November 2019 Sales

The sales figures for last month are out and, as usual, ICv2 provides the coverage that I like. Here is a link: https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/44696/top-500-comics-november-2019

Now in October, Supergirl #35 had one cover. Despite being an Event Leviathan crossover, it was only ordered just above 19K. I, foolishly I suppose, think that content matters most for sale. But I don't think I am right.

Supergirl #36 was Marc Andreyko's swan song on the book. It also was a Year of the Villain crossover, directly linked to the Batman Who Laughs and The Infected storyline. It also sported a second cover, a card stock painted cover by Derek Chew.

I don't like the idea of Supergirl becoming a villain ... again! But I suppose her being a big part in a big DCU story could be considered a good thing.

So how did it sell?

Review: Supergirl Annual #2

Supergirl Annual #2 came out this week, a clear tie in to the Batman Who Laughs and the Year of the Villain but without sporting any of the usual trade dress. Between the lack of 'crossover' buzz and no publicity in last week's main title issue, I wonder if this whole thing will fly under the radar. And that would be something of a shame.

Writer Robert Venditti comes on board to show us Kara Zor-El's last day on Krypton. It is overall a great day (hence the title 'The Best Day of Her Life') with fun times and great occasions. Of course, it could also easily be called the worst day of her life. Still, there is a sweetness in this young Kara, unscathed by all of the tragedy in her life as well as all the super-heroics. Intermixed in these moments are the Batman Who Laughs trying to lure her to the dark side. We know how that ends.

In the end, there are a couple of things which irk me. One, we have already seen the last day on Krypton for this Supergirl. Remember her father drugging her? Her mother shooting her father? This is still that New 52 Kara. I suppose Rebirth could have wrinkled the timeline. But this is all new. Secondly, all of this survivor guilt and weighed down by sadness stuff that Kara deals with here has already been dealt with by this Kara ... ad nauseum! I don't need to see this anymore. No more Dark Kara redeemed! Please!

But the overall story is a fine one. And Laura Braga brings a definite youthful look to this Supergirl, appropriate for the time it occurs. Honestly, there are times here where she looks more like the Cosmic Adventures Kara than the Rebirth Supergirl. That's high praise.

On to the book.

Sales Review: October 2010

Should I take a moratorium on these sales reviews? It seems with each month, the news gets just a little bit sadder and sadder.

In what feels a little early for the month, the sales from October are broken down over on ICv2. Here is the link of the top 300 comics for October: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/18751.html

Again, the overall sales of the top 300 seemed to slip a bit in October, although there is some interesting news out there that sales for the comics below the 300 mark are increasing so maybe overall sales are stable. In what I guess is good news, Superman and Action Comics are selling healthier than they did at the end of New Krypton. And Justice League, starring Supergirl, continues to sell briskly.

There isn't much good news about Supergirl unfortunately. I really loved Supergirl #57. I mean ... I loved it. In fact, in some ways, it just seemed like the culmination of so much Sterling Gates has been dealing with since Supergirl #34. That Supergirl was trying to dealing with all the negativity in her life at that time. Now Supergirl has so much more on her plate. And yet, in this issue, she dealt with it on all levels ... physically, emotionally, psychologically. It just felt like Kara was reborn a little bit there. Those talks with BizarroGirl are such powerful scenes.

And yet, sales continue to drop. The issue, which I think might be the best of the whole Gates/Igle tenure (I know Chang drew this one) sold 23,842. This is the lowest the title sold. And yet, this issue got near universal praise critically. To echo what I say nearly every sales review, it is disheartening.

Could this be some sort of 'lame duck' lag, people waiting for the new team to take over?

Supergirl Annual #2 also came out last month and was an absolute blast. Littered with historical flourishes and reestablishing the Supergirl/Brainy romance as well as stirring the pot a bit with more 'Supergirl death' talk, the Annual worked on a bunch of levels.

I suppose when you compare these sales to the concurrent issue, that the sales aren't bad. The annual sold 21,080. But that is down a staggering 25% from Supergirl Annual #1, which was linked to New Krypton.

