REVIEW: Adventures Of Superman: Book Of El #6
Adventures Of Superman: Book Of El #6 continues Superman’s epic adventures into the future alongside his descendants. So far I have loved every second of this series, not only does it allow writer, Phillip Kennedy Johnson to continue the work he first started, but also allows us to get to know some of the characters he introduced a little better.
Bu before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The main cover is by Scott Godlewski & Alex Guimaráes and the imagery here is pretty damn impressive! This cover is exhilarating as we see Superman zoom towards the reader closely followed by an army, behind them the silhouette of the House Of El sigil. The simple yet effective use of lines beyond the atmosphere really adds a sense of speed.
Megan Huang’s variant is my favourite of the bunch as we see Superman take a breather whilst overlooking the Kent Farm. I always love this combination, but there’s something about the extremely realistic clouds that make this one feel more magical.
The variant by Will Conrad & David Baron is incredibly striking and in all honestly, it’s the colours that really make this piece stand out. With Superman playing around in time in the series, this imagery is spot on and has a real sense of classicism to it, this could easily be a cover from the silver age and I mean that as the biggest compliment.
There is also a variant cover by Lucio Parrillo, which is too incredible!
Adventures Of Superman: Book Of El #6 opens up with a flashback as we revisit the event that led Superman to where he is now, but this time we see it from a different perspective, that of the Super Twins, specifically Otho-Ra. What I love here is how much of Superman you can see in them, he has raised them well and their newly found father is their ultimate hero. This moment nicely leads to us seeing where Otho-Ra has wound up in all of this, and her journey to where she is now.
Just as we see Otho-Ra lingering in space, we too see Superman do the same, but this time it’s in the midst of his fight with the sun eater. It’s clear Superman has taken a beating and as usual he refuses to give up. Here just as things start to go from bad to worse, we are reminded of what his legacy means to others, but most importantly what his legacy means to those that are familiar with his sigil. A group find him and recognise it immediately and bring him on board to find out more, as it turns out they have been told a familiar story and things are starting to add up.
There is a lot of heart and a lot of emotion in this issue and Phillip Kennedy Johnson does a great job of reminding us of their mission and of the stakes, they are running out of time as Kryl-Ux draws closer and closer to his goal of bringing his own children back while Superman desperately tries to find his.
The interior art is by Scott Godlewski, Alex Guimaráes & Matt Herms and my goodness it really adds to this already incredible story. The visuals are brilliant in this issue, this really is an all out space adventure and with it comes creatures, insane atmospheres and of course action and this creative team absolutely nail it. There is no detail spared.
(8/10) Adventures Of Superman: Book Of El #6 goes a long way to establish Superman’s legacy and how it has impacted the future. This series continues to excite me, but if I’m honest I do have one gripe – the issues are too short! But with that said, this story is leading somewhere VERY exciting as Otho-Ra has to take Superman’s fine into her own hands.
