Supergirl Best Of 2023 Part Three: Comic Moments #5-1

Welcome to the last post looking back at 2023 and Supergirl's best moments in comics over the year. 

Over the last two days (head here for day one and here for day two) , I've done an overall review of the year, looked at Supergirl's appearances in movies, my commissions this year, and started the 'best of' list including the honorable mentions.

But today is the big day, the top 5 comic moments for Supergirl in 2023. 

I had a hard time truly ranking these top 5 so just know that they are relatively interchangeable in rank in my mind. I'll again say that there were plenty of good moments over the year for the character. But always in the role of supporting player, background guest. 

Some might say these were crumbs. But as a supervisor of mine used to say all the time, 'crumbs make a cake'. There have been years that have been rough for the character, years where I could barely put together a 'best of' list. 

I loved this year for the character. If only her one solo story allowed her to shine!

On to the list!

 

Comic Moment #5 - Batman/Superman World's Finest #12 - 'I'm proud of you'

We had heard about Dick's terrible date with Kara early on in the World's Finest book. I was so pleased when we actually got to see that lousy encounter in total in the twelfth issue.

Mark Waid just understands the character. During the date, Supergirl simply realized that she didn't like who she was becoming when she was with Dick that night. She is mature enough to recognize her own feelings and act in a healthy way.

But more importantly, I love how she implies how she recognized that Dick was the way he was because he wanted approval, a sort of backhanded way of saying how Batman is screwing him up.

And then most importantly, Superman is proud of her. This is some years ago when Kara is younger and probably looking for Superman's approval (although not as insanely as Dick does with Bruce). It shows they have a more collegial relationship and less sidekick-y. Great end page.  

Comic Moment #4 - Lazarus Planet Alpha - 'No fear'

During the Lazarus Planet storyline, the heroes form a quick team to try and rescue the Devil Nezha to fight King Fire Bull. In the Lazarus Planet Alpha issue, Supergirl is a leader, a powerhouse, and a moral compass reminding the heroes they don't kill even if up against literal devils.

But here was my favorite moment. Supergirl is temporarily dazed by the fear-inducing effects of Golden Horn King. But then Blue Devil reminds that Supergirl doesn't succumb to fear. She steels herself and lashes out.

How great that an established hero like Blue Devil looks at Supergirl as fearless. And how great that she is able to shake off the fear and fight. Brilliant.

Comic Moment #3 - Knight Terrors Superman #2 - 'I know who I am'

In Knight Terrors Superman, Supergirl was faced with her nightmare, a panoply of Karas in all her outfits. With relative ease, she recognized it as a nightmare and battled on, eventually joining Superman in his own horrific visions.

Look at how writer Joshua Williamson just captures the current Supergirl so effortlessly. Sometimes she feels like she is still building a life on Earth like Superman has. That makes sense ... she is still a relative newcomer to this world. 

Also, she knows who she is. She didn't need to be afraid of visions of herself because she is comfortable and confident in her own skin and with who she has become.

How great to read of a Supergirl who is confident but still growing, still learning! 

Not trying to be negative but contrast this to the Kara we saw in her special, the one weighed down by social media, emotionally hurt to the point of inactivity and pettiness, and not having any memories of Krypton. 

Comic Moment #2 - Action Comics Doomsday Special - 'Facing off with the devil'

Which actually nicely leads us into the #2 best comic moment on 2023, in the Doomsday Special. How funny that Supergirl is given a much better show here in this special rather than her own. Kudos to writer Dan Watters and artist Eddy Barrows.

In Hell, Doomsday has died a million times over and is now resurrected to the point of near omnipotence. Doomsday is so strong he is about to upset the power structure of Hell, gaining believers in the lesser demons and about to smash into reality. The powers that be want to remain the powers that be and so recruit Supergirl to fight their battle for them.

How utterly fantastic is Supergirl's response to Neron when he initially proposes the fight. Arms crossed defiantly, she says 'Fat chance, pal. Do it yourself!'

Supergirl just told off the Devil. 

That is totally worthy of being the second best moment of the year. She stood up to and sassed Neron. Excellent.

