Earth 2 #29 - A Review

The Earth 2: World's End weekly series introduced us to the Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon of Earth 2.  On this world, Barbara Gordon is a Chicago cop and her husband (yes shippers, they are married in this world!) is a journalist.  They have a son together. They're struggling to survive in the wasteland that is Chicago in the wake of the attacks of the Furies of Apokalips.

That is the Alpha and Omega of everything we've learned about the characters so far.  Given that Babs and Dick are two of my favorite characters, I was looking forward to this issue, which featured Barbara in a defensive position on the cover.  Gun in hand, ready to defend her child and kick some ass as only a redhead from Chicago can.




Sadly, the adage about judging a book by its cover has never been more accurate. Barbara spends most of the issue as a hostage and the story is told from Dick's point of view. It is Dick who is pressed into action when they are abducted by a doomsday cult and Barbara is chosen as a sacrifice to a captured Parademon. While the story of the pacifist Dick choosing to turn to heroism to save the woman he loves is an interesting one, it is still disappointing to see Barbara Gordon placed in the damsel-in-distress role even if it is acknowledged how unnatural that is for this version of Barbara.



The pencil work by Andy Smith is just odd.  Most of the characters seem remarkably clean and well groomed for people we've been told have been living in a ruined city.  The doomsday cult looks more like a group of college kids at a rave than a group of  dirty nihilists.  Worst of all, there's no continuity in the artwork, with Barbara losing the head wound that she had in the first part of the book just before she is taken to be fed to the Parademon.

All in all, this issue is something of a disappointment.  It isn't bad as such but it could have been so much better.

Earth 2: World's End #3 - A Review

The most aggravating thing about Earth 2: World's End is a lack of credits by page number for the artists involved.  This annoys me because I need to know who to blame for the fact that Dick Grayson is being drawn like a combination of Mr. Spock and Goku.

I could, in theory, look up each individual artist's name and try and compare this offending page to their other work on-line. But with nine credited artists on this issue alone, that is far more effort than I feel like spending on so mediocre a title.


Mediocre is a strong word, I admit, but it is aptly applied here.  There are many good things about Earth 2: World's End but any greatness is mitigated by the work of less-skilled creators.  The old saying about "too many cooks" has never been more aptly proven.

This applies to both the writing and the artwork.  I've enjoyed the work of Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson before and there are a number of well-written scenes with great dialogue throughout the book.  However, the actual plot, as paced by Daniel H. Wilson, leaves much to be desired.


Granting that there are a lot of subplots to balance out, I feel it would be more effective to spend each issue focusing on one or two subplots rather than trying to devote at least one page to each one.  We really need more than one page to convey the scope of Green Lantern's solo effort to rid Rio De Janeiro of monsters.

Earth 2: World's End #2 - A Review

Taken on the level of a summer blockbuster, Earth 2: World's End #2 is an enjoyable story. Building upon last issue's explosive climax, our heroes scatter around the world to deal with the reactivation of the four Apokolptian fire-pits and the emergence of four apparently dormant villains from that evil world.  The first one they encounter is K'li - a preteen girl who raises the dead and introduces herself as an avatar of War.


There's a lot of good action sequences here, but this book suffers in comparison to the monthly Earth 2 book.  There, we had amazing action but we also got a number of good character-building scenes. The closest we get to that here is the implication that Lois "Red Tornado" Lane really hates zombies because they remind her of her own status as a dead woman's spirit in an inhuman body.


As before, the artwork is all over the place.  There are a number of artists with a number of conflicting styles and the final effect is not a positive one. Stylized renditions of our heroes clash with more realistic artwork and naturalistic action scenes look awkward next to more forced poses.

On the whole, I see little reason to pick up this book unless you, like me, are deeply interested in the final fate of Earth 2.  Even then, the lackluster artwork may drive me away from this story.  I really wish DC Comics would assign different art teams to individual issues rather than having multiple artists doing a few pages in each issue of these extended series.

Earth 2: World's End #1 - A Review

If you've been reading Earth 2, then this first chapter of Earth 2: World's End will offer some welcome information about the history behind the Earth/Apokolips War that kicked off the start of the series.  And if you haven't been reading Earth 2, may the gods of all the pantheons have mercy upon you should you attempt to muddle your way through this book.  This book isn't entirely incomprehensible to new readers, but for every point of The Story So Far it explains, another two go untouched.