What will Supergirl #60's sales be like? Will Nick Spencer reinvigorate sales? I can only hope.

And the underdogs?

Well, I have started to think that I don't need to report R.E.B.E.L.S. anymore. That always sells just north of 11K.

But the Doom Patrol, my latest comic to champion that suffers from great stories and poor sales?

Unfortunately, sales here continue to erode much like Supergirl's. Doom Patrol #15 sold only 10,081. That's a smidge more than Tiny Titans/Little Archie. That can't be good.

Life must be easier for Avengers fans. I keep waiting for the axe to drop on most of my pull list.

Back Issue Box: Adventure Comics #313 And Satan Girl

With Satan Girl acting as the main antagonist in Supergirl Annual #2, I thought it was time to thumb through the back issue box and review Adventure Comics #313 and Satan Girl's first appearance. Satan Girl is just one of many homages and Easter Eggs sprinkled throughout the Annual, but I felt she deserved a full story review. 'The Condemned Legionnaires' is a classic story by writer Ed Hamilton and artist Curt Swan. I have to say I was pretty surprised at the ending the first time that I read this.

Who is Satan Girl? And what does she have to do with the 'Crimson Virus' that is mysteriously afflicting the female Legion members?

From the opening panel, the stage is set. Supergirl is going to need to square off against Satan Girl who is 'killing the girls of the Legion'.

What is that withering red ray she is bathing the Legionnaires with. I have to say, Swan does a very good job showing the agony the ray is delivering. Some are fatigued. Others are holding their hands up, pained expressions on their faces.

The story opens up with quick vignettes showing the female Legionnaires out on missions and succumbing to a 'strange, crimson virus'. The symptoms appear to be fatigue, dizziness, weakness, malaise, and that crimson color to their skin.

It is enough to worry Superboy and Mon-El enough to have them pause before leaving on their urgent mission. Two planets on the far side of the universe are on a collision course and the two super-heroes need to prevent them from crashing into each other.

Even Night Girl, of the then secret Legion of Substitute Heroes is suddenly overcome with the symptoms. The male Legionnaires have no choice but to send their stricken allies to Quarantine World where they can be isolated.

With that, Superboy and Mon-El streak away, vowing to hurry and finish their mission so they can help with the Crimson Virus mystery.

Suddenly Satan Girl arrives at the LSH headquarters. She tells the remaining Legionnaires that she is there to replace their sick comrades because she is better than all of them combined. When Sun Boy says that the ill Legion women will rejoin the team once they are cured of their malady.

In a quick change in tone, Satan Girl states that a cure will never happen because she has released the crimson virus which will be their doom. And since the Legion has rejected her by not letting her replace their friends, she will go to Quarantine World and kill the members there. She is incredibly powerful and fast and invulnerable as well. She wrecks the Legion cruiser so the Legion can't follow as she flies off.

Luckily, Supergirl was already in the 30th century as she had been planning to visit around this time. With Mon-El and Superboy called away, Supergirl will need to battle Satan Girl. Only Supergirl has the power necessary to fight such a foe.

Just like that, Supergirl is named honorary leader of the Legion, in charge of this mission to stop Satan Girl.

At super-speed, she fixes the cruiser and the team is off to Quarantine World.

And it's a good thing the Legion is able to get there so quickly. Satan Girl has driven off the medical staff, turned off the 'curative rays', and is bathing the female Legionnaires with a 'Crimson virus ray', worsening their symptoms.

Supergirl flies into the fray and confronts Satan Girl. The crafty Satan Girl has made a lead-lined mask, thus her identity remains hidden.

In an interesting turn, Satan Girl declares that Supergirl is her 'greatest enemy'. Why is that? Isn't this the first time the two have met?

The two begin to brawl across the planet but are too evenly matched for either to get an advantage. Even if she can't defeat Satan Girl, Supergirl thinks she could at least unmask her. But Satan Girl isn't ready for that reveal yet. With her super-strength, she breaks free from Supergirl's hold and vows to 'bring doom' to Supergirl and the Legion.

