Waid, Hitch, & Nowlan recount THE LAST DAYS OF LEX LUTHOR in new Superman Black Label series

In Superman: Birthright, writer Mark Waid recounted the earliest days of the Man of Steel. Now Waid is taking aim at the final days of Superman’s greatest foe. DC has announced Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor, a new three-issue Black Label series written by Waid, pencilled by Bryan Hitch, inked by Kevin Nowlan, and colored by David Baron. The bi-monthly-shipping series finds Superman racing to save Lex Luthor’s life from a mystery illness.

Here’s how DC describes Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor:

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?

A mystery malady afflicting Lex Luthor? My money’s on a new human strain of Virus X.

Along with a main cover by Hitch, Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor #1 will sport variant covers by Nowlan (open-to-order), Chris Samnee (open-to-order), Yanick Paquette (1:25 ratio), and Evan “Doc” Shaner (1:50 ratio).

The series marks a reunion for Waid and Hitch, who previously teamed on the tabloid-sized JLA: Heaven’s Ladder one-shot, as well as on the main JLA series, in 2000. It’s also a reteaming for Hitch and Nowlan, who previously collaborated on The Batman’s Grave in 2019-2020.

In a statement announcing the series, Waid elaborated on the uniqueness the situation for Superman:

“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.”

Check out a preview of interior pages by Hitch, Nowlan, and Baron below. Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor #1 (of 3) is due out in stores and digitally on Tuesday, July 25th.

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