Adventures of Superman: Book of El #1 Preview

 

 

One of the hardest paths we must travel in life is grief. How do you move on from a loved one's death, when all you feel is sorrow, misery, and depression? And what if you didn't have to?

You could feel Phillip Kennedy Johnson's excitement at San Diego Comic-Con as he described his upcoming series about a man who finds a way to revive his family. As a special bonus, Phillip promised that each issue will contain two pages of text from the Book of El. 

 

 

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

 

Adventures of Superman: Book of El #1

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson

Artist: Scott Godlewski

Cover Artists: Scott Godlewski, Dan Mora, Riccardo Federici, Rahzzah, TK & Marguerite Sauvage

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99/$4.99

Length: 32 Pages

Release Date: September 3, 2025

 

Superman returns! Fan-favorite Future State: Superman: House of El creators Phillips Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski reunite for Adventures of Superman: Book of El! As the Super-Family settles into a well-earned time of peace, a powerful ally-turned-enemy invades Earth with an army at his back and a god-aspect of Olgrun, mad god of the First World. When even the Super-Family lacks the power to stop him, Superman is sent against his will to a place even he’s never been…where he’ll find allies he could never have expected. Concluding the events of “Future State” and Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Action Comics, the next epic adventure begins here!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

Star Trek: Lore War—Shaxs’ Worst Day Review

 

Writer: Ryan North

Artist: Derek Charm

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Cover Artists: Derek Charm, Robby Cook & Rahzzah

Design & Production: Neil Uyetake

Editors: Heather Antos & Cassandra Jones

Publisher: IDW

Price: $5.99

Release Date: May 28, 2025

 

Once, Shaxs battled Cardassians to live in freedom on his planet. But when Lore rewrote the universe, the almighty android made Shaxs a tool of oppression. Now, High Pah-Wraith Shaxs lives as Lore's ultimate enforcer and slays anyone who threatens the android’s dominion of the universe.

 

All that changes when Shaxs slays Kahless. When Shaxs picks up Kahless’ bat’leth to kill Worf, the scales drop from the Security officer’s eyes. Shaxs realizes he has been persecuting and killing the people he should have helped. Thankfully, Worf is there to guide his steps along the interstellar Damascus road. Embracing freedom means doing what you do best. But can Shaxs free the universe of fascist usurpers like he kicked the Cardassians off Bajor? Let’s grab a phaser, leap into Star Trek: Lore War—Shaxs’ Worst Day, and see!

 

Story

Devastated that Lore swayed him from his ideals, Shaxs vows to redress the situation. After he allows Worf to escape, Shaxs decides to take the LSS Enterprise to Starfleet command. But that’s a long journey, and too many people will question Shaxs’ unauthorized return to Earth. So, Shaxs lists all the Security weaknesses and systems anomalies. Then, the Security officer exploits the loopholes in the system to take unquestioned command of the LSS Enterprise.

 

Ryan North fuels Star Trek: Lore War—Shaxs’ Worst Day with zany fun. Yet he also shows Shaxs’s ingenious side. Worf wants him to accomplish what seems impossible. So, Shaxs demonstrates how hard he has worked to become one of Starfleet’s best Security officers. The Bajoran may have played a small role in freeing his planet. Still, he can return freedom to the universe.

 

Shaxs may have anger issues. Others may see him as rough around the edges. In Star Trek: Lore War—Shaxs’ Worst Day, the Security officer plays to his strengths. Despite the grim nature of battling good people with twisted ideals, Shaxs relishes the opportunity to return democracy to the stars. Hopefully, Worf is correct, and everyone Shaxs kills will be reborn. But then, everyone who dies in the 24^th Century eventually lives again, including Security officers like Shaxs.

