REVIEW: Superman: Son Of Kal-El #8
Things really feel like they’re just getting started in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #8 and it’s going to be interesting to see how high the stakes get before this arc concludes. Tom Taylor continues using his masterful writing skills to escalate Jon into a new, yet familiar, Superman. Jon’s world keeps getting bigger and the stakes keep getting higher.
Superman: Son of Kal-El #8 continues directly from the previous issue and wastes no time getting us back into the action. Superman (Jon Kent) and Aquaman (Jackson Hyde) continue to have their hands full dealing with the giant sea monster situation.
The regular cover by Dan Mora depicts Jon performing the classic shirt opening maneuver in face of the impending monstrous threat. Dan Mora does an exquisite job showing Jon’s determination and capturing the familiar feeling of Superman arriving on the scene. The use of the buildings reflection to showcase the sheer size of the creature invokes how massive a task Jon is facing, while also giving us a “monster’s eye view” of Jon mid flight.
The variant cover by Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain is a gorgeous rendition of the new generation of Superman and Aquaman ready for action. You can almost hear the waves crashing against the rocks they stand upon and feel the breeze causing Jon’s cape to fly. It’s a truly stunning piece of art.
The story effortlessly picks up where last issue left off and continues the same narrative style as well. Jay continues to report on the actions of Superman while we, the readers, get to watch the events play out. Jon and Jackson’s team-up is refreshing as both young heroes collaborate on how to best handle their situation.
As seen in issue #7, the appearance of the Gamorra Corps escalates an already uneasy predicament into a full on crisis by causing the creature to become hostile. Their motivations and actions against the crab-like leviathan goes far to show us that having powers doesn’t automatically make someone a hero. As things go from bad to worse we’re given a nice display of a classic Superman power as Jon and Jackson desperately try to keep control on all fronts.
Although they do the best they can to mitigate as much damage as possible, Jon still can’t help but feel the weight of loss he thinks could’ve been prevented. During the commotion with the sea creature, we’re given glimpses to the ambitions of Bendix. All hints are laid bare a few pages later as Bendix uses the event as a catalyst to reveal his twisted machinations.
The artwork is by Cian Tormey, inks by Raül Fernandez, and colours by Federico Blee and I adore it. The art is beautifully done with a perfect blend of realism and comic book caricature. I love the mix of the two and the vibrancy adds such a great touch.
Things really feel like they’re just getting started in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #8 and it’s going to be interesting to see how high the stakes get before this arc concludes. Tom Taylor continues using his masterful writing skills to escalate Jon into a new, yet familiar, Superman. Jon’s world keeps getting bigger and the stakes keep getting higher.
Oh, and don’t forget we’re treated to a good, old-fashioned crossover starting in Nightwing #89 due out next week!
Haven’t picked up Superman: Son Of Kal-El #8 yet? You can get the standard cover by Dan Mora, here (UK) or here (US). Or if you prefer the variant cover by Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain, you can get that here.
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