Case In Point: The book does a great job of explaining the back-stories of Supergirl and Robin (Now Power Girl and Huntress) and depicting their journey to Earth One and back. But the issue does nothing to explain the story of the new Superman, Val-Zod, or the importance of Jimmy "Accountable" Olsen.  This is doubly vexing since this book unloads a major bombshell that isn't easily understood unless you already know about Jimmy Olsen's superpower in this reality.

That's the damnable paradox of this issue.  It is meant to be bringing new readers up to speed with the story of Earth 2 so far but it is so incredibly piece-meal as to what information it chooses to offer up that it is completely useless as an entry point for new readers. This is doubly unfortunate because there are a number of highly touching scenes in this issue once you get past all the history.  My favorite is Power Girl's reunion with her mother, Lois Lane.  Well, the Red Tornado body housing Lois Lane's personality... but why quibble? It is still a touching scene.


I have little to say about the art on this book.  With eight artists working together, there is very little consistency or visual continuity, but that's been a problem with most of DC Comics' weekly titles.  The nicest thing I can say is that there isn't any artwork that is glaringly awful but I still think these books would benefit from having one artist each week rather than a team working on three or four pages every issue.

Supergirl #17 - A Review

The focal point of Supergirl #17 is a battle between Supergirl and Wonder Woman.  Settle down, folks - this ain't no cat fight!  This is the real thing.  Mike Johnson makes this moment every bit as epic as last month's battle between Supergirl and The Flash.  Though one can guess the outcome of this battle a little more easily, the battle is still a gripping one with a few surprises.

 
Sadly, the larger plot of H'el On Earth finally catches up with the characters in this issue.  As I feared, there's no way for Mike Johnson to mitigate the damage of Scott Lobdell's larger storyline which requires Kara to be a trusting bimbo except for when she's being suspicious of all of her cousin's friends.  While Johnson did a good job in the previous issues of presenting the story from Kara's point of view and making H'el's plan seem reasonable, the final moments of this issue serve to make Kara look like an idiot for not having asked the details of just how H'el's plan to go back in time would work. 


Mahmud Asrar's usually excellent artwork seems sloppy and rushed this month.  I can't account for why this is so but there's many panels where characters in the middle distance are oddly proportioned.  Just look at Wonder Woman in the first panel on the page above and Supergirl in the last panel.  Odd, no?

Thankfully, this is the last I'll have to worry about H'El On Earth and the Superman family dragging this book down for a while.  Another few issues like this and I'd seriously consider dropping this title.  Hopefully next month will bring back the quality we've come to expect from this book.

Supergirl #16 - A Review

Unsurprisingly, the worst parts of Supergirl #16 are those that tie directly into the H'El On Earth crossover storyline.  It's just assumed we've been reading the rest of the Superman books, so naturally we'll know who these red-skinned aliens are, why they're chasing after H'El and who their mysterious Master is.  Normally that might be a safe assumption with a crossover event, but given that the individual issues of Supergirl thus far have stood on their own terms it's rather foolish for them to shift focus now.


Thankfully, the better part of the issue is truer to form and writer Mike Johnson has fun with the concept of Supergirl tearing around the Fortress of Solitude in a super-speed fight with The Flash.  Indeed, this issue offers an amazing moment for fans of Kara Zor-El.  Particularly if you're a fan like me who loves Supergirl and hates Barry Allen.  I can't STAND Barry Allen, for a variety of reasons that are a column unto themselves.  Suffice it to say, this issue proves that the Fastest Man Alive has nothing on the Fastest Girl Alive.


Mahmud Asrar's artwork perfectly captures the high-action set-up.  We don't get any backgrounds during the up-close fight scenes but stylistically that works well, given the speed at which the battle takes place.  During the rest of the scenes, Asrar perfectly captures the alien majesty of the Fortress of Solitude.  I particularly like his designs for Krypto the Super Dog and the alien beasties in Superman's zoo.

Final Analysis?  H'El on Earth?  Boring and Stupid.  Supergirl #16?  Awesome despite it, even if you - unlike me - aren't amused by Barry Allen getting his butt kicked by a teenage girl.

