Mark Waid & Bryan Hitch on DC’s Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor

On the 15th of August 2021, Bleeding Cool reported that Bryan Hitch was working on a new Superman comic book, for DC‘s Black Label line of mature readers superhero comics, then in September that it would be written by Mark Waid and inked by Kevin Nowlan.

Once upon a time, Mark Waid was blocked from writing Superman comic books at DC Comics by Paul Levitz after he was a part of the aborted Milar/Morrison/Waid/Peyer Hive pitch which caused internal DC Comics ructions. Years later, when when the offer of Action Comics was withdrawn by Dan DiDio over personal intra-office politics, Waid refused to work for DC Comics again as a result. Since then, he has returned to write the Batman/Superman World’s Finest comics but with Dan DiDio‘s departure, it’s time for him to take on a Superman solo book.

Now DC Comics has announced that Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch will reunite for Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor DC Black Label miniseries,

Superstar writer Mark Waid (Superman: Birthright) is reteaming with JLA Artist Bryan Hitch for a three-issue DC Black Label miniseries, Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor. Superman’s biggest foe is dying, and the Man of Steel will travel across worlds, dimensions, and time to find the cure for him—but why?

In the three-issue DC Black Label series Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor, Superman learns Lex Luthor is dying—and wants the Man of Steel to help him find the cure for whatever is causing his rapid decline. While the world wants to say good riddance to Luthor, Superman will go to the ends of the universe, through different dimensions, and across time to save his foe. But just why does he want to save the person who’s spent his life trying to destroy him? And will he even be able to find the solution?

“For the first time, Superman’s fighting the tide of public opinion, embarking on a mission that billions of people outright oppose. But he has his reasons—partly because of who he is, but partly because of a debt he feels he owes—and readers of Superman: Birthright might already guess what that perceived debt is,” said Waid. “Together, Superman and Lex are racing the clock in search of a cure as they travel the breadth of the super-universe, from Atlantis to Kandor to the Phantom Zone, all spectacularly reimagined by Bryan Hitch.”

Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor #1 will be available at local comics shops on July 25, and the series will release a new issue every other month. The first issue features a main cover and interior artwork by Bryan Hitch, with inks by superstar artist Kevin Nowlan and colors by David Baron, and soon-to-be-revealed open-to-order variants by Kevin Nowlan and Chris Samnee, a 1:25 variant by Yanick Paquette, and a 1:50 variant by Evan “Doc” Shaner.

It’s been a long time coming…