Author: Claudia Gray
Artist: Eric Zawadski
Series: House of El #1
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: January 5^th, 2020
Received: NetGalley

I received a copy of The Shadow Threat in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Shadow Threat (House of El #1) is the tale of Krypton, before everything went so horribly wrong. Written by Claudia Gray (the detail that caught my attention to begin with) and illustrated by Eric Zawadski, this is a fascinating tale that shows a darker side of Krypton.

Zahn is one of the elites on Krypton. He was born into wealth, power, and privilege, and only recently has he realized just how much farther ahead that has brought him in life. How many times it has saved his life, or changed it for the better. Perhaps that is the reason why he’s intent to join a rebellion.

Sera was born and bred to be one of Krypton’s soldiers – literally. It’s her job to protect the people, and to take on all of the risky missions specifically designed for the soldiers. She’s one of the best at her job, despite all of the constraints.

You’d think that these two would never meet, but you’d be wrong. Their paths are about to collide in the events of The Shadow Threat, as both struggle to come to terms with all of the signs they’ve been seeing.

I’m going to be honest with you here, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from The Shadow Threat. While I do read a lot of comics, I’m arguably the weakest when it comes to Superman knowledge. That being said, I just knew that I had to give it a try when I saw Claudia Gray’s name on the project.

I’m actually pretty happy that I took a chance and gave it a go. Though I’m certain my experience will be drastically different from somebody who knows everything about Superman and his home planet.

The art style felt almost Atlantean at times, yet it actually worked quite nicely for Krypton and all of the advancements it has available. I adored the color palette, and for the most part, liked the character designs as well.

The differing plots revolving around Zahn and Sera were fascinating. Both had such strong personalities, and plenty of reason to be questioning the status quo (even if it is truly the last thing they wanted to be doing).

It raised a lot of questions along the way, and I for one am actually really looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment of the series. That may be my lack of knowledge speaking there, I’m not certain. I’m not worried though, as it will be a fun read regardless.