We all know that Superman is from Krypton, right? Well, Teenager Zahn is from one of Krypton’s high family members: enjoying privilege, high rank, and a future as a leader. Teenager Sera is a soldier, strong, fearless. These two teens form the nucleus of an original graphic novel from DC: The House of El.
House of El is written by Claudia Gray (aka Amy Vincent), a best-selling author of young adult books including the Evernight series and the Firebird trilogy, plus several Star Wars books, including Lost Stars. It’s illustrated by Eric Zawadzki, from Calgary, Alberta Canada. Eric’s comic book work includes The Dregs and Eternal for Black Mask Studios and Heart Attack from Skybound/Image.
The Shadow Threat, Book One in a trilogy, introduces us to the dire situation on Krypton. The ‘tribunes’, the ruling officials, are suppressing the truth. The “truth” is that Krypton’s surface has become unstable, and earthquakes are increasing in frequency and intensity. In the meantime, soldiers are being sent out to assist in establishing a new world away from Krypton. It’s a situation ripe for drama and rebel yells.
In what appears to be her first graphic novel, Gray writes about the big picture, the divided society of Krypton, the bureaucracy that has lost touch with the ground level. Quite literally. The dialogue is believable, the characters unique.
Likewise, Zawadzki provides detailed architecture that we can marvel at, big beasts that roar and attack, Cecil B DeMille-sized crowds of citizens, and plenty of blue tones to surround and isolate the brown garbed Kryptonians. The angles, the action, the poses, and choreography of figures is really good.
Where the book does miss some strength is in the last quarter: events start to happen very quickly. Segues are missing from scene to scene, leaving us scrambling to keep up with the pace. It’s gone from leisurely and flowing, with large double-page spreads of lanquish and grandeur to a pell-mell dash to wrap things up. Some of the elongated scenes in the beginning and middle parts of the book could have been shortened, and the later section could have been expanded.
No matter, this is still a tour-de-force, an excellent step in the right shadowy direction for these House of El characters, priming us to want Book Two!
DC House of El: (book 1 of 3) The Shadow Threat, $16.99 for 196 pages, Teen
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