Supergirl, Vol. 1: Last Daughter of Krypton - A No Flying No Tights Review

SOURCE: Supergirl, Vol.1 - Last Daughter of Krypton

The greatest problem with Supergirl as a character has always been establishing her as a separate entity from Superman and developing her into something more than “Superman’s cousin”. This proved a daunting task for most writers, given the impetus behind Kara Zor-El’s creation was a desire to get more girls to read comics. For the longest time, that’s all Supergirl was – a girl with Superman’s powers. Over the years, many writers have tried to differentiate Supergirl from Superman by giving her different powers and a different background, to varying degrees of success.

Thankfully, the New 52 revamp of 2011 gave DC Comics a chance to create a Supergirl that was free of all this baggage and authors Michael Green and Mike Johnson rose to the occasion. Though the background of this Supergirl may be familiar to long-time comic fans, Green & Johnson’s Supergirl is an entirely new character. They accomplish this through an angle I don’t think any writer has considered in the five decades since Supergirl’s creation – culture shock.

Attacked by Russian soldiers shortly after her awakening from suspended animation after her ship crashes in the Siberian wilderness, this Kara Zor-El is quickly established as both an intelligent, logical young woman and a typical teenage girl. Her intelligence is established in how she deduces that she is truly on an alien world and not just dreaming. Her nature as a realistic teenager is established later on, when she finally meets her cousin Kal-El. Or rather, a man dressed in the seal of their house who claims to be her infant cousin Kal-El, grown to maturity while she was asleep.

To say that Kara is skeptical of Superman’s story would be an understatement. To say that she is stunned at his apparent apathy over the destruction of their world would be a greater understatement. To say that she is angered by his suggestion that she should forget about her life before and join him in protecting the relatively primitive people of Earth who view her as either a potential test subject or a monster is so great an understatement as to require the use of an entirely different word than understatement.

This is a brilliant conceit and it makes Kara all the more realistic and, oddly, more sympathetic as a character. After all, how many teenagers do you know who would cope at all well with having to move just before the start of their senior year? How would you have coped with that? Now throw in the “everyone you know is dead” and “everyone here hates you and wants you dead” angles and you’ve got the recipe for some high drama, even ignoring the other superheroic elements of the story as Kara finds her footing, copes with her loss and – eventually – finds her own path to heroism.

Artist Mahmud Asrar deserves an award for his work on this book. Not only does he present the action well, with the story following naturally from panel to panel, he avoids the trap so many previous Supergirl artists have fallen into by indulging in fan service. There’s nary a cheesecake pose to be found and Asrar’s Supergirl looks like a real teenage girl who hasn’t quite finished growing into her figure yet.

All in all, Supergirl is one of the best hidden treasures of the New 52 line. I consider it a must-read for anyone who enjoys quality comics and stories with a strong female protagonist. Furthermore, I’d consider it a worthy purchase for any library with a graphic novel collection aimed at young adults.

Supergirl, vol. 1: Last Daughter of Krypton
by Michael Green, Mike Johnson
Art by Mahmud Asrar
ISBN: 9781401236809
DC Comics, 2012
Publisher Age Rating: 13+

Supergirl #15 - A Review

Supergirl #15 is a fine issue of its' own series but a poor issue of the H'El On Earth mini-series.  Considering my opinion off that crossover as a whole, I do not consider this to be a bad thing in the slightest.  I'd much rather read more flashback scenes of Kara's life on Krypton and see more scenes of her trying to cope with the loss of her home than watch Superman slap around yet another menace from his homeworld that seeks to destroy the Earth.


Mike Johnson's script tells us previous little about the crossover, save that Superman and Superboy have apparently teamed up after both being confronted by the villainous H'El, who has somehow taken over the Fortress of Solitude and allied himself with Supergirl in order to go back in time and save Krypton.  The damnable thing is that - for those, like me, who have only been reading Supergirl - there is no reason to believe H'El to be anything other than what he claims.  Well, ignoring that  a) he's an evil looking goth boy named Hell and b) the story goes nowhere if he really IS trying to bring Krypton back with no strings attached.  From Kara's point of view, given how most of the people on Earth have treated her and how her homesickness has been entirely dismissed by Superman, there's no good reason for her NOT to work with H'El, even if his plan would destroy the Earth.



