Editors note: This review originally listed Kneel Before Zod as a miniseries. It’s an ongoing.
Many of DC’s most famous supervillains suffer from insanity in some capacity, but in Joe Casey and Dan McDaid’s Kneel Before Zod #1, we are seeing madness chase after General Zod, one of Superman’s most haunting villains. Following off of the Action Comics prequel, we see the United Planets wage war with New Kandor and leave Dru-Zod, Ursa, and their son Lor-Zod to fend for themselves while they deal with the ramblings of General Zod’s madness eat him alive.
Casey’s return to DC has been a welcome one, as his writing for Superman and his crazy cast of characters led to some of the most influential comics of that era. Arguably what made Joe Casey stand out from the rest of the Superman office of that period was his slick sense of style, as he wrote the characters with a level of seriousness that helped evolve the world around Superman and Lois, all while working on the Cartoon Network series Ben 10 at the same time. His talents never went away as we can see with Zod’s mannerisms and the all-around storytelling that Kneel Before Zod is his strongest work at DC yet.
DC Comics
Casey’s development of Zod is something that has needed to happen for a while – we get a true look into Zod’s mental state and how he lives trying to recapture the planet he was once ousted from with New Kandor. He suffers from delusions, imagining members of House El and speaking to them as if they’re in the room with him. It becomes clear that besides the old comic inspiration that Casey uses from comics such as Legion of Super-Heroes and its sister team L.E.G.I.O.N, showing the complexity of Casey’s love for DC’s side of science fiction.
The writing as well as the art also takes inspiration from Christopher Reeves’ Superman with many of Dan McDaid’s designs reflecting that era in its own modernized way. There is a deep amount of joy seeing General Zod have the mannerisms of an alien naval officer while adoring the classic and wacky facial hair he had in Superman 2. McDaid’s art, paired with David Baron’s colors, is striking and oftentimes beautiful as McDaid’s heavy inks and striking expressions of emotion allows for the realization of Zod’s insanity to really weigh on the reader.
Together, Casey and McDaid create a stressful and engaging atmosphere as they lean into the chaos they have been slowly planting the seeds to. The two believe that a General Zod series should be as violent and rooted in misery as possible and from what we see from Zod and Lor-Zod’s growing rivalry, that belief shines throughout every page.
DC Comics
As for Lor-Zod’s character, the return of Chris Kent has been a decision that has excited fans for a while as the character remains a striking symbol of Casey’s time at DC. Unfortunately, Lor-Zod’s writing is somewhat bland thus far. As a play into General Zod’s mental state, Lor-Zod functions brilliantly as he sees glimpses of Kal-El in his own son which frightens him, fearing that his own blood will grow to become the man he hates most. In terms of dialogue, however, Lor-Zod’s speech comes off somewhat generic.
As a play into the Supersons mold, his way of speech can match Damian and be used as a strong counter against Jon Kent’s cheerful attitude but by itself comes off less than stellar. Hopefully Lor-Zod’s voice evolves over the series as we see the growing signs of war chase House Zod into ruin.
All around, Kneel Before Zod #1 is a strong first issue that comes across a few problems when it comes to one of their major story characters. I have hope that Casey’s writing for Lor-Zod improves as he and McDaid really show how powerful of a creative team they are with this first issue. I have hope this ongoing could turn out to be a special one.
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