Writer J Michael Straczynski has lifted the lid on ongoing graphic novel series Superman: Earth One. Straczynski admitted that he had been working on the project since he moved from Marvel to DC Comics earlier this year – but was sworn to secrecy. Superman: Earth One, a reinvention of the Man of Steel, is to be released once or twice a year and will be set outside of the mainstream DC Universe.

Straczynski told CBR:

“The Superman part of the equation is, as noted in the other stories, really the story of Clark’s coming out as Superman and his decision to essentially enter a life of service when he could have been anyone, could have been rich as an athlete, researcher, any number of things.

“I’m also taking time to really think through elements of the mythos that we’ve accepted without maybe really sitting back and saying, ‘Why?’

“The Big Bad in this first volume isn’t someone we’ve seen before. It’s someone who harkens back to the destruction of Krypton, as we ask another question: ‘We know that Krypton was destroyed, but do we really know why?’

“Isn’t it odd that a planet would so suddenly just up and blow up like that? Do planets generally just blow up one day? Or is there perhaps more to that story than we’ve seen before?”

Superman: Earth One volume #1, by Straczynski and artist Shane Davis, is out on September 7, 2010.