The artwork by Mahmud Asrar is as it should be - strong as the Girl of Steel herself.  Under Asrar's tender care, Supergirl has remained one of the best-looking titles of the New 52.  His take on Krypton - and, to a lesser degree, The Fortress of Solitude - is particularly breathtaking and alien. 

This is a poor issue for new readers to start the series with, purely because of the unfortunate crossover tie-in with the other, lesser Super Family titles.  It stands well on its' own so those already reading this series need not worry about breaking up their collection.  The scenes with Kara and her best friend are worth the price of admission alone.

Supergirl #14 - A Review

I almost skipped this month's issue of Supergirl.  Why?  Because for the next few months, all of the Superman Family tiles are engaging in a crossover called H'El On Earth and historically speaking, most Superman titles don't fare well whenever there is a crossover.  There's also the fact that collecting the entire storyline would require me spending money on Superboy (a book starring a character I loathe) and Superman (a book whose writer, Scott Lobdell, I loathe even more) and I hate to feel like I'm only getting part of a story.  Ultimately, I decided I could at least give the book a shot without presuming it would be nigh-unreadable. 

I'm glad I did.  Mike Johnson does move the series' multiple sub-plots on a bit and introduces the book's supporting cast and basic concepts for those readers picking up Supergirl for the first time because of the crossover.  We quickly establish that while Kara has accepted that Superman is her baby cousin Kal, she is nowhere near as trusting of the basic goodness of Earth people as he is and she has only one real friend - aspiring singer Siobhan, whose unique sonic powers allow her to understand and speak any language - even Kryptonian!  We also get a refresher on Kara's "Sanctuary" - a Kryptonian base of operations created from a piece of her ship, resting on the ocean floor.


Amazingly, things don't go south once we head out of familiar territory and into the crossover proper.  After settling down to sleep for the first time since coming to Earth, Kara is pulled out of Sanctuary and around the globe by H'El - a being who claims to have empowered by her uncle to explore the universe, gain knowledge and safe guard the accumulated knowledge of Krypton in the wake of the planet's destruction.  H'El claims his ultimate goal is to unite all of Krypton's survivors and use their accumulated power and knowledge to manipulate the time-stream so that Krypton might be saved.  Naturally, the homesick Kara finds this plan far more agreeable than her cousin's desire for her to stay on Earth, safeguarding the same backward people who keep trying to kill her or use her for medical experiments.


Mahmud Asrar's artwork continues to impress, though I still find the design for H'El to be ridiculous beyond words.  I don't know if this will wind up being a roundabout way to reintroduce Bizzaro Superman as a more serious threat or if someone said "Yes!  Clearly we want our new Superman villain to resemble a goth metal singer!"  All I know is that I can't really take H'El seriously as a threat.   Ignoring that, this is a fine issue and not at all the nightmare I anticipated.  I still won't be picking up the rest of H'El on Earth but neither will I be dropping Supergirl for a few months.

Supergirl #13 - A Review

Supergirl #13 mingles elements both old and new.  It was written by one writer, Mike Johnson - now working solo after co-writing this book for the previous year with Michael Green.  It has a new artist - Sam Basri - most recently seen working on Voodoo.  And it brings us the return of the series' first original villain - Simon Tycho. Tycho is a billionaire collector of alien artifacts who, thanks to the injuries earned after he foolishly tried to add Supergirl to his collection, had what was left of his body grafted onto "a transluscent alien jelly-man".


Johnson does a good job setting Tycho up as a character and keeping the action flowing.  Unfortunately, despite Tycho's new powers solving the largest problem with his character concept (i.e. he's basically Lex Luthor with hair and OCD) he still doesn't seem to be much of a threat.  For all the build-up the character receives, Kara is able to defeat him fairly easily.

That being said, I do like how Kara is able to neutralize him in a fairly clever way that doesn't involve her punching her way to a solution.  The end of the issue also sets-up a wonderful new status quo for the book as Kara gains her own Fortress of Solitude.  She also finds a way to keep in touch with the outside world without being overwhelmed by it. 


Sami Basri's style differs greatly from this book's previous artist.  Basri's art possesses a feeling reminiscent of modern manga, with thin lines and light inks.  It's an effective look for the most part, though some of the character expressions seem muted and dull. 

Despite the changes, this book is still a good read.  Indeed, despite it basically being a cliff-hanger resolution for Issue #12, it still manages to be accessible to new readers who might be jumping on after Zero Month.  We can only hope the book remains as accessible and self-contained during the upcoming H'El On Earth crossover. 

