This is for an exercise that Warren Ellis came up with here.

“So here’s the deal:

You are an artist/designer. You have to put together the cover for a comic called SUPERMAN. It is issue 1 of this book.

You have been told that Superman is a man who dresses predominantly in a shade of blue, and wears a red S symbol. You know nothing else about the character.

The cover must include a logo and the text THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE DARING EXPLOITS OF THE ONE AND ONLY SUPERMAN.

And that’s it.”

This is what I came up with.

The Harvey Award-winning creative team behind the smash hit “High Moon” are set to once again leap story-telling magic from pixels to print in their latest adventure, “Box 13″. The graphic novel trade paperback will be available this May from Red 5 Comics and ComiXology, the creators of Comics — the #1 iPhone application for downloading comics.

Created by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, the first Zuda.com contest winners, Box 13 is a re- imagining of the popular radio serial of the same name. It follows investigative author Dan Holiday who has spent the last several years of his life researching the secrets behind the MKULTRA project. His latest book has brought him a degree of notoriety, but a mysterious numbered box left on his book signing table is too much to resist. Once opened, the box sends him spinning on a harrowing journey of self-discovery and driving mystery… what is in Box 13?

While inspired by the noir-serial of the 1940s, the reimagining blends in the disorienting action- mysteries of the 1960s like “The Manchurian Candidate”, “The Prisoner” and “Modesty Blaise” wrapped in a modern tale in a digital medium. “There is gunplay, conspiracy, romance, psychological drama, train chases, motorcycle chases, and danger!” author David Gallaher told CBR. “But, at its heart it’s a story about rediscovering your place in the world after everything in your life changes forever.”

Originally commissioned by ComiXology and released exclusively on the iPhone, the series was created from start-to-finish with print-ready layouts. “Who better than this beloved award-winning team to help demonstrate to the world the potential synergies of comics content in digital and print?”, posed ComiXology president David Steinberger. “Over a hundred thousand people have discovered the series on their screens, and are now clamoring for the printed graphic novel to complete the experience. At the end of the day, it’s all about telling a great story that people want to read.”

Not only will the generation of digital comic readers come looking for Box 13, but the title will be exposed to comic shop masses on May 1’s Free Comic Book Day. The entire 8-page first chapter of Box 13 is included in Red 5 Comics third-annual Atomic Robo FCBD issue — one of the most anticipated regular releases of the event.

The release of the Box 13 graphic novel on May 19 will complete the page-turning appetite for just $13. Pre-order your copy in March 2010 using Diamond Comics code MAR101130.

(And ensure your copy of Red 5 Comics Free Comic Book Day 2010 edition featuring Atomic Robo, Box 13 and Neozoic using code JAN100030)

Viva La MonsterPlex!