Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Illustrated by Mahmud AsrarMeet Supergirl. She’s got the unpredictable behavior of a teenager, the same powers as Superman — and none of his affection for the people of Earth. So don’t piss her off!
Supergirl gets her sixth volume and crash lands into Siberia by way of Smallville. Given the series’ opening, does the book crash and burn or is it this week’s surprise hit, just like Superboy #1 was last week?
Tunnel through the center of the Earth and find out after the cut.
Supergirl was perhaps one of DC’s single most underrated titles/characters. The previous volume of the character, while assembled under curious pretense, saw the character reach new highs in the DCU with a fully fleshed out character and a place amongst the rest of the champions. Kara become this wonderful self-assured and strong character in a sea of less-than-desirable female heroes from DC thanks to the tireless efforts of Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. To see Sterling Gates never tell all the stories he had planned, and to watch Nick Spencer not even write a full issue before leaving the book, was troublesome indeed. Supergirl’s star looked to be fallen, despite a good last arc from Kelly Sue DeConnick.
But now she’s back, and ready for some action in the DCnU! And she has the honor of being written by two ex-Smallville writers while being one of two females to not wear pants! If you were to say my excitement for the relaunched title was high, you’d be lying to yourself and everyone around you, which is entirely rude. Supergirl looked like one of the least interesting books from the DC relaunch, and with Brian Wood not being the writer for the new series, I was pretty sure I would pass it by.
Yet here we are. I have a copy in my pull, so let’s discuss it.
Supergirl the title opens with Supergirl the character actually arriving on Earth, confused and disoriented from what appears to have been an unexpected space voyage. Very little is actually discussed about her trip other than that she doesn’t actually know where she is or how she got there, and what in the world is she wearing? Unlike Action Comics and Superboy, which both begin with our heroes acclimated somewhat to the Earth world, Supergirl takes us to a place of confusion and discovery for the character, and in a sly way makes her that much more affable. It’s a curious maneuver; certainly we could ascertain most of this character’s origin based on her name and lineage, but Green and Johnson seem rather intent on really introducing her as a “new” character, and it’s not a bad introduction.
That being said, though, it is a massive regression. The continuity of the DCnU is still in flux, so I suppose we have to give the benefit of the doubt more often than not. Not a lot is clear from the first issue, but it looks like Green and Johnson have basically no interest in having the same character from Gates’ run. Keep in mind — there have been six volumes of Supergirl; as a fan of the character I hate to say this, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is ever really all that happy with her characterization (outside of, you know, fans). Now Green and Johnson seem to want this angry and confused character, built from the ground up, and it could either be great or it could be awful. It’s still too early to tell. As of now, Supergirl has just irrationally beaten the tar out of a bunch of men who show up to attack her — or, contain her? Or help her? Honestly, it’s never really clear, but what is clear is that you don’t want to piss her off! (I still hate that part of the solicit.)
Still, there’s a lot to like. Kara isn’t ostensibly disrespected by her new creative team, and the introduction to the character is smart for new readers. We get to see her discover her powers as she does, and the foreign aspect of these abilities to her makes it that much more interesting for the audience to watch (assuming you have a base knowledge of how Superman works). My general opinion of their writing never amounts to much more than a knowing nod and a “Yeah, this’ll probably work,” but I’ve gone from ‘complete lack of faith’ to ‘interest in adding this title to my pull’, so that’s something. Given how the first arc of Kara and her road of self-discovery plays out, this new direction for the character could turn out fairly well.
Continued belowThe real selling point of the issue is Mahmud Asrar, though. It’s a bit early to pass judgment on the writing team of Green and Johnson, but I’d be fine with just looking at the pictures. Asrar does a fantastic job on the title; while the new costume design is a bit suspect (if the character of the book says “there’s no way I’d wake up wearing this,” something is off (yes, I am purposefully not quoting the full line)), Asrar has a wonderful eye for setting and action. Supergirl’s battle against the mysterious mechs of the issue is a terrifically played out scene, as Asrar perfectly illustrates the emotional turmoil this gives the character — “Why am I being attacked? Who is attacking me? What’s going on? …Did I miss prom?” (That last line is just a joke; I don’t think Kryptonians have prom.) Asrar is a perfect match for the title in the same way that Jamal Igle was, and I’m intrigued to see what he’s going to do with the next issue of SUPERMAN FIGHTS SUPERGIRL: CAGE MATCH.
On top of that, good lord Dave McCaig is a fantastic colorist. If he colored every book in the DCnU relaunch I’d be perfectly fine with that, as he can perfectly evoke the light from the dark thematically and literally. At the point in which the comic moved from night to day, I can only hope that the average reader stopped to appreciate how much the tone of the book dramatically shifts for the book, and none of that would happen without McCaig (or at least not to the wonderful extent that it does). McCaig’s is a name everyone should know by now, and Supergirl is a perfect example of why.
In general, it feels too early to call it on Supergirl. Sterling Gates’ run with Jamal Igle was amazing, and really did a number on developing the character outside of base concepts about teen girls in the same way that Bryan Q Miller brought to life Stephanie Brown as Batgirl. It’s really sad to see all that character work go to waste, but Green and Johnson do have a chance here. Despite the awful solicit, the book doesn’t come off as excessively cheesy or even disrespectful to her legacy. No, this is a “new” Supergirl, and with that comes a period of adjustment. Given the talented work of Mahmud Asrar and the wonderful as always work of Dave McCaig, it’s fair to give this book at least another issue or two to really find its place in the DCnU, if only to see Supergirl and Superman beat the crap out of each other. That’s always fun.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy and hope Streaky shows up soon