Her powers are prestigious enough that Supergirl wonders if she could be a Phantom Zone villain who has escaped.

Figuring that Satan Girl must be a Kryptonian, Supergirl gathers some Green Kryptonite in a lead box to use against her.

But the Green K has no effect on Satan Girl. She mocks Supergirl and then runs into a cave on the asteroid she is hiding on. Satan Girl then escapes by flying through the asteroid and fleeing from the opposite side. We hear Satan Girl's thoughts that she has 48 hours to kill the female Legionnaires. Hmmm ....

But Supergirl is confused. Why does Satan Girl hate Supergirl so much?

Realizing that she cannot leave her girl comrades on Quarantine World, Supergirl takes them and the other Legionnaires to a hidden world in a dark cosmic cloud, a world only a few people are aware exists. The planet is populated by odd bouncing organisms and Supergirl had once saved them from extinction. The bouncing aliens feel so grateful to Kara that they will give the Legion refuge from Satan Girl.

In the meantime, Supergirl realizes that Satan Girl can't be a Kryptonian (apparently immune to Green K) or a Daxamite (apparently immune to Lead) so she must be a robot of some sort. Kara quickly cobbles together a gas gun which will shut down any android.

The secret world isn't so secret as Satan Girl arrives and again gives the female Legionnaires another dose of her virus ray. And Supergirl's gas gun is not effective. Satan Girl isn't a robot!

The grateful bouncing creatures of the planet help out, bouncing all around Satan Girl, distracting her long enough for the ill Legionnaires to be loaded on the cruiser. The Legion ship blasts off with Supergirl telling Sun Boy that there is a world Satan Girl cannot know about. The Legion can hide there as they try to get to the bottom of this.

But Satan Girl chuckles as they leave. She hates Supergirl ... but she also knows every secret in Supergirl's mind. Still, she needs to find the Legionniares before her 48 hour time limit ends. Another reference to a 48 hour window. Hmmm ....

In a brilliant piece of Silver Age wackiness, Supergirl brings the Legion to the 'Puppet Planetoid', a world where giant children from another dimension dangle and play with their marionettes. Why hasn't Grant Morrison used this before!

Supergirl is the only person who even knows the planetoid exists, so clearly Satan Girl cannot follow them there.

But Satan Girl does arrive carrying a armload of Green K which quickly incapacitates Supergirl. And she is too powerful for the other Legionnires to even slow down. Lightning Lad, Sun Boy, Bouncing Boy, they simply can't stop her.

Supergirl somehow realizes that Satan Girl's virus ray won't work on animals. So while some of the Legion goes to her to help her escape the Green K, others go back in time to get the Legion of Super-Pets.

With their powers, they are able to hold her down. And they cannot be weakened by her virus ray either. And her 48 hours are up. She collapses.

And with that, Supergirl unmasks Satan Girl. Satan Girl is Supergirl!!

Nice twist!

How else could she have all of Supergirl's powers and memories unless she was Supergirl. When Supergirl arrived in the 30th century, she sped past a Red Kryptonite meteor.

The newly Red-K created duplicate realizes that in 48 hours when the radiation wears off, she will disappear. Rather than simply allow herself to fade away, this Supergirl decides she wants to live. And the only way she can live longer than 48 hours is to use her scientific knowledge to create a device to siphon off Red K radiation and put it into another human - those energies are the Crimson Virus.

So it isn't simply a clone. It appears to be an evil clone, someone willing to make someone else suffer so she can live.

But this is the Silver Age so the villainous Super-girl comes up with a bizarre plan. Rather than simply living in the shadows, dumping the energy into random humans, she decides that she will pump it into the girl Legionnaires. She hopes that by making the female Legionnaires ill that the real Supergirl will stay away for fear of contracting the 'Crimson Virus' herself. And she hopes to empty herself of the Red K energy entirely thus allowing herself to live on.

She doesn't want to encounter Supergirl and she doesn't want her identity known. So she then crafted the identity of Satan Girl as a way to go about her evil deeds.

