Absolute Superman #19 Review
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Becca Carey
Cover Artist: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola
Variant Cover Artists: Chuma Hill, Haining & Jeff Dèkal
Editors: Ash Padilla & Chris Conroy
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock
Release Date: May 6, 2026
After the Peacemakers killed Lois Lane's father, Talia Al Ghul revealed that she was Primus, the leader of the Omega Men terrorists. Then Jimmy Olsen's former boss said that the only truth was that everything was a lie. Yet 3000 years ago, a woman who also channeled Omega energy prophesied an age of heroes.
While Talia’s father wavers in his commitment to burn the world in his refining fire, Superman and other heroes are arising to protect the planet. But who tore through the Peacemakers like tissue paper with his mighty hammer? And how have time, power, and imprisonment affected King Shazam? Let's leap into Absolute Superman #19 and see!
Story
His magnetized hammer absorbed everything the Peacemakers could fire at him. But that’s no surprise. John Henry Irons invented the technology that gave them their name. After Lazarus Corps bound him to a contract, they paid John a pittance to work in a slaughterhouse. That’s something King Shazam can relate to. Freed from the Father Box, he remembers his family dying while they worked as slaves. Three thousand years later, King Shazam discovers that nothing has changed.
While the story begins months ago, Absolute Superman #19 swiftly returns to the present. Despite planning to kill Ra's Al Ghul for years, John Henry Irons gets caught up in King Shazam’s awakening. Because of the power he accumulated in his extended life, Ra's Al Ghul believed he was a god. But now, Ra's, Talia, and John Henry Irons find themselves before a living maelstrom of anger and rage. John recognizes that, once again, his world has changed.
While John Henry Iron’s planned revenge transforms into a rescue attempt, the biggest confrontation is between Superman and King Shazam. The Red Lands shaped them both. Neither approves of slavery nor of power-hungry leaders slaying their citizens through war. In Jason Aaron's story, both would gladly turn Earth into a paradise if the masters of this world would let them.
Kal-El has finally found peace after saving Smallville. But King Shazam is angry and overwhelmed by the same screams Superman constantly rushes off to address. And unlike Kal-El, when he pondered the ethics of killing evildoers, King Shazam doesn’t have a lifelong friend like Sol to help him see reason in Absolute Superman #19.
Art
Mounds of meat weigh down a conveyor belt as John Henry Irons works beneath the machinery that should drive it. Then he climbs from the blood-covered floor and exchanges a crescent wrench and screwdriver for a sledgehammer. His determined expression never relents. Nor does John look around as he trudges past hanging sides of beef and the butchers who greet him as a friend. Then the man who built a device to stun people without injuring them lifts his sledgehammer, as a cow, locked in a kill box, silently regards him.
Red dust swirls around Kal-El as a black storm rages around King Shazam in Absolute Superman #19. Kal-El bears the red-and-gold symbol of the Kryptonian working class on his chest, while a yellow lightning bolt granted by Brainiac glows on King Shazam’s chest. As Kal-El’s forearms glow yellow and white, lightning crackles from King Shazam’s glowing chest and forearms. Dense beards frame Ra’s and King Shazam’s faces as the two former kings of this world regard each other. But unlike Ra’s Al Ghul, King Shazam’s features gradually shed their age after escaping the Father Box.
As Ulises Arreola casts bright colors into the dark settings of Rafa Sandoval’s action-packed art, Becca Carey fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase text. The letters shrink for lowered voices and grow bold for intonation. Raised voices swell letters and deform balloons, while large white letters indicate time and location. White letters in red boxes evoke Sol’s counsel as John Henry Irons shares his thoughts. The white letters in black boxes reveal King Shazam’s off-panel dialogue. Sound effects accompany a raging storm, King Shazam’s fury, and explosions as gods battle in the heavens. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Despite how people try to embrace him, Kal-El shies away from forming ties with them. While he has grown up in this world, Kal-El cannot forget his parents and Krypton. He may resemble the Humans he tries to help, but he doesn’t share their culture. An orphan twice over, Kal-El has no family on Earth. Nor does he eat or sleep like them. Yet as an age of heroes dawns, this son of Kryptonian soil must decide if he will forever be a stranger, or if he will finally sink roots into his adoptive planet in Absolute Superman #19.
Rating 9.7/10
To look inside see my preview of Absolute Superman #19.
For what happened last time, see my preview of Absolute Superman #18.
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