Superman: Son of Kal-El #17: Cat’s Cradles and Silver Spoons

This issue made me cry. Not delicate little pearls glistening on my cheeks, but rather a great heaving, rib-wracking sobs of joy, envy, and desire. Joy, because Taylor handled a subject that society makes difficult (a boy introducing his father to his boyfriend should be simple, damn it) with delicacy, love, and a level of tenderness that the subject deserves. We watch Superman struggling with the best way to offer acceptance and love to his child in a way that helps that child understand that he is supported and loved beyond the shadow of a doubt. The fact that this is a struggle for the Man of Steel (not showing love, but showing it in a way that will not alienate his son) is both deeply touching and also real. As parents, our intentions very rarely mete out satisfactory results. Superman turns to his father for help, exhibiting the incredibly wholesome, fundamentally good generational family dynamics which can produce a hero. Healthy families are perishingly rare, both in reality and within the confines of fiction. This one was a joy to witness.

The former confused queer kid who will forever occupy a corner of my slightly more-together queer adult’s heartfelt painful envy, reading this. Personally, I grew up with parents who tried so hard to shape my bisexual, non-binary self into a rigid model of straight, submissive femininity that they never actually saw me as a person, much less one with desires or thoughts of my own. To an extent, they still don’t. Reading this issue was the kind of cut that heals you, slicing away (with the atomic keenness of an obsidian scalpel) the rot instilled by queerphobia and Calvinistic terror and which enables new flesh to grow. I was especially moved by the way that Superman repeatedly opened the door for Jon to start the conversation without leading him or burdening him with expectations.

The true miracle of this book is that, aside from the marvelous parenting example provided by the text, it also furthered the overarching plot of the book. We’re introduced to the imminent threat provided both by Luthor and another, more concerning, force.

Cian Tormey and Ruairi Coleman’s art is nothing short of brilliant. They work together incredibly well, providing nuanced acting, startling action, and a world that seems real enough and rich in sufficient details to be actually inhabited. Romuldo Fajardo Jr’s color work is rich and gorgeous, adding considerable depth to the already brilliant line work.