This is Superman: Kal-El Returns. The Prime Writers for this book are Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Tom Taylor. The other Writers for this book are Joshua Williamson, Sina Grace, Alex Segura, Mark Waid, and Marv Wolfman. The Prime Illustrators are Mike Perkins and Cian Tormey. The other Illustrators are Clayton Henry, Riccardo Federici, David Lapham, Ruairí Coleman, Dean Haspiel, Jack Herbert, Fico Ossio, Scott Hanna, and Nick Dragotta. The Prime Colorists are Lee Loughridge and Romulo Fajardo Jr. The other Colorists are Frank Martin, Trish Mulvihill, Alex Guimarães, and Marcelo Maiolo. The Letterer is Dave Sharpe. The cover shown above is Illustrated by Dan Mora. This book is an amalgamation of both Philip Kennedy Johnson’s run on Action Comics and Tom Taylor’s series, Superman: Son of Kal-El. It is also the ending of Superman: Son of Kal-El. After the events of The Warworld Saga, Superman and the Authority have finally returned to Earth. Now the people of Earth are so glad to have Superman back. Well, mostly everyone. What plans does Lex Luthor have for Superman? And what does Metallo have to do with it?
I really enjoyed this book. It is a perfect finale for the entire Superman storyline up to this point. Instead of it just being one story, it is a series of short stories focusing on a different character. And at the final issue, they all align into one explosive finale. I’m gonna start with the Superman story, Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Illustrated by Mike Perkins and Riccardo Federici. I really enjoyed this story. Phillip Kennedy Johnson has had a consistently great voice for Superman and this story is no different. Superman, when he is written by Phillips Kennedy Johnson, is shown to be very gentle and generous to everyone he comes in contact with. But whatever you do, do not get on his bad side. This characterization to represented beautifully within this story, where Superman has to go head to head with the New Gods. The two New Gods that Superman face are Orion and Kalibak, and they are a fierce pair of combatants. But Superman faces them with both power and compassion, which is what he does. It is a great story.
The next story in this book follows Jon Kent and his reaction to Superman’s return. It is Written by Tom Taylor, with Illustrations by Cian Tormey and Ruairí Coleman. I also quite enjoyed this story. Tom Taylor has always been great at doing character moments with every book he does. And this story might have my favorite of his character moments. The scene when Jon realizes that Superman has returned was so well done that it is my favorite moment of the entire book. My one problem with this story is that it felt that the conflict was rushed to give more of those feel-good moments. But other than that, this story is truly fantastic and I’m wondering what else Tom Taylor has in store for Jon Kent.
The next story is a is back-up for Action Comics named Red Moon. It is Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Illustrated by David Lapham. I thought that this story was pretty fun. This story actually focuses on Thao-La, a new character that Phillip Kennedy Johnson created for his run. I find her to be an interesting character, so it’s nice to get more stories with her. I also found the main antagonist, Chaytil Ironbled, to be an interesting threat and I would like to see more of him. I do find this story to be a little too short to really expand on the ideas it introduces. But other than that, I find this story to be quite well done.
The next section of this book would be the Superman: Kal-El Returns Special issue. What this issue contains is a series of one-shot stories that shows reactions of different characters to Superman’s return. Most of these stories are pretty good but not enough for me to talk about in depth. The best story in this issue would be The Concert That Ate Gotham. It is Written by Mark Waid and Illustrated by Clayton Henry. I thought this story was masterfully done. It really gets Superman and Batman’s friendship. Batman never once doubted that Superman would come back which makes his reaction so much better. I also like how Mark Waid uses a lesser known villain, like Mr. Nobody, to be the threat for this story, Overall, this story was really good.
Spoiler Alert: The final part of this book is a story named Project Blackout. It is Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, and Joshua Williamson. It is Illustrated by Mike Perkins, Clayton Henry, and Nick Dragotta. I really enjoyed this finale. Not just because of how it transpired, but also the long-term changes it makes. Firstly, it changes one of the most polarizing Superman decisions in recent memory, Superman revealing his secret identity to the world. I was never a big fan of this decision so to see it reversed was good. The next huge move this issue made was killing Manchester Black. I was absolutely shocked with this reveal because Manchester Black just got through his redemption arc in the previous book. But the irony that a villain who is the ultimate cynic to what Superman represents, dying finally believing it was so sad but fitting. Honestly, this final issue is fantastic and the perfect transition into the Dawn of DC Superman title.
Another Spoiler Warning: One factor that is seen throughout the entire book are the two antagonists, Metallo and Lex Luthor. I really enjoyed these two. Lex Luthor is the puppet master of everything that happens in the two main stories. He influences every single threat within the book until he steps up as the main boss in the finale. And I got to give it to everyone who wrote this book for understanding what Lex Luthor is at his core, a petty little bitch. Then there is Metallo, who is also done amazingly. He takes mostly a supporting role but he still has a major presence. You see that he has completely fallen apart, both physically and mentally. But he slowly grows in power and until he becomes a major threat. But, he won’t roll into action until the next volume. Which makes me incredibly excited for what’s to come.
The art for this book is extremely varied and fantastic. I won’t talk about every single, but spotlight some of my favorites. The first issue is Illustrated by Riccardo Federici, and the art is beautiful. Riccardo Federici is able to make any story feel like an expansive epic. It is honestly astonishing how amazing his artwork is. The rest of that story is Illustrated by Mike Perkins, who is also very good. His style is more realistic and gritty than Federici’s, but it still fits the tone of the story. Then there is Cian Tormey’s artwork, which is used for Tom Taylor’s story. His style is a lot more cartoonish than the previous two, but since it has a different tone, it still fits. And finally, there is Clayton Henry, who has a similar style to Cian Tormey. But, in my opinion, it is even better. That isn’t every single artist. But overall, the artwork for this book is great and should be acknowledged for its quality.
Overall, this book is great. It truly understands Superman and his supporting cast. And not only that, it also understands what Superman means for the rest of the world. The artwork is all varied and packed with quality. It is a great read and I cannot wait to see what is yet to follow.