With the 48 hours up and Red K energy still in her, Satan Girl dissipates, absorbed back into Supergirl.

But wait, what about her immunity to Green K? Well, she had created a complete lead armor suit that protected her. With Satan Girl gone, the female Legionnaires quickly recuperate.

So Satan Girl was Supergirl! I thought that was a nice wrinkle in this Silver Age story. Does it mean that evil streak is inside Kara? Was that just the standard 'evil clone' that things some time create, not an aspect of Supergirl at all? Was this the first version of the Dark Supergirl seen in Loeb's early issues? I don't know.

But I thought the tone of this makes it a perfect microcosm of the DC Silver Age - a marionette world where you take your dying friends to get treatment? A Red K meteor flying by just as Supergirl flies into the 30th century? Wonderfully nostalgic.

And I liked that Satan Girl used Supergirl's scientific knowledge and secrets against her. It shows just how formidable Supergirl can be.

Curt Swan is a master and I love his art here.

From a Supergirl collection viewpoint, I would rank this of low-medium importance. Satan Girl is a silly but memorable part of her history and has now been reimagined twice (both in the current annual and in Peter David's run). The issue probably runs between $20-$50 depending on condition (although probably much more in high grade shape).

Overall grade: B+

Review: Supergirl Annual #2

In what has been a highly anticipated book by me for some time, Supergirl Annual #2 did not fail to please. Written by Sterling Gates, the book re-introduces Supergirl to the Legion in a way that both looks back at the Silver Age and looks forward to the upcoming history of this incarnation of Kara Zor-El. As a long time fan, I am thrilled that the Legion aspect of Supergirl's mythos has been brought back; it was such an important part of her pre-Crisis history. We had been given a few hints about this back in Supergirl #52, the Last Stand crossover, so it was good to see those threads brought to fruition here.

As I said, this issue also is a nice look back into the Silver Age Supergirl/Legion stories. Sterling Gates obviously has a respect for those stories to include some hints of them here. The main antagonist here is Satan Girl, a riff on the villain from way back in Adventure Comics #313 (and don't worry I'll head to the back issue box to review that one soon). But even beyond that, there are a lot of Easter Eggs sprinkled through this book (and don't worry, like with Cosmic Adventures, I'll have an Easter Egg post of this issue). For old-timers and diehard Supergirl fans, these nods to her past are very appreciated.

It is clear that Gates has a solid understanding of Supergirl's history and her fans concerns ... it's all in this book. But for me, it was especially nice to see the rekindling of the Supergirl/Brainy romance.

The book sports a wonderful and dreamy cover by Amy Reeder. I like that Brainy and Supergirl are in a time bubble, a wink at their star-crossed and time-crossed relationship. The internal art is mostly done by Supergirl pinch hitter extraordinaire Matt Camp. His stuff is so incredible; I think he does a near perfect rendition of Supergirl. There are some pages done by Marco Rudy as well.

There really is a Silver Age magical feel to the story too, some things happen almost too easily or inexplicably, but I think that it worked given the tone of this book. This book also includes one of the best Supergirl scenes in all of Gates' run.

The book starts with Supergirl and the Legion saving Metropolis from a falling satellite. It is clearly an early version of the Legion given their members and their costumes. As such, I thought the very old Legion logo on the cover was more appropriate than the more modern one seen here.

Still, it was fun to see Supergirl and this young Legion team-up to avert this disaster. It really is all hands on deck as multiple Legionnaires are needed to slow the descent and save the nearby populace.

The satellite is some sort of orbiting lab of Brainiac 5's. He has been doing experiments on a 'Brocian hunting statue' that has been rumored to have magical properties.

In standard Brainiac 5 fashion, he has been a bit too caught up in his experiments to think of the downside. So he did not think about the potential adverse outcomes of bombarding the statue with chronon energy, he just did it. Unfortunately, it did result in this disaster. And worse, the statue becomes a 'magical time bomb', exploding right in the faces of Supergirl and Brainy.

That thirst for knowledge despite the potential pitfalls sounds like a young Brainiac 5.