Throughout these top nine, there has been this running theme of Supergirl being comfortable in who she is - a junior hero, a role model, a scholar, a fighter, a leader. 

So what could be the number one moment?

Comic Moment #1 - Superman #7 - 'Field Commander Kara'

That theme just seemed completely encapsulated in this page from Superman #7, written by Joshua Williamson with art by Gleb Melnikov.

A major new threat, The Chained, has appeared in the skies of Metropolis and Superman has already been defeated by him. It is up to the super-family to defend the city.

In this splash page, we see Supergirl leading the charge. She is the field commander, with Natasha, Conner, and Jon following her into battle. She is the one who deploys them in the city, sending some out on rescue duty while she takes him on herself.

Confident, strong, a leader, a role model. I like this 2023 Supergirl and this page captures it perfectly. This was my #1 Supergirl moment of the year because it was the distilled essence of how she was (for the most part) treated.

I don't know what 2024 will bring us Supergirl fans but for now this one is happy.

And what about you? What moments did I forget? Was my ranking off? And what was your favorite Supergirl moment?

Supergirl Best of 2023 Part Two - Commissions And Comic Moments #10-6

Welcome to part two of my wrap-up of Supergirl in 2023!

You can head here for part one, a little bit of overall review, the animated stuff, and the honorable mentions for best comic moments.

As I said, this has been a good year for Supergirl albeit one relegated mostly to a supporting role in Superman and Action Comics. Joshua Williamson and Phillip Kennedy Johnson seem to get her as a character. Her powers might be the same as Superman but she is different. She is smart. She is a sort of scholar of Krypton. She is young and a bit brash and heroic. She is still learning.

Interestingly enough, over the last couple of years, I have seen Supergirl sort of settle into a middle generation of heroes. In academic terms, she is like Junior Faculty. She isn't a newbie any more. But she isn't tenured yet either; she is young. But she is older and more experienced than Kenan and Jon and the super-twins. She is a sort of role model for them. And she seems, again in these background scenes and small moments, sort of embraced the role. I love it.

This is character growth that makes more sense than, let's say, getting drunk and crying in the middle of a sun. 

One of my joys every year is heading to comic conventions and doing my best to grab some commission sketches. The last couple of years, I haven't been too lucky. This year I was much more successful getting three great pieces. 

I have always liked Denys Cowan's work and he was the target at Terrificon. I love that commission, Supergirl proud and strong.

And then at Wicked Comic-Con, I grabbed both Eduardo Risso and Adriana Melo. Risso's piece is smoky and noirish, a unique take in my collection. And Melo just loved the 70's costume and gave this beaming, slightly cheesecake-y take on Kara.

Mission accomplished!

But onto the #10-#6 Supergirl comic moments of 2023. 

Supergirl Best Of 2023 Part One: Non-Comic Moment And Comic Honorable Mentions

Hard to believe that we have reached the end of another trip around the sun. 

I have to say that 2023 has been a very good year for Supergirl. In fact, I would have rated it an excellent year overall except for a recent event which made things a little less exciting.

But I think back to 2022 and how Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was still fresh in my mind. That was a drunk, despondent Kara who didn't resonate with me. It worries me a little that Woman of Tomorrow is going to be the basis for the planned Supergirl movie. Thankfully that representation by Tom King never creeped into the main comic universe.

Which brings us to 2023. 

Between Phillip Kennedy Johnson on Action Comics and Joshua Williamson on Superman, Supergirl has been in good hands. She has been a leader, a scholar, a mentor, a friend in those books. She is often the smartest person in the room and the emotional core of the family. That positive character portrayal seeped into the ancillary books like Steelworks, Monkey Prince, Lazarus Planet,  World's Finest, and others. I actually had a tough time narrowing things down to a top ten comic moment. Also, there were so many very good moments that no one stood out as a clear number one. They're all great. 

So today, I'll cover some non-comic stuff, a dishonorable mention, and the five comic moments which almost broke the top ten. 

Settle in!

Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #22

Batman/Superman World's Finest #22 came out last week, continuing the 'Return to Kingdom Come' storyline. 

