Future State: Superman: House of El #1

by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Yanick Paquette (Cover Art), Nathan Fairbairn (Cover Art)

Centuries into the future, the bloodline of Kal-El, the hero we know as Clark Kent, continues. Meet a new generation of Kryptonian heroes as they stand against one of the greatest threats they’ve ever faced: a diabolical foe called the Red King. Get ready for the unexpected debuts of the twins known as Rowan and Ronan Kent, descendants of Jonathan Kent. Rowan is the new Superman of Earth, while his sister is a Blue Lantern. Also on board are Theand’r Ban-El, whose mother was Tamaranean, and other heroes-all led by the original Man of Steel himself! Plus, don’t miss an appearance by the Black Racer!

See how the future of the Superman Family comes together in this wild, extra-size special!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Superman

45 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 23, 2021

About the author

Phillip Kennedy Johnson earned a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he served as Teaching Fellow for the Department of Jazz Studies, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Kentucky University. SFC Johnson has performed with the Lexington Philharmonic, Dallas Opera, Washington Symphonic Brass, and the Moscow Ballet, and was a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 2004 to 2005. SFC Johnson remains active as a composer, arranger, teacher, and clinician, and also enjoys a second career as a writer of comics and graphic novels. His work has been published by DC Comics, Marvel Comics, BOOM! Studios, and more.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting. I’m not a HUGE Superman fan. I know his origin story and some other stories related to his life but not as much as others so it was cool to see a one-shot dedicated to his family. However, this felt like it introduced a lot of characters that we probably won’t ever see again and that’s super unfortunate. The plot and pacing felt a little off. For me, it could have afforded to be a little longer as a one shot. This would have provided a cleaner storyline. I did like the panels towards the end where two individuals make appearances that I wasn’t anticipating. It would be interesting to see more about the conclusion of this story in feature DC books.

Now while the story was just okay the art was AMAZING. I mean it was just panel after panel of beautiful detailed art. The richness of color and the attention to detail was just perfect. I really felt like I was in space while reading this and that’s super important for any comic book. It’s not just the story that’s important but it’s also the art that should be able to transport readers to other worlds and adventures. This was done perfectly in this issue. The action shots, the frames with close ups of various descendants of Clark Kent was *chefs kiss.* If anything I would recommend checking this one out for the artwork alone.

[Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's basically 90% random jobbers you've never heard of before, and will never see again, and somehow you're meant to care if they live or die (as a matter of speaking — not spoilers) until the very end, where it has a few cool panels, but is so sudden and anticlimactic, that it makes you wish for more of *that* and less of the 90% of useless nobodies you've just read.

[Patrick (Kunle) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, because the ending wasn't really it for me. I mean, this guy destroyed entire civilizations and he gets to go scot free, I can't abide.

That said, this was amazing, the one shot I didn't I know I needed; an exploration of Superman, his descendants and his impact, many many years into the future. Honestly, I need this to be an ongoing series.

Oh, and I love their mantra (or is it rallying cry?) - Truth and Justice!

[STEVE LONG · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I want to say that I did enjoy reading this story. I love the idea of exploring Superman's future and telling the story of his descendants. I felt it was a bit rushed though.

The problem with this book was that, as a one shot, it leaves too many questions unanswered. There was no room for character development and the story just jumps right into a battle between the House of El, who are descendants of Superman, and the armies of the Red King, who we find out toward the end of the story is the son of Superman and Circe.

Even the arrival of Superman himself at the end of the book to redeem his son was, like most of the story, rushed.

How far into the future does this story take place? Who is Circe and why would Superman marry a witch? What happened with Lois? I'm assuming that it is far enough into the future that she would have passed but what about Jonathan? If Superman lives long enough to make it to whatever time period this is in, wouldn't Jonathan, being half-Kryptonian, be there too?

I really think that DC should have done more issues of this story. It has some great potential but being just one single issue hurt the story and made it difficult to get engaged with these characters.

[Roland Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic but as a concept really needed more than a single issue. I hope they see the potential in this legacy. Even a digital series would be great.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most different "Future State" titles that I've read, set in the very distant future, and showing the lineage and legacy of the Kal-El Superman.

Final rating = 4.5 stars

[Roman Colombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories like these make me love Superman, and I generally hate Superman. Or I did. Ever since Man of Steal and some good comics, he's grown on me. But how he handles the crisis here? Beautifully Superman.

[scribble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved that they used Kryptonian names we famously know (such as Alura) and gave this notion that in the future they become popular, and it’s super cool (no pun intended) that Rowan is both an El and a Blue Lantern (?).
Theand’r talking about nursery rhymes with songs in them, like that of “Supergirl and the Moondragon”...😭😭 Stop it. Why does FS gotta break my heart by reminding me of Kara and Lynari like that.
Now on the downside: Clark and Circe having a kid together? Huh? And it was that easy for that conflict to be resolved?

[Max Solis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un posible futuro donde la casa de El ha visto morir incluso a su propio sol amarillo, y solo su voluntad les permite seguir adelante. Algunos, incluso dudaban de la existencia de Kal-El, su gran fundador, pero la esperanza que heredaron de él, continuó intacta. Incluso, a pesar de que Phyrros, hijo directo de Kal-El y Circe, tratara de someterlos para que lo sirvieran. El propio Kal-El regresa de un prolongado encierro en otra dimensión, provocado por Circe, y lucha por traer a Phyrros al buen camino.

[Mariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disfruté BASTANTE el saber de los descendientes de Superman/Clark Kent: ¿cuántos años en el futuro es? ¿Kara no tiene descendientes? ¿dónde está Jonathan?

Y... ¿Qué onda con ese final? ¿De verdad Red King, quién prácticamente aniquiló civilizaciones enteras, es un hijo de Superman y Circe? ¿Y se lo perdonan por eso? Vaya.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very hit and miss with comic books or comic graphic novels, but, this one was interesting. The storyline was very simple, the art was very lovely, and it was a very quick read. I really enjoyed the slight twist to the end (there were 2 by the way) in finding out who the bad guy was. All in all, it reminded me of the old 'what if' comics.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing and I was expecting the way it ends to be much different than what it was. I literally though to myself: “That’s it? That is how it ends?” Do yourself a favor and just skip this.

[Makeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m definitely interested in seeing more, but I am hoping there is more background of why/how The Red Sun exists and what the root of the beef is with the House of El and how they lost the history of Kal-El.

[Octavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hombre, es un poco el timo de la estampita. Aquí no sigue la historia que se supone debe seguir. Te cuentan una batallita independiente y ya.

[Taylor Napolsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gotta give it up for the battle scenes. I also like Black Racer, and...well I pretty much like all the characters....

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEWARE THE RED KING!

[Craig Schorling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this story until the ending. The ending was not bad but it just felt rushed and didn't hit as strongly as it could have if the pacing had been better.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Future State House of El

I was looking forward to reading this book being a big Superman fan, but it read out of order. I mean the gist of the story I got, the artworks great, colors were vibrant, just read out of order.