That explosion reminds Supergirl of how she got to the future. The rocketship bringing her to Earth from Bizarro World also exploded mid-trip. The resulting explosion somehow flings Supergirl into the 30th century.

An explosion that catapults Supergirl through time? Sounds a little to easy, too lucky, too deus ex machina to get her into the Legion's time? Certainly that sort of stuff happened all the time in the Silver Age and this future feels like that future so maybe that makes some sort of sense.

One thing I did love was Supergirl's near immediate acknowledgment that this is not the 30th century that she had visited before. So we at least now know that she lived those 'Waid reboot' Legion stories. I don't know if that was ever 100% explained in a satisfying way so I am glad she said it.

I do have to say again (and probably will other places here) that Matt Camp draws a great Kara. That last panel is Supergirl.

The Legion are all too eager to have Supergirl join them for a time ... everyone but Brainy that is. At least here he recognizes the dangers of this 'experiment'. There are too many things that can go wrong with time travel, events that can be altered.

He even mentions some 'historical' events in Supergirl's life, none of which we have seen. Were these future stories that Sterling Gates had in mind before being lifted from the title? They all sound so interesting. 'The Scion of Superwoman'?? 'Lex Luthor's OTHER Son'?? 'The Deadly Day of the Doll-maker'?? Will we ever see those stories? Or will they merely be fodder for fan-fic?

As with Superboy, the Legion majority wins out and Supergirl sticks around having many adventures with them and ending  up joining them as a full-fledged Legionniare, flight ring and all! In other places like the JLU cartoon, Supergirl has felt more at home in the future time of the Legion, so maybe this extended stay is a reference to that.

But also, Supergirl recognizes that this is a more innocent time than her own. This is another chance to give herself some distance from the events in the present. There is no war here, or murder, or New Krypton. It seems almost like a vacation.

There is a great page of her early adventures with the group all of which I will review in the Easter Egg post.

But like many, I absolutely loved this panel, showing Kara's friendship with the other girl Legionnaires. I especially like how Supergirl tells Imra that her pink high-collared bikini is a good look. Could it be Kara is responsible for Saturn Girl wearing the Dave Cockrum costume of the 1970s?

I also like Kara's lounge-wear. The headband and S-shield off to the side evoke other versions of her own costume.

Despite being on this team of equals and the acceptance she feels here though, Supergirl still feels lonesome.

I think Supergirl simply realizes that her destiny is not here; she needs to eventually return to her time. She doesn't belong here.

That second panel is so fantastic, with Kara centered and small. You can almost feel the weight of responsibility on her. Again, how lucky we have been to have had Sterling Gates here for these last couple of years. He understood that there is this hidden aspect inside Supergirl.

I talked earlier about this issue having one of the best scenes from Gates' run and here it is.

While in the future, Supergirl visits the Superman Museum and meets the tour guide, an animatronic Jimmy Olsen who tries to get her to walk through the Hall of 1,000 Olsens. Instead, she walks to the Supergirl Memorial Hall. She hears how Supergirl, "during one of the greatest battles in history ... was killed stopping the worst threat the Earth had ever known, giving her life for her adopted planet." And then she sees how she dies. Look at the horrified look on her face. What a great panel by Camp.

Now the description sounds like her death in the Crisis ... but that has happened already right? And we don't see her death for obvious reasons. I am sure DC doesn't want to be handcuffed to some vision here. But more importantly, since we only see Kara's reaction it is more powerful ... more worrisome.

Since 1986, I think Supergirl fans have some sort of PTSD about her death. I think we are all worried ... always waiting ... for DC to kill her off again. By having Brainy talk about it in Supergirl #52, to address it so clearly here, Gates is poking an exposed nerve. The truth is, how can I not be happy with a creator who understands a character and her fanbase so well. This only adds to my appreciation of his run. I doubt that DC has any plans to off Supergirl again but this kind of picked at a scab and made the wound bleed a little bit again.

I absolutely loved this scene. Loved it. And that's without showing some of the Easter Eggs there as well.

Before Supergirl can process what she has seen, an emergency pops up calling her away.

