It’s An All-Out Battle For The Ages In Adventures Of The Super Sons #11

When Damian and Jon return to school in the fall, they’re going to have one crazy essay about what they did over the summer. They’ve gone to outer space, broken out of an alien prison, teamed up with older versions of themselves, and fought an army of pint-sized replicas of Earth’s greatest villains and they’re not done yet. Joined by the allies they’ve made along the way, they’re fighting Rex Luthor and his army of pint-sized bad guys in an all-out brawl with the fate of Earth hanging in the balance. No pressure, guys.

Adventures of the Super Sons #11 is wall-to-wall action. Artist Carlo Barberi fills every page with some amazing fight scenes. There’s a nice sequence of four full page spreads that is a sight to behold. Each one shows a critical moment in the battle in all its glory and chaos. Every time I think I’ve seen all of the villains in Rex’s army, I turn the page and discover a few more. It’s an absolute treat.
Throughout this larger-than-life battle, Superboy has the occasional caption box. These are used sparingly and add some additional weight to some of the big action scenes. They also read like the beginning of that summer essay I mentioned, reminding us once again that he’s a kid and he’s fighting for his life.

Barberi shows some fantastic art direction in this issue, especially with the older Robin and Superboy joining the fray. There’s a great shot of all the heroes standing together and the younger versions are mirroring the stance and facial expressions of the older ones. Just in case you had any doubts that these are the same people, separated by time, this seals the deal.
Inker Matt Santorelli highlights the impressive amount of detail in Barberi’s pencils. You see everything from the intricate lines in the costumes to Jon’s big and often ridiculous hair.

Of course, with all the different villains popping up on the page, the colors are varied and vibrant. Colorist Protobunker brings this book alive in the best way with an impressive array of shades. This fight happens in the middle of the day so everything is shown clearly.
As much fun as this battle is, there’s a page towards the end of Adventures of the Super Sons #11 that is a real stand out. You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when you get to it. It plays with the medium in a really cool way, literally breaking the fourth wall…or rather the gutters to add a meta twist to the story.

Looking back on the lead up to this issue, it’s pretty impressive to see how everything has come together. Writer Peter J. Tomasi makes sure that no element of the plot goes to waste. Every single element has had a purpose and it’s coming to a head in a big way. This is the build up to the big finale and it’s poised to be epic in more ways than one. I can’t wait to see how this series wraps up, although I’ll be sad to see it go.
Adventures of the Super Sons #11 from DC Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.