– The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA – The big “S” is still on his chest, but the new Superman coming to the shelves of book stores next week is not exactly the chipper and bright-eyed optimist of lore.

Instead, the kid from Krypton featured in “Superman: Earth One” that was released to comic book shops Wednesday, sports a hoodie, a brooding brow and fashion sense that would put him out of place in hipster lairs from Brooklyn to Seattle.

And that, said Dan DiDio, senior vice president and executive editor at DC Comics is just what the company was aiming for when it signed up J. Michael Straczynski, himself a noted comic book writer who currently helms the company’s flagship monthly “Superman” title.

“We always knew that we wanted to do a real, contemporary interpretation of Superman,” he told The Associated Press. “And what we did is we reached out to Joe Straczynski — Joe is probably one of the biggest Superman fans out there.”

DiDio said the retelling is a way to reach out to buyers not just in comic book stores but in other book stores, too — fans of books and series like “Twilight” or Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy of crime novels.

“In this particular case what we did is we looked at the format,” he said, adding that DC wanted to create an original graphic novel featuring a contemporary tone.

The graphic novel was illustrated by Shane Davis. And while it features the jet-black hair — sans curly lock atop the forehead — and piercing stare that Clark Kent/Superman has had since his creation in the 1930s, Davis’ art reflects a more modern bent with narrow pants and ties and hoodie.

The work draws upon the Superman mythology but recreates it for a contemporary audience with a 20-year-old Clark Kent who’s unsure how to use his super-strength, super-smarts and just plain super abilities as he makes his way through a grittier, more realistic Metropolis.

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