REVIEW: Absolute Superman #3
Absolute Superman #3, “Last Dust of Krypton: Boy From the Purple Prairie” focuses more on Kal’s childhood and the setup for the final days of Krypton. There’s also a fascinating reveal at the end that ties Kal to The Kents in a yet to be detailed way.
The standard cover is by Rafa Sandoval and Ulises Arreola. Jor-El, Lara, and Krypto stand defiantly as the destructive wave of Krypton advances. We learn much about them this issue and this images manages to sum up their characters well.
The variants all seem to play on the common theme of Superman’s powerful demeanour. Christian Ward’s offers an explosive display of Kal’s solar gauntlets erupting all around him. There seems to be more sadness instead of anger in Kal’s face that gives the image a haunting feel.
Declan Shalvey’s variant has Kal floating ominously above us with his eyes glowing red. This really sells the dangerous alien aspect of the story thus far but still manages to be quite a majestic image of Superman.
The variant by Mike Perkins and Mike Spicer plays with the shading to make the colors pop. His arms folded and face shrouded really gives a no nonsense feel to this Superman.
The interior art team of Rafa Sandoval and Colorist Ulises Arreola bring their version of Krypton to life this issue. There’s a lot of visual nods to various iconic imagery throughout the story. One of the more readily recognizable is a certain red crystalline mountain range the Els visit for a camping trip. Although they do a great job of constructing an alien world, there’s enough similarities to Earth to fuel Kal’s motivations to involve himself as Superman. Their visual clues and hints go a long way to accentuate the story’s many unanswered questions and it’s simply good comic book art.
Jason Aaron, lettered by Becca Carey, dives into the world building of Krypton and fleshes out the characters of Jor-El and Lara in this updated tale of Krypton’s last days. Because of Krypton’s social economics there’s a real impact of the consequences of doing the right thing. Not only is Jor-El’s warnings unpopular they’re also beyond his station to suggest, but he tries to warn the council anyway. This issue also acts as an origin for Sol, Superman’s new suit, as Lara gets the chance to demonstrate it’s capabilities to unsuspecting Military Guild members. Based off Kal’s current situation on Earth, it’s likely safe to assume his parent’s fate is the same as we all know, and their loss will have a greater impact on Superman than we’ve ever seen before.
(9/10) The art and action sequences in Absolute Superman #3 are top tier. Even with this basically being a retelling of Superman’s origins Jason Aaron is going about it in a way that leaves you wondering what will happen next. The elements he’s added to this Superman’s foundations truly elevates this beyond simply feeling like an Elseworlds tale. I find myself excited to read this series each month and am really enjoying the ride.
