Supergirl #29 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Yildiray Cinar (penciler), Ray McCarthy (inker), Dan Brown (colorist)

The Story: It’s up to Kara’s old roommate to stop her reign of terror. Plus she never cleans out the fridge…

The Review: Tony Bedard’s time on Supergirl has been defined by the presence of guest characters and an extremely fed up Kara Zor-El. The combination has not always been kind to our title character and, at its worst, she’s felt like a guest star in an issue of Lobo.

Lagging behind last month’s Green Lantern/Red Lanterns #28, Supergirl remains in no state to better her reputation, still a bestial mess of blood, spit, and napalm. With Lobo dead again, the title turns to the next black & white adversary for Red Lantern Supergirl: the Silver Banshee.

While it’s a shame that Supergirl remains a secondary player in her own title, Bedard’s handle on Siobhan is perhaps the strongest of his run so far. In just a few pages, Bedard is able to give us an understanding of Kara and Siobhan’s friendship. It’s a little broad, but the bond between them is clear enough to touch the heart a little. That’s essential because the entire issue is predicated on our belief that Siobhan loves and is sacrificing for her friend.

Supergirl #23 – Review

By: Michael Allen Nelson (writer), Mahmud Asrar (art)

The Story: With her kryptonite poisoning hanging over her head, Kara finds herself beset by the Cyborg Superman, her memories, and; worst of all; blue lights! Silly Kara, everyone knows it’s red lights you have to look out for.

The Review: One of the facets of serialized storytelling is the need to entice readers to return next month. This means that every issue needs to simultaneously stand on its own and also serve as a teaser of things to come. Often this means dramatic last page reveals, but, useful as these are, they don’t come without some pitfalls. And sometimes that means that stories that have no business taking up a full issue are stretched to fit so that there can be twenty pages between one big moment and the next.

While it’s possible that Michael Alan Nelson just wanted to pace his story this way, it’s hard to ignore how awkward it feels. The issue spends half of its pages focused on Kara’s battle with her memories, but never fully justifies that decision.

The ‘battle against your allies’ trope usually goes one of two ways: with the protagonist either struggling with the concept of attacking their friends or insisting that these aren’t them. Kara falls awkwardly in the middle, working out her frustrations with her supporting casts while completely conscious that they aren’t really there. Admittedly, the sequence works much better if you read the specters’ accusations as manifestations of Kara’s guilt, but it often feels like Nelson just wanted to have it both ways.

Supergirl #10 – Review

By: Michael Green & Mike Johnson (story), Mahmud Asrar (art), Dave McCaig (colors)

The Story: And here you thought Kryptonians know nothing about swashbuckling swordplay.

The Review: You’d think I’d have exhausted my comics-as-relationships metaphor last week in my review of Suicide Squad, but strap yourself down, because I’ve got some more left in my pocket.  In this case, Supergirl is like the person who caught your eye at that kickback a friend of your friend had at his house.  You check them out, chat them up, get their number.  You hang out a few times and enjoy yourself.  And just before it gets serious, you realize it won’t go anywhere.

Not that there’s anything wrong with Supergirl, per se; I’m sure it’s a great title for other people, but for me, I realize now I was attracted to a few of its qualities, but not the whole package.  What I really liked from the debut of this series was Green-Johnson’s naturalistic take on Kara, the intellectual sweetness she’d display towards giant robots and her infant cousin.  I liked her introspective, but not moody, point of view, a rarity for any teenage character.

Supergirl #9 – Review

By: Michael Green & Mike Johnson (story), Mahmud Asrar (art), Dave McCaig (colors)

The Story: Kara gets her first taste of Earth-style daddy issues.

The Review: At the start of its life, this title surpassed expectations because it managed to deliver a convincingly realistic, nuanced take on a character whose entire claim to fame is from being Superman, but younger, blonder, and with boobs.  Back then, Green-Johnson delighted you with any number of small, fresh details that made you feel you were getting a focused take on Supergirl for once.  They made you feel for once, Supergirl could stand on her own.

And she still might, but now that time feels very, very far away.  We’re closing in on the one-year mark for all the original new 52 titles, and that means it’s prime time to evaluate the long-term viability of each series.  For Supergirl, your primary frustration is even after eight issues, Kara is still getting jerked around by events as they happen.  By having relatively no agenda of her own, she simply emphasizes her book’s lack of direction.

Supergirl #8 – Review

By: Michael Green & Mike Johnson (story), George Pérez (art), Bob Wiacek (inks), Paul Mounts (colors)

The Story: Unnecessary bangles, beanie hats—you’re really on Earth now, Supergirl.

The Review: No matter how much anyone emphasizes the Super-family’s non-human origins or background, the fact remains that they are heroes of Earth, not of Krypton, Kandor, Argos, Cadmus, or what-have-you.  Supergirl pretty much proved that last issue when she defended New York City against invaders who came from her home planet.  Over half a year later, the time seems right for her to make an emotional connection to this world she’s chosen as home.

Green-Johnson have done an admirable job of not letting our heroine get lost in her cousin’s big shadow, especially so early on in her career, so I appreciate that Kara doesn’t immediately turn to Clark for help now that she’s settled here.  Instead, the writers throw in Siobhan Smythe, who serves as the ideal foil to Supergirl.  Since she’s a fellow orphan and emigrant to America, she can sympathize with Kara in important ways, and her good-natured approach to the world will be particularly useful for acclimating her Kryptonian friend to human society.