Examining a meteoroid, Superman’s robots make a worrying discovery.
Luthor does know, and he’s grimacing rather than salivating, angry that science lead Dr Emil Hamilton didn’t find the space rocks before Superman.
The Man of Steel wants to know how four new colours of Kryptonite might affect him, so calls in the World’s Greatest Detective.
Superman manages to persuade Batman they really do need to know what the properties of the new K-metals are, in case there are more examples out there and his enemies deploy them against him.
Luthor, meanwhile, realising his foe will be testing the new Kryptonite, plans a distraction. A swamp monster-sized distraction.
The World’s Finest team are theorising as to how the purple rock is affecting Superman when the familiar zee-zee-zee of Jimmy Olsen’s signal watch summons them to Metropolis.
Well, this was an unexpected treat. DC have been pushing this Black Label mini-series as being ‘From the acclaimed team behind Ice Cream Man’, and I looked that series up but wasn’t inclined to check it out. I went in blind and came out of W Maxwell Prince and Martín Marazzo’s first issue pretty impressed. The vibe reminds me of All-Star Superman, we’re getting a timeless tale which feels like an extension of the Silver Age stories. Novel elements such as the amusing shield-shaped robots, and Superman’s dropping of such psychology terms as ‘object permanence’ – the narration is excellent throughout – add value. Mind, I could do without the modern idea that Red Kryptonite doesn’t cause weird mutations, and who needs TV Black Kryptonite?
Still, Black Label isn’t regular continuity so I must go with it… it does allow Prince to insist Lois is in her forties – how ungallant!
Also, it makes it easier to accept that rather than testing the new varieties of Kryptonite via, say, a tiny amount in a pipette, Superman is blasted firmly in the chest.
We get a little mystery via a comment from Lois to Jimmy.
Whatever could they mean?
There’s also the revelation that February in the DCU is a tad longer than might be expected, as Batman helps Superman see his sense of time is out of whack.
31 days, with two 16s and no 29… blimey.
If that’s the doing of letterer Good Old Neon – a new name to me – then that’s two strikes against them, as they also manage to misspell ‘Kryptonite’ at one point.
I like the art overall, with the only exception being a creepily cadaverous Luthor. Marazzo’s storytelling is good, and he works well with Prince to pull off some clever business. Superman looks great, there’s an earnestness to him that suits the story. And there’s some handy body language business around Batman, such as his walk.
The colours of Chris O’Halloran lean towards the naturalistic, with monochrome coding for flashbacks and flashforwards.
Keep an eye out for a great scene between Lois and Superman that shows their sweet relationshop, before we hit a rather cracking cliffhanger.
The cover illustration by Morazzo and O’Halloran is a simple idea, done well, and I love the logo treatment, presumably the work of designers Tiffany Huang and Kenny Lopez.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 is an entertaining, good-looking blend of classic and new elements. Recommended.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
The creative team seems to be having the time of their lives doing this. The cleverness applied in the complication of the Kryptonite is well done, and I really liked that Luthor is on the case almost instantly. I do wonder why Batman is in this story. He doesn’t serve a singular function that Steel or Brainiac 5 couldn’t perform, and without getting broken ribs in the process. Great review as always.
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I’m OK with it being Batman, he’s back to being a top boffin these days, and they’re the World’s Finest friends once more, so we get fun banter.
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