You Don't Read Comics

View Original

Superman: Son Of Kal-El #6

Superman and Jay look for clues to how Faultline was able to attack the Kent farm in Superman: Son Of Kal-El #6, by writer Tom Taylor, artist John Timms, colorist HI-Fi, and letterer Dave Sharpe. Taylor and company do a great job with this issue, but that’s to be expected with this comic.

It all begins with a kidnapping in Bludhaven, the subjects put on a container ship by a mysterious man. Lois and Batman talk about the attack on the Kent Farm while back in Metropolis, Superman and Jay have dinner and decide to check out STAR Labs. Jay uses his phasing power to sneak in and is met by both Robin and Lois. They abscond with the security tapes and find out what happened. Superman goes after the Gamorran ambassador and is able to get away with him and the kidnapped subject. Later, in Gamorra, Bendix meets with his head henchmen and is prepared for what comes next.

Taylor has a gift for superhero comics, and this comic shows it off. It starts off simple enough, with a cold open that sets up the stakes of the issue. From there, it sets up a tear for later- Lois Lane and Batman discussing the attack on the Kent Farm- and then gets to Superman and Jay. This is just a normal little scene, doing a little character work that builds into things later and then sets the main plot into motion. It goes from there, introducing a threat that will play into things down the road and produces several plot lines that will play into the future of the book. It’s just simple plotting, but Taylor does it so well.

From the simplicity of the moments between Jay and Jon to the simple way jay brings up his family and past that seems innocent but builds into everything to the moment when Jay, Robin, and Lois meet up in STAR Labs without knowing about each other to Robin’s friendly chat with Jon, it’s all so well done. Taylor does such a good job of adding to the story, as well, building the threat of Bendix and Gamorra, making fans guess about what’s going to come next.

Timms is the perfect artist for this book, and every issue keeps proving why. He does as great a job with the quiet moments as he does with the action and the last page of Bendix’s lab looks great. One of his greatest strengths is his emoting. He does such a great job of capturing exactly what each character is feeling in any given scene, making the dialogue hit that much harder.

Superman: Son Of Kal-El #6 is a fun little comic. It loads up more ammo for the Superman vs. Bendix and Gamorra plot in an entertaining fashion. The Superman books are in a great palace right now, and Taylor and Timms are doing a great job. This issue is yet another example of how great this comic is.

Grade: B+