Adventures of Superman: Book of El #11 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Scott Godlewski, Vasco Georgiev, Cian Tormey, Artists; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s time at DC is sunsetting next month, with this millennia-spanning journey through the future of the Super-family being his final crown jewel. Superman has traveled from world to world, encountering his descendants across the cosmos while in search of his children, Osul and Otho. He’s now found them – but both of them have been transformed, becoming cosmic heroes in their own right. There’s only one challenge left now – confronting the deranged Kryl-Ux, a former friend from Warworld turned grieving father, who has lost most of his humanity in his search for Olgrun’s Flame. This threat is so grave that even the villainous Phyrrus the Red, a dark sorcerer and Superman’s son with Circe – a coupling that never should have been – seeks out his father to ask forgiveness, and Superman extends a hand to his prodigal son in a touching segment.
That kind instinct has served Superman well in the past – but it will take a lot more than that to get through to Kryl-Ux. We’ve seen the aftermath of the villain’s visits to worlds, including the fall of the Prometheans in this issue, but it’s taken its toll on him as well. He’s become less than human and transformed into a sort of crystal golem reminiscent of Doomsday. He still holds his family and their memory close to him, obsessively focused on gaining ultimate power so he can resurrect them. But even their memory is escaping him after a thousand years of obsession, and as he tries to reach their spirits, he’s rebuffed in a heartbreaking moment that shows that he might be too far gone to be saved. The legacy of the Warworld Saga reaches far and wide in this series, and that’s why I personally think it’s the best Superman story of the last decade. Hopefully Johnson’s whole epic run gets an omnibus.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
