When you hear Superman Red & Blue, your first thought might be of a classic imaginary story from the ’60s, or of the electric-powered duo from the late ’90s. That changes now, though, as DC Comics has announced Superman: Red & Blue, a new anthology miniseries featuring top creators telling stories of the Man of Steel. Modeled after the hit Batman: Black & White series, the artwork for each Superman: Red & Blue story will utilize only the two titular colors (along with black & white in some instances).
The first 40-page, prestige format issue of Superman: Red & Blue features five stories from a star-studded lineup of creative teams, including:
- John Ridley & Clayton Henry
- Brandon Easton & Steve Lieber
- Wes Craig
- Marguerite Bennett & Jill Thompson
- Dan Watters & Dani
The issue will feature a main cover by Gary Frank, with variant covers from Lee Bermejo and Yoshitaka Amano (which looks to be the first time in nearly 20 years that the artist has worked on Superman in an official capacity).
Given the unique parameters of the visuals for the series, the choice of artists for the first issue is stellar. The stories themselves span from the Clark Kent’s past to his present, and feature old-school superheroics alongside meditations on the meaning of Superman on a personal and societal level.
Between this series, Batman: Black & White, the recently-announced Batman: Urban Legends, and the regular seasonal one-shots that DC has been releasing for the last few years, the anthology format has become increasingly popular for DC. Superman: Red & Blue is the latest anthology series to feature the Man of Steel. A previous series, Adventures of Superman, featured stories that were initially available online before seeing print. It ran for 17 issues in 2013-2017.
With the varied nature of the tales featured in this series, there may be hope for an electric Superman Red/Superman Blue story at some point, if we all ask nicely enough. Check out the covers by Frank and Bermejo for the first issue of the series, as well as the full text of DC’s announcement, below. Superman: Red & Blue #1 (of 6) is due out in comic shops on Tuesday, March 9th, 2021.
In the spirit of DC’s iconic Eisner Award-winning Batman: Black & White anthology series, DC proudly announces Superman: Red & Blue, a new six-issue DC mini-series presenting fresh new visions of the Man of Steel, featuring an incredible slate of comics’ most exciting and innovative storytellers creating comics pared back to Superman’s two signature colors of red and blue (magenta and cyan for the color nerds)!
Around the world, everyone knows that when they see a red and blue streak in the sky, it’s not a bird…it’s not a plane…it’s Superman!
To start things off in March’s Superman: Red & Blue #1, Academy Award-winning writer of DC Future State: The Next Batman John Ridley joins artist Clayton Henry (Batman/Superman) to tell a story of Clark Kent as he confronts a villain who still haunts him, in a story that shows what Superman can mean to a whole country. Then, Brandon Easton (DC Future State’s Mister Miracle) and Steve Lieber (Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen) take readers to the streets of Metropolis to show how one hero can mean so much to an individual in pain.
Plus, writer/artist Wes Craig (Deadly Class) tells a tale of Superman’s early days and the man who inspired him to become the hero he is today! And Marguerite Bennett (DC Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman) and artist Jill Thompson (The Sandman, Black Orchid) give us a tale of teenage Clark Kent, while Dan Watters and Dani, the team behind Coffin Bound, bring us an outlandish fable about what happens when all colors are stolen!
Superman: Red & Blue #1 (of 6), featuring 40 pages of stories by Marguerite Bennett, Wes Craig, Dani, Brandon Easton, Clayton Henry, Steve Lieber, John Ridley, Jill Thompson and Dan Watters, retails at $5.99 with a cover by Gary Frank and variant covers by Lee Bermejo and Yoshitaka Amano. Superman: Red & Blue will ship monthly beginning on March 9 in DC’s Prestige Format binding.
For more information on Superman, Metropolis, and the World’s Greatest Super Heroes, visit DC’s website at www.dccomics.com and follow DC on social media at @DCComics and @thedcnation.
