In this review of Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8, multiple members of the Super-Family are dealing with the actions of Kryl-Ux. How do they all tie together?
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #8
Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
Artist: CIAN TORMEY
Main Cover: SCOTT GODLEWSKI
Variant Covers: LUCIO PARRILLO, ARIEL COLÓN
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 5/6/26
This review contains spoilers
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8 opens with Superman, Otho-Ra, and the Valkyries heading to Tamaran. Before arriving there, they reach a Tamaranean outpost under attack by Kryl-Ux’s Warzoons. Fortunately, the group is able to make quick work of dispatching the attackers.
When the Tamaranean queen, Theand’r, gets word that their Warzoon allies have attacked the outpost, she is persuaded by Prince Doukis to remain peaceful and only send a diplomatic envoy to meet with Kryl-Ux.
Meanwhile, Rowan and Ronan Kent, last seen in Adventures of Superman: Book of El #5, are being led by the remnants of Brainiac-3 in the search for Superman. They come across an odd, artificial planetoid which turns out to be the paradise world of their cousin, Pyrrhos the Red, the living son of Superman.
Pyrrhos was the mystery man seen at the end of Adventures of Superman: Book of El #7. He attacks Rowan and Ronan, defeating them with relative ease.
Back on Tamaran, amidst the Warzoon invasion, Queen Theand’r orders the evacuation of the planet. She is clearly against this action, but Prince Doukis reminds her about the costs of fighting back.
Pyrrhos takes Osul-Ra to a special chamber to remove the Fire of Olgrun from the boy. He wants to take into himself the god aspect of Olgrun and use it to destroy Kryl-Ux.
Rowan and Ronan are held captive nearby, but Ronan still has the Brainiac chip. Together, the two Kents use their powers to telekinetically place the chip into a de-activated Superman robot. As soon as the chip is inserted, it activates the robot with Brainiac in control.
Analysis
Philip Kennedy Johnson continues to build up to an exciting conclusion with Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8. Now that we’re two-thirds of the way through the story, the various threads that he’s been weaving are coming together nicely. There’s been a good balance of action and dialog, although this issue does go into a bit more backstory. It works, though, especially for readers who missed out on the Warworld issues or Action Comics #1060.
I must admit that I am one of those readers. I haven’t finished reading all of the Warworld saga (I’m almost done) that leads up to this storyline. Yes, that’s right, I’m behind. Go ahead and take away my Superman card. I say all this because, eight issues into The Book of El, I’m realizing that things would make a lot more sense if I knew the details from those Warworld-related issues. It’s not to say that the Warworld saga is essential reading in order to read The Book of El, but I would definitely recommend catching up before the last act drops on this title.
As for Ronan’s decision to place the Brainiac chip into the Superman robot, I’m going to have to side with Rowan and say that’s probably a bad idea. While this chip has been helpful so far, it’s a version of Brainiac. Sticking it into a robotic replica of Superman is likely going to have repercussions. I’m anxious to see if PKJ pulls a switcheroo on us, keeping this Brainiac-controlled robot on the good side of things.
While Scott Godlewski and Alex Guimaraes handle the main cover art duties, the interiors for Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8 are done by artist Cian Tormey and colorist Matt Herms (who has already done some color work in previous issues). Tormey’s style is noticeably different from Godlewski’s. The line work is a little thicker and more angular, so it stands out from Godlewski’s finer, more rounded edges. Tormey’s artwork is just as good, though, so there’s no step down in the quality of the illustrations. Colors remain vibrant and eye-catching. The action is easy to follow because of the art.
Final Thoughts
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8 leads us into the home stretch for this 12-issue series. The heroes are getting closer to the final showdown with Kryl-Ux and it promises to be a massive battle. If this one isn’t already on your pull list, you might want to check it out. Have fun, comic lovers!