 

 

 

Art

Derek Charm imbues panels with Lower Decks-style art as humanoids and aliens with various colored skin try to stop Shaxs from disobeying almighty Lore. While Worf wears his Starfleet uniform and Klingon sash, Shaxs wears medieval armor as he cuts a swath through fascist hordes in hallways. Shaxs battles his way through the set pieces of Starfleet ships, such as the bridge and engineering. While filling pages with action-packed panels, Charm occasionally pulls the camera back, devoting more page space to epic shots.

 

The bright colors showcase iconic members of the Lower Decks crew, such as purple-haired Brad Boimler, green-skinned D’vana Tendi, and silver-adorned Sam Rutherford. Blues and greens dominate starship interiors and red fills panels when Shaxs cleans house in Star Trek: Lore War—Shaxs’ Worst Day. Then, yellow and orange blossom in the starry black void. Ships of the fleet welcome Shaxs’ treachery as warmly as the Daystrom M-5 computer controlling the USS Enterprise.

 

Clayton Cowles fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase text and black narrative boxes with italicized white and lavender words. The letters frequently grow bold for intonation, swell for volume, and shrink for lowered voice. While large, uppercase sounds evoke R2-D2, colorful sound effects accompany Shaxs destroying Lore's evil empire. As a bonus, tiny footnotes evoke Terry Pratchett's humorous commentary on his otherwise serious Discworld novels. Thanks to IDW Publishing for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When Kahless’ bat’leth helps Shaxs realize he has become Lore's servant, Worf makes the Security officer a promise. With Shaxs' help, everyone who dies will be reborn when Sisko reboots the universe. With nothing to lose and a universe to gain, Shaxs embraces this ultimate holodeck session. Then the Security officer raises Kahless’ bat’leth and declares it’s a good day for everyone else to die in Star Trek: Lore War—Shaxs’ Worst Day.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Spider-Boy #7 Review

 

Writers: Dan Slott

Artists: Paco Medina

Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna & Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; David Baldeón; Natacha Bustos; Rahzzah

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 29, 2023

 

Madame Monstrosity changed Bailey Briggs into Spider-Boy, his friend Eli into Hellifino, and his mother Tabitha into her feline servant Tabby. Now, she's transformed his friend Christina into a Pigeon. But can Madame Monstrosity change any of the Humanimals back? Let's activate our anti-genetic modification shields, thwip into Spider-Boy #7, and find out!

 

Story

After Madame Monstrosity transforms people into Humanimals, she forces them to work for her. Madame Monstrosity promises to change them back into Humans after a period of indentured servitude. Sadly, she doesn’t know how.

 

Perhaps she might find the answer if she looked for it. But Madame Monstrosity prefers to dabble. To paraphrase the High-Evolutionary, she's not a creator. She merges animals and Humans to observe the results. In Spider-Boy #7, she wants to know how Spider-Boy made her forget him. Madame Monstrosity can’t be bothered with time-consuming scientific tests. So, the mad scientist opts for more direct methods.

 

Yet when Madame Monstrosity tortures Spider-Boy, she reveals her greatest secret. Bailey's Spider-Sense also detects that Madame Monstrosity is in danger! How can Spider-Boy use this revelation to help his friends and escape Madame Mostrosity’s grasp?

 

In Spider-Boy #7, Madame Mostrosity’s Humanimals face a choice. Either they accept who they are or cling to the belief that Madame Monstrosity will return them to their original forms. It is a test of their character. Will they remain slaves to Yesterday or accept who they are now? The Humanimals must choose to protect their friends or bolster the influence of a powerful ruler.

 

As for Bailey Briggs, he must use the knowledge he’s gained to help others. So, should he find a way to help Madame Monstrosity? Or should he place the mad scientist in danger?

 

What a choice! Or, to quote Squirrel Girl, Holy Macadamia Nuts!

 

 

 

Art

Dan Slott packs his story with characters, forcing Paco Medina to populate panels with people. Medina brings his A-Game to Spider-Boy #7, as Toy Soldier confers with Jarvis, Captain America, Thor, Squirrel Girl, Spider-Man, and Miles Morales in the entrance hall to the Jarvis Lounge. Madame Monstrosity activates her cattle prod with a smile while Spider-Boy's lips part to reveal his Tombstone teeth. Electricity arcs off the prod, and an image of the High Evolutionary appears before the glowing laboratory lights.

