Review: Wednesday Comics #9

When Supergirl:Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade had reached issue five, I realized the end was near and that I was very much going to miss reading that incarnation of Kara. Despite flooding DC with good vibes no sequel to Cosmic Adventures has been announced.

Here we are at Wednesday Comics #9 and I have reached the same point with Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner's Supergirl as well. I have 3 more weeks to soak in this strip. I am really going to miss it when it is done. And unlike Cosmic Adventures, a sequel doesn't even seem possible unless a second edition of Wednesday Comics comes about and the team signs on for a Kara strip again. That confluence of events doesn't seem likely.

I guess today's emotional theme is 'overwhelmed' as we see Supergirl playing nurse as Dr. Midnite patches up his pet owl. See the feathers and anesthetic gas?



I honestly think I should stop trying to predict storylines as clearly I am terrible at it.

So it isn't red Kryptonite exposure that has made the pets act crazy, it's solar flares. And not just any solar flares, solar flares created when aliens have dumped their toxic waste into our sun for disposal. The super-pets are sensitive to those flares and so have acted a bit wonky when they fire up.

There is so much to love here. I love that Supergirl casually states that she knows all about solar flares. I love that the lab looks like a complete mess, evidence that the super-pets ran wild. I love the expression on the owl as he glares at Streaky and Krypto, his bare bottom bandaged up.


Someone has to stop these aliens from messing with our sun. Their garbage can do more than make the super-pets go crazy; it can have disastrous effects on our atmosphere.

I love how this Supergirl takes the initiative to fly out and make first contact. No deferring to Superman. No asking for help. This is her job and she goes off to it! That's the spirit I love to see in the character.

I also like the somewhat fearful expression on Dr. Mid-Nite's face as Kara hands him Streaky. If anyone is going to get hurt babysitting the pets, it's him.



With Supergirl gone, Dr. Mid-Nite tries to find a ball for the pets to play with. But while he is busy they fly off after Supergirl. My guess is more hi-jinks will ensue.

Outside of the panels I have shown, there are the usual sight gags. Dr. Mid-Nite's library includes 'Feng Shui for the Lab', 'De-Clutter Your Acid Storage Cabinets', 'Moby Dick', and 'The Complete Jonah Hex'. There is also a great shot of Supergirl giving Krypto a tummy scratch.

I know I have thrown Palmiotti and Conner under the bus for Supergirl #12 in her own series. All is forgiven. I hope they can forgive me my prior rants. This is the Supergirl I will think of when I think of them ... this fun and fantastic Supergirl. I can't believe I only get it for three more weeks.



As for the rest of this week's Wednesday Comics, the usual excellent strips are still excellent. Kamandi, Strange Adventures, Green Lantern, and Batman all have been very solid.

This week's Flash is very innovative and Karl Kerschl and Brendan Fletcher have Barry Allen falling through his universe into Grodd's pocket universe. Along the way we see Barry and Iris re-imagined as Charlie Brown and Lucy, Dagwood and Blondie, and as characters in a Steve Roper type melodrama. Good stuff there.

But this week's non-Supergirl panel goes to Kyle Baker's Hawkman. At first I didn't quite like the sporadic nature of this story - from plane hijacking to alien invasion to dinosaur island. But one thing is clear, all of those plot elements take full advantage of the format of Wednesday Comics. The pages are big and these scenes are big. I love this panel where for once we have the space to really feel the scope of a super-hero versus dinosaur battle. Wonderful.

Even the more lackluster strips - Metal Men, Wonder Woman, Sgt Rock - were enjoyable this week.

Overall grade (Supergirl): A
Overall grade (Wednesday Comics): A