Adventures of Superman: Book of El #4 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Scott Godlewski, Artist; Alex Guimaraes, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Phillip Kennedy Johnson is departing for the competition next year, with this epic being his final work for the company through #12, so it’s fitting that it seems to be a culmination of everything he’s done for DC and unites his work on two franchises. As the mad tyrant Kryl-Ux, still obsessed with turning back time and restoring his children a millennia later, prepares to make his move, we get a glimpse into his fabulously creepy lair. And at the same time, Superman and his descendant Ronan Kent are on the trail of any way to stop him. That leaves Ronan in search of his twin sister Rowan – but she defected to a strange kingdom known as Lanternholm years ago, and the duo have been estranged ever since. As soon as Kal and Ronan get close, they come under attack by hard-light projections that try to fend off any organic beings from the glittering fortress – her brother included.
Lanternholm is one of the best set pieces so far in this comic, a whole civilization created entirely out of hard-light creations. Some backstory explains that this is all descended from Ellie, the first truly alive Lantern construct, who outlived her brother and so many others and eventually gave her life to become part of Lanterholm itself. She created the ability for other construct beings to live here – and now they’re all endangered as the villain threatens to unleash a massive new power on the city. So far, the visuals in this series are fantastic, but it also delivers one of the best takes on Superman I’ve ever seen. This is no surprise – Warworld may be the best Superman story of the modern age. We’re lucky that despite Johnson departing from DC town for the foreseeable future, he’s doing it in a way that lets him deliver a truly satisfying conclusion to his years-long epic.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
