By Zack Quaintance — Every once in a while, Big 2 comics surprise you with just how right they get an idea, and today is very much that day — enter Superman: Space Age, a new three-issue prestige-format miniseries by writer Mark Russell and artist Mike Allred. The first issue of the book is due out on July 26, with a price set at $9.99 and a handful of great variant covers (all of which you can browse after the jump below).

What makes Superman: Space Age so exciting? Well, for starters the creative team. This is a book — as you’ll soon learn when we get into the plot details — that plays to the science-heavy Silver Age of comics, and doing the artwork is Mike Allred. Allred, who is frequently colored by his wife, Laura, is perhaps the best artist in Big 2 comics for this sort of take. His linework is precise and polished, paying homage to that earlier time while putting his own pop art spin on the visuals, doing so in a way that makes it feel refreshed and wholly new.

*Superman: Space Age #1* main series cover by artist Mike Allred.

Russell, meanwhile, is one of the best satirist working in corporate comics. His work is as imaginative as it is sharp, frequently overlaid by well-written monologues that lend an extra layer of meaning to scripts already brimming with funny exchanges, high-concept thoughtful ideas, and heartbreaking twists (see this week’s issue of One-Star Squadron, holy cow). Russell has also done some truly excellent work in the world of Superman comics, with the headliner being Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex. Russell’s other best Superman work is the analog character found in Second Coming, where he is sharing an apartment with Jesus (it’s really good).

Here are some details about Superman: Space Age from DC:

After years of standing idle, the young man from Krypton defies the wishes of his fathers to come out to the world as the first superhero of the Space Age. As each decade passes and each new danger emerges, he wonders if this is the one that will kill him and everyone he loves. Superman realizes that even good intentions are not without their backlash as the world around him transforms into a place as determined to destroy itself as he is to save it.

In a statement, Allred also calls it his “biggest project for DC yet,” and the publisher notes that the book will give “fans an unforgettable journey through U.S. history and culture starring our beloved characters.” It all sounds like great stuff.

Oh, and as with some other high-profile new DC projects, this one will have a release schedule of every other month. Anyway, checkout more art from the series below, and join me in the weeks to come, constantly wondering, is it July 26 yet?

SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE #1

The variant covers for the first issue of the book can be found below…

Open to order Superman: Space Age variant cover by Steve Rude

1:25 Superman: Space Age #1 variant cover by Nick Derington

1:50 Superman: Space Age variant cover by Mike Allred

Five (obviously) unlettered interior pages from the first issue can be found below…

Superman: Space Age #1
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Mike Allred
Variant Cover: Steve Rude
1:25 Variant Cover: Nick Derington
1:50 Variant Cover: Mike Allread
$9.99 US | 80 pages | 1 of 3 | Prestige
ON SALE 7/26/22

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.