Brainy's earlier experiment have somehow called S'tanicule Gyrstress ... or Satan Girl ... to Earth. Walking through the dimensional rift, she begins enslaving the population of Earth.

With little chance of defeating her and her minions (which includes some Legionnaires), Brainy activates an escape route device he has been testing, throwing Supergirl and him 4 days into the future. When they arrive, they find Earth aflame and in ruins.

In four short days, Satan Girl has simply taken over the world. Somehow hitting the statue of Satan Girl with time energy called the real thing to Earth. It looks like it is up to Brainy and Supergirl to save the day all by themselves.

As you can see, the pages of this 'Hell on Earth' are done by Marco Rudy who has a rougher style which I guess thematically fits the terrain. His style has a Sean Phillips/Jock vibe to it.

Unfortunately there isn't much time for them to formulate a plan. They are almost immediately attacked by a brainwashed original three Legionnaires. Despite Brainy getting mind-blasted, the two are able to beat a quick retreat.

During the Legion's assault, Saturn Girl, internally fighting Satan Girl's influence, is able to implant a message to Brainy and Supergirl. Satan Girl's 'Crimson Plague' (I love that and it's connection to the original Satan Girl story) spread over the world in a matter of days. Now, she is building a citadel to open up a rift for all her race. Supergirl and Brainiac 5 need to stop it.

To be successful, Supergirl is going to need troops and the only ones available to her are the 1,000 Olsens from the Superman Museum. Suddenly Elastic Boy, Turtle Boy, Porcupine Boy and all the other versions of Jimmy Olsen help Kara break into Satan Girl's fortress. Why the museum would have actually given the robots powers is beyond me.  Again, this is a little bit of Silver Age silliness ... but that's part of the charm here right?

There is a decent brawl between Satan Girl and Supergirl, during which Supergirl actually wields a longsword. Nice!

During this fight, an enraged Phantom Girl wrecks Brainy's force field belt and he gets skewered by Satan Girl. Luckily, before he dies, he is able to save the day. He has cobbled together a device that will siphon of the time energy that they absorbed (remember they were closest to the 'magical time bomb') to shut the rift and revert things to the way they were. Hmmm ... even more Silver Age nuttiness, where answers were easy?

Brainy's device works and the time line is set straight. Suddenly Supergirl and Brainiac are back on the satellite, the Brocian statue is still an intact statue, and no beacon to Satan Girl has been activated. Brainiac 5 no longer has a penetrating abdominal wound. Just like that those days have never happened.

And since we are back to the Utopian future, Matt Camp's clean style resumes.

I love the sly look between Kara and Querl. Perfect.

Well maybe not as perfect as this. The Legion bring Supergirl back to the present and she shares a kiss with Brainy.

Fantastic.

All the knowledge Supergirl gained from her time in the future, specifically how she dies, is mind0wiped by Saturn Girl. After the events on Bizarro World and this diversion to the future, Supergirl looks downright elated. She has been through a lot recently and come out the other side.

Brainiac 5 on the other hand has a much sterner countenance. He vows that he won't let Supergirl die alone like the history books say. Awesome.

There is almost too much that happened here to easily encapsulate at the bottom of this review. I can only commend Sterling Gates for bringing back so much Supergirl/Legion history here. There is more to cover from this book and I promise I'll get to it. But the kiss with Brainy was just a perfect capstone to this issue.

On top of that, Gates also brings back the specter of Supergirl's death, leaving it out there; there is something of a delicious dread with that ...we all fear it might happen again so why not play on that?

And on top of all that you get the nearly perfect art by Matt Camp.

Marco Rudy has a rougher less polished style which might work from a story point of view but when the art changed, it was a bit jarring. And there was that Silver Age simplicity and serendipity with some events here. As a reader, you either recognize that was part of the riff here or it might bother you.

Overall grade: B+

Supergirl Annual #2 Sneak Peek Panel

I have been eagerly anticipating the October 27th release of Supergirl Annual #2, the initial meeting (at least from his perspective) of Supergirl and Brainiac 5. This issue is written by Sterling Gates and illustrated by Supergirl pinch hitter extraordinaire Matt Camp.