 

Tabby looks confused and frightened as Boy-Spider hugs his feline mother. Braving the disapproval of her porcine and equine supervisors, Christina pauses while hoeing a field as Tabby and Boy-Spider approach. Then Toy Soldier and Thor swoop in, preceding an Avengers quinjet. Drop your garden tools, Humanimals! It’s Hammer Time!

 

 

 

 

Erick Arciniega lavishes a loaded palette on Spider-Boy #7. The rising sun fills the sky with pink, purple, and blue as a carrier pigeon joins Spider-Man on his morning thwip. The Avengers’ colorful uniforms stand out from the brown and tan walls in the waiting area. Overhead lights illuminate Spider-Boy as he crouches in his cage in the gray laboratory. When Madame Masque departs, she slams the brown wooden door behind her. Despite her house’s Victorian exterior, the gray laboratory, halls, and stairways evoke a medieval castle.

 

As Dan Slott populates Spider-Boy #7 with so many characters, Joe Caramagna & Cory Petit do a Spidey team-up to thwip uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons. Toy soldier gets green italicized lettering in contrast to the dominant black, while extreme emotions may color words or balloon borders. After wielding electricity, one of Madame Monstrosity’s balloons begins to melt. Thankfully, the arriving pigeons and their large Coos in clingy light blue balloons transform Christina's beak into a smile.

 

Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When Spider-Boy needs rescuing from Madame Monstrosity's lair, his friends discover Bailey’s greatest superpower. Amid all the Whoing and Cooing, Spider-Man battles a Crocodile with a flamethrower, Squirrel Girl gets a Toy-Boy, and Madame Monstrosity asks Bailey for a Forget-Me-Not in Spider-Boy #7.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 Review

 

Writer: Amy Jo Johnson & Matt Hotson

Artist: Nico Leon

Colorist: Dono Sanchez-Almara

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Goñi Montes, Ejikure, Rahzzah, Frany, Ivan Tao, The Escorza Brothers & Nico Leon

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 10, 2024

 

Trini Kwan's niece Selena tracked Kimberly to her remote mountain cabin. When Kimberly refused to train her, Selena assumed Rita Repulsa's appearance and attacked her. Why would Selena want to hurt Kimberly? Or did Rita return to life to kill Kimberly? Let's grab our power coins, leap into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3, and find out!

 

Story

After Green Ranger Tommy Oliver failed to return from the moon, Kimberly extracted a promise from the surviving Rangers. They would never draw on the Morphin Grid again. Trini kept the agreement, but Jason disappeared while fighting crime as the Red Ranger. Former Blue Ranger Billy Cranston and Black Ranger Zach Taylor told Kimberly Hart they also utilized the Morphin Grid.

 

Way to let down the ladies, guys!

 

Kimberly awakens where her old life ended in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3. Jason, Billy, and Zach are also in Bandora Palace. Selena reveals that she wasn’t Trini’s niece but Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's daughter. Her father may have died when Billy’s Benevolator detonated, but Rita survived. Or at least her spirit did.

 

Once again, Kimberly’s fears over the power of the Morphin Grid prove correct. Billy’s invention drew power from the Morphin Grid. Rita used that conduit to send her spirit there. Now a ghost in the machine, Rita spoke with her daughter through the Morphin Grid.

 

Jason, Billy, and Zach used the Morphin Grid to help others. Kimberly avoided it to shield Earth from malignant forces. Rita Repulsa inhabited it! Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 tantalizes us with a glimpse of Selena's childhood. We don't know how Selena grew up, but we know her mother influenced her. In Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson’s story, Selena says she wants power, but her immediate plans involve emotional fulfillment. While seeking revenge, Selena lets her parents' killers live. If Selena achieves her objective, will it bring the satisfaction she craves?

