Each Friday, we'll be letting a different DC.com writer share what they'll be reading over the weekend and why you might want to check it out. Here's this week's suggestion for a perfect Weekend Escape!
 

Conquering was the easy part. Ruling is another story.

Since his debut in 1961’s Adventure Comics #283, we’ve seen General Zod battle Superman to a standstill time and time again. Their rivalry has played out in comics, television and film, but how well do we really know Dru-Zod?

It’s hard to believe that Zod has never headlined his own comic book prior to now. Kneel Before Zod finally puts the villain in the spotlight, as we witness the former war criminal attempt to build a new empire and revive the fallen city of Kandor. Oh, and he hurts a lot of people too.
 

THE PREMISE:

General Dru-Zod is a former war criminal who was banished to the Phantom Zone before the destruction of Krypton. After escaping his prison, Zod spent years battling Superman, the son of his former rival Jor-El. Now the general is looking to restore Krypton to its former glory with him as its ruler.

Along with his wife Ursa and their son Lor-Zod, Dru-Zod has taken command of a planet called Jekuul and rechristened it New Kandor. There, he hopes to restore the bottled city of Kandor and its citizens, giving them a new life on the planet and a new beginning for Krypton. However, Zod is about to find out that there’s more to ruling than conquest.

Zod’s wife and son begin to question his leadership as New Kandor falls under attack. The general is used to thinking with his fists, but will that be enough to maintain order on New Kandor, or will the House of Zod lose everything it has worked so hard to build?
 

LET’S TALK TALENT:

Kneel Before Zod is written by Joe Casey, a longtime comics writer who had a lengthy run on Adventures of Superman. Casey also co-created the animated series Ben 10, so it’s possible that he had a hand in shaping your childhood. With Kneel Before Zod, we see Casey let loose. There are huge action sequences with lots of gratuitous violence and dramatic scenes that cut to the core of Zod’s character.

Reading this storyline, I can tell Casey had some fun as he depicted Dru-Zod creating havoc across the galaxy. At the same time, he’s given us more insight into the villain than we’ve arguably ever had before. Dru-Zod has been around since 1961, yet Kneel Before Zod manages to give us some new and interesting insights into the character that just may surprise you.

The storyline is penciled by Dan McDaid, who horror fans might remember as the artist of Joe Hill’s Basketful of Heads. That experience proves appropriate since Kneel Before Zod also has plenty of decapitations, dismemberments and other forms of gratuitous violence.

Zod is an extreme person, and McDaid perfectly captures that intensity. Whether it’s a battle against an army, or a tense conversation with his wife Ursa, McDaid shows us all sides of Zod. I don’t want to spoil everything that goes down, but we see Zod suffer some significant setbacks in this storyline, causing him to be temporarily disfigured. Not only does McDaid’s art offer an unflinching look at these moments, but he’s able to make the villain look even more scary and badass on the other end.
 

A FEW REASONS TO READ:

• There’s something fun about reading a comic book about a villain. General Zod isn’t Superman, and he doesn’t have his morality. This means we get to see him let loose and be bad, which makes the book stand out from other DC Universe titles.
   
• The first act of Kneel Before Zod plays like a space opera version of Game of Thrones. We see strife in the House of Zod, as Dru-Zod struggles to maintain his twisted version of order.

• The comic presents an interesting take on Dru-Zod’s rivalry with Jor-El, and how it’s the driving force behind the villain’s many actions. Throughout the storyline, Zod hallucinates the image of Jor-El and dreams about their early encounters on Krypton. It demonstrates how much their relationship is wrapped up in Zod’s identity, and how he’s never gotten over his obsession with his original enemy.
   
• If you weren’t a fan of Ursa before, this storyline will convert you. We see the Kryptonian warrior stand up to her husband and fight off an entire army. Oh, and she knocks plenty of heads off. She’s Zod’s equal—if not all out superior—in every way.
   

WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR TIME:

Whether you’re a longtime Superman fan or a new reader, Kneel Before Zod is a fun comic to get lost in. You don’t need to have any significant knowledge of DC lore to enjoy the storyline (but it helps). You just need to be a fan of science fiction and darker, more morally complex stories. Dru-Zod isn’t an anti-hero or a misunderstood soul. He’s a villain and Kneel Before Zod embraces that. The now-complete limited series features Zod and his family wrecking things and slaying opponents in a storyline that mixes political intrigue with adventure. What more could you ask for?
 

Kneel Before Zod by Joe Casey, Dan McDaid, David Baron and John Kalisz is now available as a graphic novel collection. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.