Supergirl #0 - A Review

Supergirl #0 isn't really about Supergirl, though Kara is the focus of the issue.  The story told here comes from the perspective of her father - Kryptonian scientist Zor-El.  Apparently Zor is even less-respected than his brother Jor-El, thanks to his work in designing the living genetic weapons called World Killers.  Nominally at work on a new shielding system that will protect his native Argo City from any outside disaster, he has also been performing experiments on his daughter that will ensure she will survive even if he fails to save his city from the upcoming apocalypse.



Messrs Green and Johnson offer us more of an information dump than a character study with this issue.  Still, it does still tell is a lot about Kara's father and life on Krypton before The End.  There's signs of the old emotionless society, as Zor's relationship with his wife seems far less loving and protective than that with his daughter - an arranged marriage, perhaps?  There's also some suggestion that the oddities of Kara's arrival on Earth - such as why she's more powerful than Superman in most respects and why she hasn't aged a day while he grew to adulthood- can be explained by the revelation that her father performed experiments on her. 


As always, Mahmud Asrar's art is amazing.  Everything looks good, from his breath-taking backgrounds depicting the beauty of Krypton to his unique and detailed character and clothing designs.  Truly Asrar is one of the most underrated talents at DC Comics today!

If you continue to ignore my advice regarding this book and still haven't started reading it, now is the time to start.  This issue is a wonderful jumping-on point for new readers while still offering a lot of nods and explanations for long-time readers.  Apart from the odd appearance of what appears to be a time-traveling Superboy (which I have no explanation for) there's nothing here that should confuse new readers. 

Supergirl #12 - A Review

The greatest weakness Supergirl has as a character is that it is virtually impossible to separate her from Superman. And when I say 'separate' I don't mean that she has to exist completely independent of the Kryptonian mythos and all that entails. That would be impossible. What I mean is that Supergirl is rarely considered as an independent being and attempting to define her as a character without the phrases "Superman's cousin" or "the female Superman" is difficult. Too many writers have failed to give Kara Zor-El any personality or definition beyond that.






Miraculously, Michael Green and Mike Johnson have been largely successful in presenting us with a Supergirl free of Superman over the first year of the New 52 Supergirl title. Apart from one encounter that ended in violence in Issue #2, Superman hasn't appeared in the title at all in the past year, giving Kara a chance to be defined independent of the usual "I must use my powers to protect mankind"motivation that tends to be the Alpha and Omega of all motivation in the Super Family. And I think the title has been richer for it, establishing Kara as her own woman - smart and ethical, but frustrated with the stupidity and selfishness of most of the humans she's encountered.

Supergirl #12 seems poised to change that, drawing Kara back into her cousin's orbit. After discussing why Kara seems to be so more powerful than Clark and another argument about Kara being too dangerous/naive to be allowed to roam the Earth freely, Supergirl goes off on a quest to find a piece of the wreckage from the ship that carried her to Earth from the ocean floor. It is here that Green and Johnson subtly separate Kara from her cousin again, allowing her to come up with a use for the solar energy she absorbed that is all her own. Indeed, I'm not aware of this power being suggested in any Superman story, though it is a logical extension of their being living solar batteries.



Mahmud Asrar continues to impress with his artwork. My one complaint, and it is a minor one, is that his Superman is somewhat inconsistent, looking as young as Kara in some panels yet looking more of an age with his thirty-something self from the pre-New 52 comics in others. Still, I suppose I can forgive it since nobody - not even the writers of his own titles - seem to be sure exactly how old Clark is supposed to be now. College Age? Mid-20s? Let me know when I'm close.

Supergirl #12 represents a dramatic shift in the tone of this book and it is not a change I can say I wholly approve of. Do not misunderstand me - the story presents itself well and the artwork flows as finely as ever. But tying Kara more firmly into the world of Superman - however briefly - seems like a step back. Like a college student returning to their parent's home for the first time after moving out, this issue feels oddly uncomfortable.

Supergirl #11 - A Review

Supergirl #11 starts off with a big event - Kara's first date on Earth. It goes about as well as can be expected when the date is with her new friend Tom, who can barely speak English. He's still somewhat better off than Kara, who can't speak English at all and has yet to grasp the concept of having to pay for food. Apparently Krypton was an anarcho-syndicalist commune.



