Adventures of Superman: The Book of El #1 Begins a Bold New Chapter in DC History (Review)

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“Warworld Saga” is one of the best modern Superman stories, and was a big reason that fans came back to Superman comics after the Bendis run, which had a very middling reception. Johnson built an amazing Superman story that reminded people what could be done with the character, all while introducing new characters and concepts to the Superman mythos. Adventures of Superman: The Book of El #1 picks some of the threads that were left by the wayside after Johnson left the Superman books and does it in the most Superman way possible.

The story starts off pretty slowly, honestly. While the first few pages give readers just the right prologue, showing the scale of what we’re going to see while giving some exposition to new readers, the rest of the issue takes place on the Kent farm in Smallville, with Clark, Lois, Jon, Otho, and Osul hanging out doing farm stuff with Ma and Pa Kent. While this may seem like a weird way to start a book that ends with a dystopian future, I think it fits very well. Johnson is contrasting the world Superman has right now with that is to come in the future. It’s not obvious that he’s doing that right away, and as I was reading the book I kind of wondered exactly where the story was going to go and why we were spending so much time on the farm, but after finishing the issue, I understood the point of the whole thing. It’s a really great use of juxtaposition. I also kind of think that Johnson just wanted to write some fun little Kent family shenanigans on the farm, something he didn’t really get to do in his run, which was basically set on Warworld and then Metropolis. It’s great to be reminded that while Superman faces the greatest threats in the multiverse, if it was up to him, he’d be on the farm with the people he loved.

The art by Scott Godlewski is gorgeous. Godlewski has a great style, and Johnson’s script definitely shows off his range as an artist. The issue kicks off in the Promethean Galaxy, with the book’s future big bad climbing on the massive beings floating through space. The first page makes it seem like we’re just watching someone climb up a mountain, but the scene expands into a gorgeous double page spread that reveals exactly what we’ve been seeing. It’s a wonderful way to give readers the scale of the story, and Godlewski doesn’t skimp out on the detail. The first few pages are so very good and pull you right into the story.

The scenes on the farm are another example of Godlewski’s skill. There’s not a lot happening in these pages — the twins gardening with Pa and then playing with Jon, flashback panels showing Clark thinking about his childhood with Pa, the twins playing with Jon, the elder Kents on the porch — but it’s so beautifully done. Godlewski is one of those artists that has a near flawless style, so everything looks very nice. When we finally get to the action in the issue, Godlewski continues to step up, giving readers some cool imagery. The page layout — panels going all the way across two pages — gives the art a widescreen feel that we don’t always get. However, for this reason, I do recommend actually buying a physical copy of this book. The art will look much better that way.

Adventures of Superman: The Book of El #1 takes its cue from “Warworld Saga” and does a great job of telling a quasi-continuation of that story. There are a lot of new readers coming into the Superman comics, but Johnson sets up all the history they’ll need to understand the story if they decided to pick up this first issue. This issue is a little slow, but that’s alright, because it gives Johnson and Godlewski a chance to spend a little time on the farm before what feels like a pretty dark story. DC doesn’t do a lot of dystopian futures, so it’s will be interesting to see how this book builds itself over its run.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Adventures of Superman: The Book of El #1 is on sale now.