From the beginning, I have had some trepidation about this story because of how much I love Kingdom Come. The more that happens on the Kingdom Come Earth, the more difficult it will be to reconcile the events of Kingdom Come unfolding as they did. 

Here we are on this world. The heroes are worshipping Gog. Our Earth-0 Superman and Batman are interacting with, even befriending the Superman and Batman of Earth-22. Shouldn't all these events be remembered? Shouldn't this impending battle against Gog lead to a more jaundiced eye at Magog? Isn't Gog's failed 'Catacomb' prison similar to the 'Gulag' in Kingdom Come and wouldn't that give the KC Superman pause to make it? And won't our heroes tell these heroes about the witnessed graveyard?

The only thing I can think is that somehow this is Earth-22A, close to the Kingdom Come world but not the actual one. It is the only way to put the genie back in the bottle.

Outside of my concerns, there is a lot to like in this issue. Our Superman's anger over how David turned into Thunderman is powerful. Gog's origin is linked to DC history and the Fourth World. The World's Finest team unites with the other world's World's Finest team. It's all pretty cool.

And, as usual, Dan Mora smashes it on art. We get to see his Supergirl again briefly. He gives us three new character designs. We see his take on some Kirby stuff, some Morrison stuff, the and some Alex Ross stuff. It is all beautiful. 

I am going to try to keep my worries at bay and judge the issue on it's own merits. But it'll be tough.

Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Hope everyone is relaxing and recharging!

Review: Superman #9

Superman #9 came out this week, a truly entertaining comic that I loved. Writer Joshua Williamson basically put the creative foot down on the gas pedal in this issue, rocketing us through a series of scenes that pushed the main plot forward while hinting at a number of subplots bubbling under the surface.

In some ways, this felt like a very classic comic book. I grew up in a time when there were often A, B, and C plots in titles. There was no decompression. There were mysteries and intrigue. There were emotions and consequences. There were guest stars. Things were fun. And it is all here. Plus, there is a tremendous cliffhanger.

Despite all the subplots that are touched on here, the main plot of Pharm and Graft trying to get their revenge on Lex Luthor takes a turn here. I have started to warm up to the new partnership between Lex and Superman as shown in this book. I don't know about Pharm and Graft yet though. They seem a bit too flat right now. Thankfully, Williamson hints at some things here which add some interesting wrinkles to the villains.

Jamal Campbell gets another issue off. Instead, Bruno Redondo, who has been killing it on Nightwing, fills in here and definitely continues to shine. There is a polish to the book which is appreciated. In particular, the Lois scenes are nicely rendered with emotion. I also found the page layouts suited the action well, adding to the story. Colorist Adriano Lucas does great work here, especially in the Marilyn Moonlight scenes.

As I say often, I wanted the next issue to be in my hand right after I read this one which is always a great sign. On to the book.

DC Solicits: February 2024

The March DC Comics solicits are out and the month is a fairly standard mix of books. There'll be a new Suicide Squad book out which I won't be getting. Mark Russell and Mike Allred reunite for a Batman book which I won't be getting. Superman will guest star in Tom King's Wonder Woman which I won't be getting. But the Super-books seem interesting.

Here is a link to all the solicits:
https://www.gamesradar.com/batman-superman-wonder-woman-and-all-of-dcs-march-2024-solicitations/


Alas, still no Supergirl solo title. It is a sad thing to say that in some ways I am glad since it most likely would have been written by Mariko Tamaki, who totally missed the mark for me with the Supergirl Special. But on to the actual books on the shelves.

Power Girl #7
Written by LEAH WILLIAMS
Art by MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
Cover by AMY REEDER
Variant covers by KEVIN WADA and JAE LEE

The Supergirls are trapped! While tracking down the missing citizens of Metropolis, Paige and Kara have found themselves powerless in the mythical realm of Ferembia. They’ll now have to rely on their wits to find an escape and the brains behind the whole operation before they’re stuck in their own personal dark age!

I haven't exactly been warm to the Power Girl book. And I don't think Leah Williams understands the Power Girl character or the Supergirl character. But usually when the Supergirl and Power Girl character team up, they fight each other. So I am sort of looking forward to this D&D style team up. Who knows if it will be any good. Love the Reeder cover.