This might be a fine hook for a story by itself but this wouldn't be much of a superhero comic if there weren't a little action to round out the drama. The date becomes even more awkward when a hired-gun in a nano-tech suit shows up wanting to fight. As will happen when you're Supergirl trying to relax. The action here is well laid out by artist Mahmud Asrar, who economically fits a lot of story into every page.



Michael Green and Mike Johnson have created a quiet classic with this series. Kara continues to impress as an intelligent, compassionate heroine. We also learn a lot about new cast member Tom here, seeing that he's bold enough to attack a super-being to protect a friend... even when the friend is a young woman who can break buildings with her pinky.

If you aren't already reading Supergirl, you should give it a shot.

Supergirl #10 - A Review

Supergirl #10 is a superheroic psychodrama.  Picking up where we left off in the last issue, we find that Kara (obviously) isn't quite as dead as she seemed e after being absorbed by the banshee father of her new friend/roommate Siobnah.  Waking up inside a mix of old memories and childhood dreams, Kara must do battle against The Black Banshee in a world of nightmares that he controls.



This issue has confirmed that Kara has come full-circle and embraced her inner hero.  The somewhat self-absorbed teenage girl - who was understandably obsessed with the idea of going home and the future she had planned out and lost - has become a young woman who knows the power she has and the responsibility it gives her.  When Kara realizes the true nature of where she is, her mind instinctively changes her into what she truly sees herself as - a warrior protecting the innocent.  As well it should given that Kara is not the only one who has somehow survived being absorbed by The Black Banshee... and Sibonah's beloved older brother needs her protection. 

 

This emotional development and character building - as well as the high-action scenes that accompany it, as Kara does battle with the monsters of her own making as well as whatever The Black Banshee can throw at her - are illustrated amazingly by Mahmud Asrar.  At times this has the feel of a Vertigo Comic, as Asrar draws everything in a disjointed and distorted fashion during the dream sequences.  The inks also seem to be heavier this time around, hinting at the inner darkness of the Black Banshee's soul world.

If you like books with strong heroines, you should be reading Supergirl.  If you don't like the Superman Family series of books, you should give Supergirl a try as there's no Superman and Kara has never felt overpowered or cliched since this series started over.  And if you like good comics, you should definitely be reading Supergirl.

Supergirl #7-9: A Review

As I've noted before, the new Supergirl title has proven to be one of the best books to come out of the original New 52 line-up.  The three issues released since my 52 Catch-Up review of the first six books have continued to uphold the same high level of quality in terms of both writing and art.

Issue #7 concludes the storyline started in Issue #5, with Kara Zor-El facing down a foursome of Worldkillers - sentient biological weapons created on Krypton.  This issue is noteworthy in that it confirms what had been hinted at in the previous issue - that Kara has completely accepted her status as a hero and the responsibilities her new-found powers have given her.  More importantly, the combat scenes show that Kara is more than dumb-muscle and has a natural head for strategy despite her relative inexperience as a warrior.



Issue #8 picks up on the heels of #7, with Kara facing down an ungrateful military platoon that is naturally scared about this young woman who defeated four monsters, single handedly, when their own weapons could do nothing.   Luckily Kara seems to have gained one supporter - a strong-willed, outspoken Irish woman named Siobnah, who has unusual powers too... including the ability to understand any language.



George Perez is the guest artist on Issue #8 and - while I am a bit biased in saying this as a Perez fan - I am hard pressed to think of a better artist one could hope to have had draw this particular issue.  The action moments early on and in the final pages are drawn well enough but the heart of this issue centers around two young women - both of whom have come a long way and are trying to rebuild their lives - getting to know one another and establishing a friendship that they both sorely need.  Perez is well known for masterfully drawing these slower moments while still infusing them with energy and this issue shows why his reputation as one of the grand masters of American Comic Artists is so well-deserved.



Issue #9 brings back artist Mahmud Ashar on pencils and inks. The sudden shift from Perez's style to Ashar's couldn't be more timely.  Ashar's darker inks and more stylized designs better suit this particular issue and it's decidedly disturbing story.



