REVIEW: Adventures Of Superman: Book Of El #9
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #9, “The Battle for Tamaran”, shows there’s no option too extreme for Kryl-Ux when it comes to acquiring the Aspects of Olgrun. We also witness the origins of a new member of The House of El and a bit of detail into the exploits of Pyrrhos The Red.
The standard cover is by Scott Godlewski and Alex Guimarāes. Focusing on the might of Queen Theand’r, it appears the other House of El combatants have been captured. What’s more apt is the symbolism of their hands tied as an assessment of Tamaran’s situation until Theand’r shows her true self.
Lucio Parrillo’s variant is a great detailed depiction of Superman standing in some sort of alien goo. One could make the argument this piece was meant for ‘Superman/Spiderman’ #1, but given how Parrillo has done a variant since ‘Book of El’ #4, it’s most likely a happy coincidence the goo resembles a certain symbiotic Spiderman character.
The variant by Mario Foccillo and Pressy highlights Otho-Ra with their new abilities gained from The Black Racer. In spite of the dark background of space, this piece feels very vibrant as glowing blue streaks of energy flow off Starchild.
Scott Godlewski and Colorist Alex Guimarāes continue their fantastic work on interior art. This issue is packed full of action and there’s no shortage of jaw dropping scenes. Even with everything that’s happening, they never lose sight of direction as each page is easily digestable. That being said, this issue also has a lot of emotional beats as Osul-Ra deals with his situation with Pyrrhos and Theand’r reconciles her inner conflict of being a super powered royal. The art of those moments allows us to feel the tensions these characters are under in a very real way.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson, lettered by Dave Sharpe, holds nothing back this issue as a few story beats get settled leading to a huge cliffhanger cameo on the last page. First up, Osul and Pyrrhos have a fairly productive conversation as Osul shows he’s very capable of protecting himself when necessary. We also get to see a new member of The House of El be born, so to speak, as Ronan and Rowan’s story catches up with Osul. From there we join Superman and the rest of the El Clan as they approach a Tamaran under siege. Here we see the extant of Kryl-Ux’s ends-justify-the-means approach to obtaining the Aspects of Olgrun and it appears his depravity knows no limits. However, by the time we realize what Kryl has truly done, a familiar adversary appears to complicate the situation even further. To help calm us from this high octane read, we’re then shown some excerpts from Jimmy’s ‘Book of El’ that breaks down how Pyrrhos came to be and how he easily fits within the greater DCU.
(10/10) Adventures of Superman: Book of El #9 hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until the unexpected last page. This issue is extremely fun and perfectly showcases the positive effect Superman has on those around him.