Well over on Matt Camp's blog, we get another sneak peek into this issue. We get a nice process piece on one of the panels of the book. Here is the link: http://mattcampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/history-of-panel.html

Here is the showcased panel - Supergirl emerging from the ground brandishing a sword while some 'old school' Legionnaires look on happily.

As usual, it is really spectacular work with a clean highly detailed style and a perfect Supergirl.

The panel is an homage of the 'original' Supergirl's adventure where she joined the Legion in Action Comics #276 which I reviewed back in April. One of the things she obtained for them was Excalibur. So it looks like Gates and Camp are re-imagining not only the Kara/Brainy relationship but also some of her earliest Legion stories as well.

As an old-timer and a continuity nut, I love things like this. Those who recognize the 'Easter egg' appreciate it but you don't need to know that information to enjoy the current story.

As always, I love seeing the 'behind the scenes' part of producing a comic so I was thrilled to see Camp's thumb nail of the panel. I am glad the decision was made to make the background the forest rather than the city questioned here.

A forest is a more idyllic setting and just feels more Arthurian than having her tunnel up into Metropolis.

And we get to see the black and white version as well. The dappled sunlight variations through the leaves in the colored versions really adds to the piece.

So now seeing some inside art, knowing that there are going to be some Silver Age flourishes (we already knew about Satan Girl, now we see this scene), I get the sense I am going to love this issue. Camp's stuff is really slick.

More From Supergirl Annual #2

Over on Matt Camp's blog, he has posted a couple of new preview panels for Supergirl Annual #2. Here is the link:
http://mattcampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/supergirl-annual-2-with-legion.html

This Annual includes the Legion, focuses on Brainiac 5 and Kara, and is the re-imagination of Satan Girl. I think many Supergirl fans are eagerly awaiting this one. So any sneak peeks are greatly appreciated. Here are the new panels.

This is a nice shot of Brainy and Supergirl. He looks classically uncomfortable around her while she is all smiles. Very nice.

Another shot, this time with a much sterner look on Cosmic Boy's face. Judging by the costumes on the original three as well as Phantom Girl (on the cover) this story looks like it takes place in the earliest days of the team.

I wonder if Sterling Gates needed to run the script by Paul Levitz to make sure he approved of things. As noted before here, Levitz seemed to love the original Supergirl so hopefully he likes the idea of her crossing over with the team.

Anyways, thanks to Matt Camp for continuing to show us more glimpses of the book!

Supergirl Annual #2 Art By Matt Camp

I think everyone is pretty excited about October's Supergirl Annual #2. There is so much there for Supergirl fans!

First off we get the beginning of the Brainiac 5 and Supergirl relationship.

We also get the reimagination of the Silver Age's Satan Girl.

And we also get to see Matt Camp on art again! I think Camp's work is wonderfully suited for Supergirl so I am glad he was tagged as the artist here. And lucky for us, he has posted a small preview over on his blog. Here is the link: http://mattcampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/supergirl-annual-2-with-legion.html

And here are a couple of panels with Camp's comments.

Sun Boy and Lightning Lad kicking butt.

The gray lightning is that way because it's a layer for Nei to use, so she doesn't have to pull apart all the lines. A little behind the scenes info.

So we can tell this is an 'early Legion adventure' by the costumes that the Legionnaires are wearing here and on the cover. I like the behind the scenes stuff like the different colored lightning to help the colorist with effects.

Supergirl and Brainiac 5, probably arguing.

The question mark is a placeholder for something I probably cant spoil just yet.

Hmmm ... what could be in there? It's great to see Brainy and Supergirl puttering around his lab. Could it be a captured Satan Girl? A girl legionnaire afflicted by a 'crimson virus'?

Supergirl meets the Legion of Superheroes.

Very nice reaction shot. Beautiful!

Anyways, I have said in the past that I hope Camp will be the 'official pinch hitter' on the title when Jamal is too busy. His art is slick! I am pretty excited for this Annual.