 

Art

Billy’s Benevolator created a crater the size of Angel Grove. The debris orbits the moon, captured by the planetoid's gravity. Outside the damaged Bandora Palace, the Putties that once battled Rangers now clean up the debris. Inside, Jason—the first Ranger captured—hovers over Kimberly. Zach and Billy linger back, doubtless still smarting from their tongue-lashing in the diner. When Selena speaks to them from her mother's throne, the former Blue and Black Rangers assume fighting stances on the flagstone floor. Energy encircles them as they face the reincarnation of their old nemesis.

 

Dynamic layouts showcase Selena’s confrontation with her parents’ enemies, while inset panels reveal how she tracked them. Thoughtful camera placement keeps the action fresh in a now familiar setting. One of Rita's former servitors survived in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3. Although ravaged by age, he hobbles with a cane as he attempts to carry out Selena's plan. Nico Leon reveals Tommy Oliver’s final moments. His final act may explain Selena’s reluctance to kill.

 

Dono Sanchez-Almara colors Jason, Zach, Bill, and Kimberly's clothing to remind us of their uniforms. White energy pulsing through the blue dome evokes sunlight reflected in the sea. After a stream of pink energy signals Kimberly's departure, Tommy spies a child sitting on the worn wooden floor. As Selena reaches toward her mother's still form, her white hair and gray dress contrast with her mother’s colorful regalia and the crystal adorning the Magic Wand’s headpiece.

 

Large, black uppercase letters inhabit white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3. Words grow bold for inflection and rarely shrink. Colorful sound effects help us hear Kimberly’s attempt to break free from the energy dome and Tommy's struggle to reach the Benevolator as it counts down to detonation. Ed Dukeshire’s immense letters compare the power humming through Billy’s device with the one constructed to resurrect Selena’s mother.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While providing insight into Tommy Oliver’s final moments, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 portrays the perils of social media, the allure of power, and how clinging to the past warps one’s character.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

X-Force #43 Review

 

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artist: Robert Gill

Colorist: GURU-eFX

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña; Rahzzah

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Everyone wants to attend the party, but will Sage let them? X-Force's leader doesn't have the last say, as she's taking orders from Colossus. But the metal man's mind is on other matters as the Hellfire Gala gets set to rock. How will Sage, Colossus, and their squad fare as the massacre of the millennium begins? Let's leap into X-Force #43 and find out!

 

Story

Colossus doesn’t want X-Force to join the party. As a representative of Krakoa’s Quiet Council, he orders them to monitor the gala remotely. What they don’t know is he's under the sway of his brother Mikhail. X-23 and Deadpool may be none the wiser, but Domino suspects Colossus is compromised. Can she discover his secrets before the festivities begin?

 

If you've read X-Men Hellfire Gala #1, you know about the party that rocked the mutant community to its core. X-Force #43 serves as a prequel and gives greater context to the event. While Deadpool and Quentin provide the laughs, Domino’s excursion exposes the change Colossus has undergone. Even if you know how the group’s journey ends, what Domino discovers in the Savage Land enthralls.

 

 

Art

Appealing characters inhabit this strange, organic world. Rooms and buildings look grown instead of made, rounded instead of rectangular, and more whimsical than real. Communities rise from the seafloor to stand above the ocean waves in X-Force #43. Plants decorate buildings and interiors. Bright colors mesmerize, energize, and prevent the epic tragedy from becoming dark and dreary. Inspired by such artistry, Deadpool and Colossus indulge their creative sides.

 

Lettering is tiny, as lowercase black words inhabit white and colored dialogue balloons and boxes. A letter from Mikhail and an entry from Sage's logbook prove easier to read in X-Force #43. Few sound effects accompany the team's journey into darkness.

 

Final Thoughts

Sage struggles to control her team as Domino races to discover Colossus’ secrets in X-Force #43.