As the issue opens, we find  that Siobhan's dad is not as dead as previously imagined.  More, we discover that both father and daughter are infected by a magical curse that has transformed them both into creatures not unlike the banshees of Celtic Myth.  Of course Celtic Myth says nothing about male banshees but if they are anything like Siobhan's father, the Celtic Bards might not have gotten a chance to tell the tale after running into one.



 

The issue ends on a cliff-hanger, as The Black Banshee uses his magic to "unlock" Kara's energy, making her into a greater danger to the innocents watching the battle than the two banshees.  This leads Kara to make a faithful choice and a hero's sacrifice.  Or so it would seem.  Given that there's an Issue #10 coming out shortly I think we can safely assume Kara will emerge safe if not unscathed.  But it will be fun to see just how she manages it.  

Again, I say this is one of the best books DC Comics is publishing right now and one of their best-hidden secrets.  I'd suggest picking up the single issues on Comixpedia now, as the first print-trade of this series will not be out until September. You won't regret it.

52 Catch-Up: Supergirl #1-6

I wasn't expecting to like the first issue of Supergirl, let alone start picking the book up on a regular basis. But this book proved to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the New 52 and perhaps the most criminally underrated. It is also one of the few New 52 titles to have had a complete multi-issue character arc which can still be picked up and read one issue at a time, without any worries about being able to get back into the story - a trait that is rarely appreciated in these days of "writing for the trade".





As I noted in my review of the first issue, writers Michael Green & Mike Johnson were quick to establish Kara's character, showing that she is logical and intelligent as she is able to quickly deduce that she's on an real alien world rather than dreaming. Despite this, she is still portrayed as being a typical teenage girl, as her first thoughts are worries about how her mom will react to her wearing an outfit that she is too young to be wearing. Okay, the outfit in question is the formal garb prepared for her graduation rather than a mini-skirt and fishnets, but the principal is the same.





As Issue #2 opens, Kara is confronted by Superman, who claims to be her younger cousin, Kal-El. She finds this completely preposterous - understandable given that her last memory of Kal-El involved holding him while babysitting several days earlier. The standard "fight-between-two-heroes-over-a-misunderstanding" issue commences, made somewhat less-than-standard by the wonderful internal monologue going through Kara's head. Understandably shaken up as her body begins to react to Earth's yellow sun, her horror at the alien environment and her very being rebelling against her is well conveyed, turning what might have been an ordinary issue-long action sequence into a character-defining issue as well.





Issues #3 & #4 pit Kara against Simon Tycho - a young super-genius who made his fortune by recovering and exploiting alien technology that has come to Earth. He grabbed Kara's spaceship during the fight with Superman and - not content with that find - goads her into chasing after him so that he can have a real, live alien to experiment on. As a villain, Tycho is rather forgettable - a lightweight Lex Luthor, if you will. But these issues are still enjoyable as they do much to further establish Kara's compassionate nature and growing skill in using her powers.





Issue #5 details Kara, newly armed with a crystal from her spaceship, trying to fly back to Krypton in the hope that someone may have survived the cataclysm. This leads her to the remains of Argo City and her uncovering her parents' last message to her. She also finds a being who calls herself Reign, who it turns out is one of the mentioned - but unseen until now - Worldkillers that her father had been designing.




With Issue #6, Kara comes full circle. Refusing to die among the ruins of her people, she returns to Earth in hot pursuit of Reign. She accepts her destiny as a hero and proves herself worthy of the clothes that she's wearing - both by the standards of adulthood on Krypton and by what the S-shield means to people on Earth.




All of these issues are ably illustrated by a top-notch art team. Many Supergirl artists take great license with the character, drawing exaggerated cheesecake poses while giving Kara the body of a porn star. Penciller Mahmud Asrar avoids this, thankfully, giving us a Supergirl who looks like a young, athletic young woman. The backgrounds are also well-illustrated, with several two-page spreads depicting poster-worth landscapes. Inker Dan Green does a fine job of defining and separating everything on the issues Asrar did not ink personally. Colorist Dave McCaig, who colored all the issues save #3, also does an excellent job, using a somewhat muted-palette that only serves to make the bright colors of Kara's costume stand out all the more, seeming all the more out of place in the various places she goes.

In short, this is a wonderful book and you should be reading it!

