REVIEW: Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent #1

Adventures Of Superman: Jon Kent #1 is finally here and we’re on the road to Injustice with the next chapter in Jon Kent’s story by Tom Taylor.

Not only that, but Jon Kent is also exhibiting new Superman Blue-like electric powers as a result of the events in Lazarus Planet. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on and a lot to be excited about. This issue serves as a trailhead for the multi-versal adventure to come.

With every first issue of a major series comes a boatload of variant covers, so let’s go through some of our favourites for Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1. We’ve already seen Clayton Henry’s regular cover on ad pages in our favorite series. It seems crazy, but there are actually not many illustrations of Jon Kent doing the iconic suit reveal synonymous with his father. Henry is one of the contemporary DC mainline artists out there with that smooth laminated style that stylises crisp action and warm expressive faces.

Rafael Sarmento’s variant cover was another great illustration used for pre-release marketing and for good reasons. It’s a truly explosive piece that continues the trend of Jon with the electrical Superman Blue powers. The details here are as fine as can be with Jon shedding away his old Superman suit for a Blue reskin. The quaking ground beneath him on his knees is another great detail that makes the illustration all the more powerful. The light and dark juxtaposition is a nice touch too. Sarmento always does a good job of adding realism to his pieces with proper proportions and details.

Zu Orzo takes realism to a whole other level with her variant. Her mixed media approach and photo realistic style give us a rendition of Jon Kent that looks like he could be right out of an episode of Superman & Lois. The background alone can be its own interpretive art. Without a doubt, this can be the most unique variant in this set.

Megan Huang gives us classic comic book action with her variant and includes Jon Kent series regular and his love interest Jay Nakamura with his ghost-like abilities. Here, the duo avoids oncoming traffic flying right at them and that’s no exaggeration. There’s kind of a mature and retro look about Jon here that almost has a Darwyn Cooke feel. The plain white background emphasises more action on them. Huang is diverse with the vehicles being thrown at them too.

Yasmin Flores Montanez’s variant features Jon above the clouds conjuring up a bomb of a lightning storm. He’s in his classic capless suit here and the whole cover manages to pull it all off while sticking to only three dominant colors. Purple sunset skies are pretty on both the page and in reality. Unlike Thor, Jon doesn’t need a hammer to call upon the power of thunder.

Jon is again shown in a beautiful cosmic backdrop in A.L. Kaplan’s variant. This is one of those covers that feels like a hand-drawn piece that you just bought over the counter. Orange and dark violet make up the light and dark composition while Jon is situated in the middle set to the sun as the symbolic balance.

As previously teased in previous Superman: Son Of Kal-El issues concerning Jon Kent’s next adventure, someone is going from universe to universe killing Kal-El’s. Val-Zod has a lead on this, but he’ll need the help of someone who is familiar with this threat, and that would be Jon Kent.

Jon is still with Jay as they try to adopt and adapt to a new normal civilian life. At the same time, he’s still reeling from the events of Lazarus Planet as he still experiences zaps of that familiar blue electrical power. In a nutshell, Lazarus Planet concerned ancient Lazarus volcanoes becoming active and affecting different heroes’ superpowers – Jon was one of them. Regardless, Jon is still out saving the Earth when it needs him. When Val-Zod comes to recruit him for his quest, Jon learns he’s not the only one on the team.

Tom Taylor has established himself as the foremost writer on the continuing adventures of Jon Kent as he matures into a Superman of his own. This very much feels like a continuation of his Superman: Son Of Kal-El series with the cast of characters returning, which feels like it ended too soon without many Earth-shaking storylines. But, perhaps this is the one we’ve been waiting for. Jon is, without a doubt, growing as he takes on more serious threats. His recent actions in Dark Crisis are one of many examples. Of course, Taylor, lettered by Wes Abbott will go back to the world of Injustice where many readers first became familiar with him 10 years ago.

The sheer intensity of this story demands the art services of someone like Clayton Henry. With plenty of opportunities for flying action scenes and people moving faster than speeding bullets, it all reads and looks very smooth. There are also plenty of big, fat onomatopoeias for those quaking hits. Of course, the best part about drawing for this series is that you get to draw multiple Supermen. The opening intro to Jon saving the Earth from falling debris was the perfect reintroduction to our protagonist. All this is complemented by Jordie Bellaire’s brilliant coloring and shading.

There’s so much to be excited for in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 as the true son of Superman returns to his own solo series. A lot has changed since we last saw him and we can’t wait to see how he will handle this, all while confronting his greatest enemy and more. This is one of the essential Superman stories to follow.