 

8.8/10

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Star Wars: Darth Vader #32 Review

 

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Ibraim Roberson

Colorist: Federico Blee

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Rahzzah; Pepe Larraz; Peach Momoko; Chris Sprouse, Karl Story & Neeraj Menon;

Publisher: Marvel

Price: 3.99

Release Date: March 22, 2023

 

Dormé, Rabé, Saché and Eirtaé once served Queen Padmé on Naboo. Now they help Darth Vader rescue Sabé from rebel leader Jul Tambor. They watch aghast as she once again looks to Darth Vader for leadership. Can these former royal handmaidens free their friend from Vader's corrupting influence? Let's activate our lightsabers, dive into Star Wars: Darth Vader #32, and find out!

 

 

 

Story

Vader argues that Jul Tambor will continue to attack civilian targets. The only way the former handmaidens can stop him is with his help. Dormé knows Sabé’s heart is in the right place but refuses to let her friend decide to serve the Empire. She grabs Sabé and attempts to escape with her friends. But Sabé refuses to be rescued! She's chosen her priorities. Her immediate goal? She must bring down rebel leader Jul Tambor.

 

Greg Pak compares Sabé with Padmé in Revenge Of The Sith and Dormé with Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. He reminds us we must respect others’ decisions, no matter how wrong they seem. Like Luke in A New Hope, Dormé must accept Sabé’s decision. To paraphrase Princess Leia: “She must choose her own path. No one can choose it for her.” I especially like how Dormé, Jul Tambor, and Darth Vader each view power differently. It reminds me why Anakin ultimately embraced the power of the Dark Side in Revenge Of The Sith: to correct the inequities of the Old Republic and protect those he loved.

 

 

 

Art

Padmé's former handmaidens leap off the page and fly toward me with their gravity boots. Jul Tambor exhibits more personality than his grandfather in Revenge Of The Sith (although, admittedly, he didn't have a big part in the film). It's hard to imagine Darth Vader looking more powerful and expressive in a comic than he ever did in the movies. Yet somehow, Ibraim Roberson manages it in Star Wars: Darth Vader #32.

 

Federico Blee gives the handmaidens realistic skin colors and tones. He makes all the other human and alien characters equally believable. Spaceship interiors show the results of the stresses of spaceflight when they're not displaying battle damage or gaping holes from sizzling lightsabers. The planet Brentaal IV reminds me of Utah’s Arches National Park after the spring rain, while the brief glimpse of Skako Minor recalls nearby Canyonlands National Park. Blee suffuses flashbacks of Padmé on Mustafar with orange and red and Luke on Bespin with a white haze. Beneath his mask, did Anakin's eyes fill with moisture when Luke rejected him? In Star Wars: Darth Vader #32, Federico Blee makes me wonder.

 

While other characters speak with black words in white dialogue balloons, we see Darth Vader's white words in black dialogue balloons. Letters frequently darken or enlarge to reveal how expressive each character is. Padmé and Luke's words of rejection appear in ivory or pale rose-tinted dialogue balloons. The way the letters wrestle and swell as Luke's scream "Noooo!" rings through his mind must rip Vader's heart out. And then there's the sound effects: BRRRZZZZZAM for blaster fire, VNNNNNN for Vader's lightsaber, and the heartbreaking CLICK when Sabé takes off the device that frees her from Dormé’s grasp. While piloting the tie fighter through the narrow canyons of the Death Star, Darth Vader once commented, "The Force is strong with this one." Those words come back to me when considering Joe Caramagna's lettering in this issue. 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Amid action-packed scenes of triumph and betrayal, characters make complex and heartbreaking choices in Star Wars: Darth Vader #32. Heroes seem a little less heroic, and villains a little less villainous, as each strives to protect those they care about and make the galaxy a safer, more equitable, and better place. Place a box of tissues close by when you read this issue. Don't risk water damage with a comic this good!

 

Rating: 10/10

To view interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.