52 Pick-Up - Week Three, Part Two

JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 - Now THIS is more like it! For those who were turned off by the lack of action in the first issue, be assured that this one has a lot more action and a lot less Green Lantern and Batman bickering. Granted, most of that action is The Flash, Green Lantern and Batman fighting Superman as EVERYONE bickers with one another... but at least there's some variety. Still no sign of Aquaman or Wonder Woman yet but the Cyborg subplot has kicked into overdrive. Johns writes a very funny first meeting for these heroes, while still managing to have everyone seem in-character and Jim Lee's artwork is as fine as ever. This is on my pull list.

SUPERGIRL #2 - Do you like comics where two heroic characters fight over a misunderstanding just after meeting one another? I hope so, because that's pretty much all that happens here. Superman finds Supergirl, who attacks him because she's still confused and frightened. By issue's end he's convinced her that he is her baby cousin, who she remembered baby-sitting three days earlier and started explaining the effect of Earth's yellow sun on Kryptonian. Another book that is slowly getting started but one that is well worth reading.

WONDER WOMAN #2 - Boy, did this title go south in a hurry! While I'm not as upset as some by the revelation that Diana is an illegitimate daughter of Zeus (Don't forget - in the DCAU, it was suggested that she was the daughter of Hades and Hippolyta) I do agree that the portrayal of the Amazons, who have reverted back to being man-hating stereotypes, leaves much to be desired. There seems little reason for these Amazons to have an ambassador to the outside world. Then again, we don't know if Diana is an ambassador or not. Indeed, apart from the revelation of her parentage, Diana continues to be a cipher and all we learn of her in this issue is that she prefers to fight with a staff in combat games! The art is serviceable but that's not enough to keep me buying this book.

Supergirl #1 - A Review

It began with a simple concept - “a teenage girl with Superman’s powers”. But despite her derivative origins, Supergirl has become so much more to comic fans around the world. Her popularity was such that she returned from a supposedly permanent death in Crisis On Infinite Earths. She survived a series of confusing revamps regarding her origins and powers throughout the 1990s. In the early 21^st century, she was resurrected and subjected to another series of confusing revamps at the hands of numerous writers, who couldn’t decide if she was a hero or a villain. And yet Supergirl endures – an icon.

Writers Michael Green & Mike Johnson wisely avoid all this baggage in this first issue of Supergirl, offering us a story that is as elegant in its’ simplicity and strength as Supergirl herself. The issue consists of one long action sequence, wherein a newly awakened Kara Zor-El emerges from a meteorite that crashed in the Siberian wasteland only to be confronted by a series of mech-suit clad soldiers. To their mutual horror, Kara’s powers manifest immediately, growing stronger as Earth’s yellow sun peeks from behind the clouds. This leaves Kara in the nightmarish situation of being in a strange world with her own body rebelling against her as strange men try to kill her.

Green and Johnson instantly turn Kara into a sympathetic and relatable figure, with the entire story being told from her perspective. Through Kara’s internal monologue, we see that she is logical, assuming at first that she’s in a dream since Krypton hasn’t seen snow since she was very young. We know that she is intelligent, quickly figuring out both that she is on another planet. And judging by her thoughts about her mother being upset about her sneaking out in an outfit she’s not old enough to be wearing, she’s a typical teenager. The action of the issue flows well, slowly revealing Kara’s powers to the reader as she learns of them herself.

The artwork for this book is top-notch all-around. Penciller Mahmud Asrar avoids the cheesecake that so many past Supergirl artists have indulged in. His Supergirl is cute without being sexualized, looking like a real teenage girl who hasn’t fully grown into her figure. This attention to detail is seen elsewhere, with some nice still-life shots of the Siberian wilderness to set the mood and in the armor worn by the soldiers trying to capture Kara. Asrar is assisted on the inks by Dan Green, whose work neatly separates the characters from the outstanding backgrounds. This separation also comes to play in the palette, with colorist Dave McCaig separating Kara from the dreary landscape with reds, blues and yellows that are not the least bit muted.

Part of the motivation for the DC Revamp was to create books that would appeal to a more diverse group of readers. Presumably DC Comics hoped to reach more young women with titles like this one. I can’t speak as to whether or not they will be successful but I personally enjoyed this book. The script establishes Supergirl as an intelligent young lady and it makes her relatable despite being from an alien world and trapped in a strange situation. The artwork is good and not at all exploitative. This book may not be the savior that brings more women into the comic book industry but it is a great read.