Bronze Age Classic KRYPTONITE NEVERMORE Returning to Print

After more than a decade, Superman’s early ’70s soft reboot is expected back on shelves in a new hardcover…

When editor Julius Schwartz took over Superman at the beginning of the 1970s, he set out to do what he’d done with the Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, Hawkman and Batman in the ’50s and ’60s: modernize the Man of Steel so he’d better reflect the times.

Gone was Kryptonite, Clark Kent went to work at WGBS-TV and most of Superman’s classic Silver Age tropes that were nurtured by previous editor Mort Weisinger were downplayed or ignored. Denny O’Neil, probably DC’s most grounded writer at the time, was brought in to handle the title — and the changes were heralded by perhaps the greatest Superman image of all time: Neal Adams’ cover for Superman #233, which came out in November 1970. (Supermainstays Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson handled the interior art.)

The groundbreaking arc — best known as Kryptonite Nevermore because of the cover blurb on #233 — was collected in hardcover more than a decade ago then went out of print. Now it’s scheduled to return early in 2021, according to a catalog listing for Penguin Random House, DC’s book-market distributor.

Check out the official description, along with placeholder art:

Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore

It’s a turning point in Superman history, as his longtime weakness—Kryptonite—is destroyed! So why is he now losing his powers?Find out in this classic story!

Everyone knows Superman’s major weakness: Kryptonite. But what happens when that’s taken off the board, as a scientific experiment turns all the kryptonite on Earth to iron? Originally published in 1971, this story turned the Man of Steel’s status quo on its head. When all Kryptonite has been destroyed,the Man of Steel is anything but invulnerable as his powers slowly begin to fade and a doppelganger Superman arrives on the scene with strange powers of its own—and any contact between the two might result in the destruction of the planet!

Collects Superman #233-238 and #240-242.

A few thoughts:

Also Adams

— The book is due January 26, 2021, though that’s for the book market. It would likely be out the week before in comics shops.

— The 192-page hardcover is listed for $29.99

— Neal Adams claims that he doesn’t like the cover of Superman #233 because he put virtually no effort into it. Click here to read his rather surprising comments about that.

Standard caveat: This has not been solicited by DC yet, so nothing is official until it’s official. Even then, things can change. But there’s more to keep in mind, as well: With the coronavirus pandemic putting the comics industry in a squeeze right now, it’s impossible to say what the future has in store in terms of release dates, solicitations, and so on. Just keep coming to 13th Dimension for updates.

MORE

— DC Re-Solicits JOHN BYRNE’s SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL Collection. Click here.

— JOHN BYRNE’s SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL Volume 2 Gets Release Date. Click here.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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9 Comments

  1. Two thoughts- I hope this is a deluxe edition so we can appreciate the Swanderson art. Also- I hope they don’t use the same scans from the DC Classics Library. This really deserves all-star treatment.

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  2. This is a must have for the library. At first I was hoping for the comic reprint style they’ve been doing lately. But, hard cover is nice too. Personally, while I loved the 70’s stories I always hated the move to the news room. That seemed so unrealistic for someone that needed freedom to be gone for stretches of time. That said, I’ll take any story from that era over anything they’ve done recently.

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  3. With Flash of Two Worlds recently released and Kryptonite Nevermore on the way, I’m hoping we’ll see more reprintings of DC Classics Library.volumes. In particular, I’d like a new hardcover release of Batman — The Annuals #1, please. Then after rereleasing #2, DC should start a hardcover collection of all of the Batman annuals, from that point forward.

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  4. This is great! On a side note. Anyone out there know exactly how many times Superman has been depicted breaking out of chains…JUST on a cover? Adams certainly set the standard and it must have been an honor to get this cover (#233), but I’m guessing he wasn’t the first,
    Wonder Woman too had many covers of her being bound by chains and ropes, but I’m guessing that this was more of a…predilection of her creator than to see her actually breaking out of them. Yes Superman is indeed the champion of breaking out of chains. I wonder if he’s ever been shown breaking out of a naval aircraft carrier anchor chain? That would be cool.

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      • Agreed. I once googled ‘Superman breaking out of chains’ and got so many images I finally quit looking. But I also came across several drinking cups with Adams Nevermore image on them and at least two statues. One older one by Mego and a newer 3D printed version that was really nice.

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  5. Another great Adams Superman v Superman cover: JLA No. 74, one of my favorite comics as a kid. Still have it, OMG 51 years later.

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  6. I own the DC Classics Library version and don’t plan to upgrade. DC used “Kryptonite Nevermore” as the premiere volume of of the DC Classics Library. Unfortunately, they chose to use scans instead of a restoration. I have no idea why – no other volume used scans, but it was a bad decision and the resulting backlash may have been a fatal blow to the line before it got off the board. That was really unfortunate, because I loved the line and wish it had continued.

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