Monday, December 3, 2018

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+

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was nicely surprised that Supergirl starred in one story. Of late, Christmas specials tend to leave her out or stuck in a cameo role, albeit she often shines when she stars in a story (by the way, you know those Giant-Sized specials that DC is distributing through Wallmart? The Holiday Special includes a "All I Want For Christmas" reprint: https://dccomicsnews.com/2018/11/09/holidays-come-to-walmart-in-new-giant-sized-special/ )

Frankly, "Last Daughters" is a way better post-apocalypstic story than Gotham City Garage, which I dropped after a few issues.

I think it's also the first time we have seen Supergirl looking like a forty-something woman. Usually, she never looks past twenty-something, not even in tales set in the future like Action Comics 270 or Superman Family 200. Not even Kingdom Come Power Girl looks older than thirty.

"why do I always assume it's Batman"

I never thought about the masked man being Batman.

But the climbing scene works so well in a "Frodo and Sam working their way up Mount Doom" way. It's hopeless and suicidal and probably dumb... but Kara is determined to believe and attempt anyway, and right when all seems lost, her faith is rewarded.

That panel where Supergirl flies up and then loops towards the North is pure joy.

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

Myself, I think Kara would always call him Kal and it's more fitting for her to do so.

But, hey, a classic-looking Fortress key!

"But then comes the gut punch, lovely ending."

Agreed. She wants to send Lucy away... but she remembers what it felt like, and she can't do it. And you have made an excellent point: unlike her cousin, who was found by the nicest, kindest couple ever, her first years are always hard.

Let's think of it... Am I mistaken or at least one Pre-Crisis continuity story has Jor-El want to make his rocket big enough for Kal-El and his mother but Lara refuses to leave her husband alone?

Pre-Crisis Kara's origin was tweaked several times and finally set by "Untold Story of Argo City", but we never got to see her family's reactions. I'm happy that Post-Crisis stories fixed that, because it highlights one difference between both cousins: Kara was old enough to fully understand what was going on (okay, Earth-One Kal was three, but still...)

By the way... A non-crazy Zor-El! Wonderful, I thought they had gone extinct!

"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."

Awwwwwwww....

Although I'm wondering... The Fortress' resources are at Kara's disposal. Couldn't she build a bigger rocket?

Anyway, I'll assume her abilities don't include interstellar travel in this story because otherwise she could travel next to Lucy's rocket and make sure she makes it safely.

I wondered why she didn't try to use her powers to dissipate the cloud, when it dawned on me... As climbing she said the cloud killed everyone. She meant it. The last daughters of Krypton and Earth are leaving Earth because there's nothing left to save. Our world is as dead as Krypton.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed some Yasmine Putri covers, and she does a beautiful job with this story, including the coloring. Since someone else did the layouts, I'm wondering if she is going to do her own sequential art, or stick to cover work.

There's a nice "gallery" of her work on her Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/yaswhodraws/
where she describes herself as "Mostly DC/Marvel cover artist."

I wish DC featured more such art in its anthologies - it's a good opportunity to feature different styles - but most of their anthology art remains fairly conventional. Styles vary, to be sure, but not too far from the beaten path.

For instance, the only truly non-conventional work in the last anthology I picked up, "DC's Beach Blanket Bad Guys Summer Special," had just the opening "Worst Finest" drawn by Francesco Mattina, colored with even more rust-tones as it turns out. (Looks painted to me.) Perhaps DC feels one such story per anthology is enough. And maybe it is.

Glad you reviewed this.

T.N.

Professor Feetlebaum said...

"...Am I mistaken or at least one pre-crisis continuity story has Jor-El want to make his rocket big enough for Kal-El and his mother, but Lara refuses to leave her husband alone?"

In the 1948 origin story (Superman #53), Jor-El wanted Lara to get in the rocket with baby Kal-El, but she refused-"my place is here with you."

And on the first episode of the Superman TV show ("Superman on Earth"-1951) Jor-El's plan is to build a rocket large enough to carry all 3 of them to Earth, but the end comes too soon, and he's forced to send Kal-El off in the small model rocket. He tells Lara that there is room for two in the model, but Lara will not go, telling Jor-El that she would be lost on Earth without him.

There are probably more examples.

Martin Gray said...

Great review. What did I tell you, instant classic!

I managed to read this story without having looked at the contents, and while I immediately suspected it was Kara, I still got a huge kick out of the reveal. When I reviewed this over at my blog, not having a Supergirl focus, I had a go at not giving away who the star was, just in case anyone was reading pre-comic. I doubt anyone was fooled!

Anonymous said...

"In the 1948 origin story (Superman #53), Jor-El wanted Lara to get in the rocket with baby Kal-El, but she refused-"my place is here with you."

And on the first episode of the Superman TV show ("Superman on Earth"-1951) Jor-El's plan is to build a rocket large enough to carry all 3 of them to Earth, but the end comes too soon, and he's forced to send Kal-El off in the small model rocket. He tells Lara that there is room for two in the model, but Lara will not go, telling Jor-El that she would be lost on Earth without him."

Thank you, Professor Feetlebaum! I knew I could count on you.

I also remember John Byrne's first Superman plot had a pregnant Lara travel to Earth, only for dying due to K-radiation after being found by the Kents and delivering the baby.

Just in case someone wants more details, Byrne wrote that plot back when Marvel very nearly bought DC:

http://jimshooter.com/2011/08/superman-first-marvel-issue.html/

Jim Shooter gave a brief summary of it:

http://jimshooter.com/2011/10/superman-first-marvel-issue-byrnes-plo.html/

John (somewhere in England) said...

I might have missed this issue had it not been for your review. Thank you! :)

Anonymous said...

I thought this one seemed a lot like a Supergirl version of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". A middle aged and frankly careworn version of Kara is infinitely preferable than the usual "dead all too young" Supergirl that we get whenever DC wants to Shock Us...

Agreed its a top-tenner, proof positive that Supergirl is way more engaged a Parent than Jor/Zor El
:)

JF