Review: DC Nuclear Winter Special #1

I had seen the solicits for DC's Nuclear Winter Special #1 and I saw the creator list included a number of names of creators who I trust. This includes but isn't limited to Steve Orlando, Paul Dini, Tom Taylor, Cecil Castellucci, Phil Hester, Scott Kolins, Jerry Ordway, etc.

That's a lot of names of people whose work I routinely love.

But then I saw the price point. $10 is a lot to shell out for a collection of post-apocalyptic, 'this isn't a holiday special', 'out of continuity book. I'd almost rather buy three monthlies and keep those titles afloat. It's like a $10 lottery ticket. It might be a winner. But it might not. And shouldn't that sawbuck go elsewhere?

Luckily I have friends who don't overthink things so much and had bought it. Those folks loved it. So when you say there are creators who you trust in the book and there are comic friends who you trust telling you to buy the book, you reach into your wallet and you plop the Hamilton down.

I am so happy I did. I won't cover all the stories here but they are all very good. But tucked in there is a Supergirl story by writer Tom Taylor with breakdowns by Tom Derenick and finished art and colors by dazziling newcomerYasmin Putri. The tale is absolutely wonderful. It certainly will make my top ten list. It leans into so many things I feel about Supergirl's history. It is hopeful, even in the nightmarish world it exists in. And it is beautiful. This alone would have made the book worth buying.

We start in the red, dusty world of a post-apocalyptic Earth.

A blond woman in survival gear stumbles on a toddler by the side of the road. It is clear the girl was left there for her own safety, her parents or caregivers killed by marauders nearby.

But this woman is a good person.

She takes the child in. She will be responsible.

The colors here are beautiful. The whole place is basically bathed in rusts, implying decay.

Flash forward 2 years.

The girl is dying, being slowly poisoned by the environment.

The woman heads to Mount Denali in Alaska, the highest point in North America. She had been told by a 'masked man' (why do I always assume it's Batman) the Denali's peak is above the radioactive cloud.

It is a treacherous climb. One filled with peril. One others have died trying to do. But she'll make it.

I love how the little girl know calls her rescuer Mom. 

Now we knew this was a Supergirl story. It is labeled as such in the table of contents.

But I almost wish it wasn't called out there.

Because when the pair make it up above the clouds, when the rescuer is bathed in the yellow sun, there is a classic shirt rip to reveal the S-Shield. This was Kara all along. And now, finally soaking up the rays, she is Supergirl once more.

This would have made an even better complete surprise.

And just like that she's super again.

The two have someplace to be. So Kara takes off flying.

There is so much to love here. This is the first time this child is seeing the blue sky and the sun. That look of joy as she flies, after a life time of living in decay is joyous.

But the small touches, like Kara having tattoos encircling her arms, the Kryptonian word for hope tattoed on her fingers, is a nice touch of how hard this life wandering in death must have been.

Why Denali? Why Alaska?

Too power up closer to the Fortress of Solitude.

Again, this is Kara who is just getting some juice. I like how she is struggling with the key, even cursing Clark a bit for making it so heavy.

(And I love that she calls him Clark and not Kal.)

But then comes the gut punch, lovely ending.

They were going there to retrieve Superman's space capsule. This is a doomed planet. Kara is going to rocket her child to someplace safer. It is their origin all over again, flipped on its head.

At first she is going to rocket her daughter off alone. But when the child begs her not to, Kara remembers her own trauma. She remembers the pain of being alone.

You can see how awful it was. The reds of Kara's memories in contrast to the blues of the fortress. The jagged edges of the panels showing the turmoil.

She won't let her daughter be raised by strangers.

Think of Kara's history. In her first incarnation, Superman throws her in an orphanage. In the Loeb incarnation, she was angsty and demanded to live alone. In the New 52, she was angry again and once more initially demanded to be left alone. In all her incarnations, the early years have been tough. Why would she wish that on someone she loved?

Even though the rocket is a tight fit for two, but Kara doesn't care. She is going to be there for her daughter. It won't be strangers.

It is a beautiful story showing Kara maturing into a love, caring adult. It works so perfectly if you know that early Supergirl history, even beyond that image of Zor-El shooting her off into space.

I have to say, Supergirl has a great history with these seasonal specials. This story is wonderful. Kudos to the creative team.

I have to say that the rest of the issue is great. But I have to show how Steve Orlando just has DC history in his back pocket. In his story, a great yarn involving Superman One Million and Martian Manhunter, the villain is King Kosmos.

Kosmos is a one-hit wonder, from way back in the introduction of the first Superwoman. I reviewed it here:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2009/01/it-came-from-back-issue-box-dc-comics.html

Overall grade (Supergirl story): A+
Overall grade (whole book): B+