Batman always takes his calls while fighting!
Credit: DC Comics
It’s not too much of a spoiler to reveal that the first kryptonite shard affects Superman’s concept of time. More specifically, he sees the future out of order, but in the present. This makes for a fight with Grundy particularly tricky. It’s also tricky to pull off the concept, which Prince and Morazzo do beautifully.
It starts with a calendar that has its dates all mixed up, then the creative team sprinkles future beats in panels and dialogue, eventually showing the fight out to sequence across panels. Eventually, we get all those panels put back in the right order on a single page, which at once holds up the beauty of comics’ sequential storytelling and acts as a triumphant moment as Superman gets all these memories in the right order.
If I was to describe the writing and art in one word, it’d be robust. Morazzo adds fine detail to costumes, faces, and backgrounds, reminding readers of a Frank Quitely style, but all his own. Meanwhile, Prince makes this world feel big, with key scenes with Jimmy Olsen and Lois. There’s a supporting cast even for Lex, though it’s a sad worker who is treated poorly. It’s all very lived-in and reads in a natural way.
The dialogue is also strong, with a good voice for each character and lettering to back that up by Good Old Neon. At times, I wondered if I was reading Grant Morrison dialogue, as Prince evokes All-Star Superman at times.
Chris O’Halloran’s colors are also vibrant, particularly Superman’s skin, which is warm and alive. Entire scenes are colored in different ways to help track transitions as the plot progresses.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 is a clever, warm, and visually inventive debut that captures the awe of Superman while giving readers an imaginative new mystery to savor. W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo channel the heart and wonder of All-Star Superman while delivering a concept that celebrates the unique possibilities of comic book storytelling.
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