Review: Adventures Of Superman Book Of El #8

Adventures of Superman Book of El #8 came out this last week, meaning we are two thirds of the way through this sweeping mythological future story touching on the Book of El and the Superman descendants. It also touches on the Warworld saga from a few years ago.

Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson does great with stories like this. Whether it is The Last God or Warworld or even his current Hulk run, there is always a deep sense of lore. Sometimes it can be almost too much to comprehend. Here I am trying to follow both the Aspects of Olgrun, the mission of Kryl-Ux, and all the Superman descendants. I will be honest, at times I have been lost. At times I have to dig out my own reviews to remind me which descendant it is.

All that said, it is a tapestry worth diving into. I suppose it is no different than Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or Rowling's Harry Potter. You just need to immerse yourself.

Art this issue is done by Cian Tormey, giving Scotty Godlewski a break. Tormey is well-acquainted with the Superman family and his work here is wonderful, moving from interstellar battles to medieval parlays to fisticuffs.

I don't know if I get all of what is happening here. But I am enjoying the ride. And Johnson does a good job of answering a question that has been bothering me.

On to the book. 

Last issue, Otho became the Black Racer, absorbing an aspect of Olgrun and saving Superman.

One thing that Johnson did so well in the Warworld Saga was show how Superman has impacted the Phaelosians and the slaves of that world. It is great to keep hearing about it here where in a voice over we are reminded how Superman's brief time on Warworld had everlasting impact on that culture. An S-shield meant an ally.

And I love these panels with Superman and Otho looking at each other with love and pride. 

The group of Superman, Otho, Alura-El, and Khan-El as well as the Valkyries are heading to Tamaran to link up with Theandr Bran-El. 

Whew ... so many names! Maybe I need a role call to keep them and their back stories in the front of my mind. 

Here we are reminded that Khan-El still follows the culture of the Warworld Phaelosians, armed with a sword he imbues with his solar power when he needs to. The sword confuses Superman, even if he wielded one himself.

Outside Tamaran, at an outpost, we see Kryl-Ux's Warzoon attacking the Tamaranean defenses. 

Our heroes fly in to stop the marauders.

This might be my favorite scene of the book. Even though Otho is invulnerable to simple martial weapons, Superman steps in front of the blasts. It's the principle of the whole thing.

Fantastic.

Meanwhile, Rowan and Ronan, now armed with a Green Lantern ring and a Brainiac remnant respectively, are trying to track down the Red Son Osul. Brainiac surmises that given where Otho and Superman manifested, that perhaps Otho appeared near another descendant of El, and perhaps his closest descendant.

This is a decent addition to the story trying to explain why the family thrown through a time portal were cast through the universe. 

The closest descendant is Superman's immortal son Pyrrhos. 

And Pyrrhos is powerful, mixing the power of Superman with magic abilities. I love the Greek feeling of the proceedings with Pyrrhos armor, an Atlas like being holding up a pomegranate tree, and even this sort of giant face/head Aegis he uses.

He is powerful, beating up and capturing Rowan and Ronan despite their abilities.

Meanwhile, on Tamaran, Queen Theandr is listening to her husband/magistrate Count Doukis who commands the planet to not fight Kryl-Ux's Warzoon, allowing Tamaran to be laid waste to.

That doesn't sound like a fiery Tamaranean queen. It is clear Doukis has something, forcing Theandr to just acquiesce to this decisions. 

My guess? He has a child in hiding and threatening to kill the child of Theandr doesn't comply. 

I was grateful that Johnson explains a couple of things back on Elysium, Pyrhhos' world.

First off, Pyrrhos explains how he is Superman's son. Way back in Action Comics #1060 (https://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2023/12/review-action-comics-1060.html) Superman visited the Catheral of Saint Lazarus. 

There he accidentally freed Circe. 

Please heed this one sentence - "And though he knew it not, Father traded a measure of his own essence in the bargain'. That essence was the seed that allowed Circe to birth Pyrrhos.

But ... ahem ... his essence? I'll leave out how Circe got Superman's essence, unaware even, to your imagination. 

At least we know Superman didn't cheat on Lois.

Another question I have had throughout the series is why Kryl-Ux hasn't gathered up all the Aspects of Olgrun in his time. We have learned that Kryl-Ux has known where several of the Aspects are hidden.

Here Pyrrhos, who has captured Osul (so Brainiac was right), explains that until all the aspects were available, there was no reason for Kryl-Ux to gather them. It is the sudden appearance of the Fire of Olgrun in Osul that has spurred him to start attacking. I guess I can buy that.

Pyrrhos' plan is easy. He will kill Osul, take the Aspect into himself, and kill Kryl-Ux.

Interesting. 

The back matter Johnson puts in almost all his works fill in some gaps and adds layers of info to the mythology.

Here we see how Supergirl first met Pyrrhos.

There are so many moving parts in the book among characters I am still not completely familiar with so this book remains a bit of a well-rendered cipher. I wonder if it would make more sense read in a batch rather than a month between chapters.

Overall grade: B-