Friday, July 20, 2012

Review: Supergirl #11


Supergirl #11 came out this week, the week after the San Diego Comic Con and all its news about the fractured super-family, a week after Superboy #11 where the hero seems on a downward spiral.

Then I sat down and read Supergirl #11 and all seemed to be well again. You think I would have learned my lessons about this book, that the promotion made by the bigwigs doesn't seem to jibe with the actual comic. Before the book came out she was described as a loner, more probable to fight her friends, 'hell on wheels'. She had no affection for humanity. At SDCC, we heard she wants to kill Superboy immediately.

And yet, the character in the book is so so different than that. Sure, she is alone and confused. But there is more of a pall of despondency over Kara rather than one of ire. And while she says she doesn't ever think she'll belong on Earth, each issue we see her embracing this new home a little more, its people and its ways. On top of that, we are still slowly being shown just who this Kara is, what her moral compass is, and how she reacts to stuff. So while the bulk of this book is a brawl with a super-villain, the subtle details around that fight are what impressed me the most.

Mahmud Asrar's art continues to shine throughout this issue. He has really just dazzled on this book. But what I liked here was that there suddenly were smaller panels and tighter pages such that more story could be told in the issue while maintaining an above average number of splash pages/near splash pages. I don't mind big art for big moments but I also want my 'money's worth' of plot with each issue. This issue gave me that.


The issue starts with Supergirl taking in scenes from around the world, dolphins in the ocean, penguins in the polar regions, a lion taking down a zebra, and even what appears to be a temple in the Holy Land. But despite seeing the beauty and brutality, she floats above it all and says it will never feel like home.

We have seen panels like this splash before, a hero high enough to see the planet from space, and usually there is a joy to them as if the hero can't believe they are that high. Sometimes they are deific, the sun behind the hero with them looking down on the Earth as protector. But here, with Kara with her eyes closed to the grandeur of the view, possibly dabbing away a tear, the panel has a very different feel.

And yet ...

She also says she appreciates the diversity of what she sees ... probably a very different world than Krypton. She appreciates what she sees.


And there is more. While she says it won't be home, she seems to be adapting to it. She is living with Siobhan and Tom and flies to the apartment. And look ... she says hello to Tom, caught in a state of undress.

She said hello! And she flew in at high speed to avoid any unwanted eyes seeing her head there.

It might not be home. But it is a place she has decided she wants to live in, learning the language, making friends, and learning the customs (like Siobhan teasing Tom like siblings do or what 'first dates' are). And I love how surprised she seems when Siobhan tells her Tom thinks she is pretty.

So her reaction isn't to get angry about being here. Her reaction isn't withdraw, become catatonic.


And that immersion into Earth's culture continues.

Tom takes her out for a bite to eat (something she hasn't done since she has been on Earth, she simply hasn't needed to eat or sleep). Heading into a pizzeria, she takes in the smells and partakes of a slice marveling at how delicious it is. Again, this willingness to become accustomed to our world will eventually lead to her loving this place. Yes, it will never be her old home but it can be her new one.

These scenes in the apartment and the pizza place stood in such contrast to the sad Supergirl above the planet. Almost as if the 'big view' is one of sadness but the small view has a different feel.

How interesting that we see Supergirl do something like swiping a slice from a waitress tray and Tom immediately there to explain things and promise to pay. Not exactly robbing a bank in the wee hours of the morning.


But this is a comic book after all. A police officer near the random pizzeria they have gone to is actually a nanobot swarm suited supervillain, working for unnamed 'bosses' to bting Kara in. Ahhh ... the coincidences of comics.

What is more interesting is that Kara's supersenses seem to go awry just before the 'police officer' arrives. Could this be some form of super-intuition? Her body intuited the impending danger and so ramped up her sensory input? Sort of a super-Spidey-sense?


And then, once the threat presents itself, her senses 'calm down'. Knowing a battle is about to happen, Kara flies off and slips into her battle gear.

What is among her first thoughts? Helping Tom. So despite all that has happened to her, despite being a stranger in this strange land, she still initially thinks about helping people, saving people. That is what Supergirl is about.


The swarm suit is an interesting weapon. It seems to be able to absorb energy and then use that energy to replicate its nanobot foundation. And the villain then sends out the nanobots to engulf his victims my guess is to imprison or kill.

It is a good fight because we get to see Supergirl's thought process as she battles. Initially she is simply swinging away, unleashing haymakers and heat vision blasts. And why shouldn't she? That approach of relying on her brute strength has worked in every battle she has been in so far. But it becomes clear that the brawler approach isn't going to work; she has to switch gears.

Just as she is about to be overrun by the nanotech her senses kick back in. Combining xray vision and heat vision she is able to localize the power source for the suit and surgically burn it out.

Again, the way her senses kick in and out does not seem haphazard. There is a pattern here ... impending or tremendous danger=sensory overload. It is an interesting concept although it could become something of a crutch for the character.



I also like how she is worried that this heat vision blast might kill her opponent. She does blast the power center thinking she has to take the chance for the greater good. But then worries that her attack might have been lethal.

She worried about killing her opponent!

It is these small moments, these quick phrases, that could be glossed over in the massive and beautifully rendered action sequence that resonate with me. We know she can punch and shoot eye beams. Now we know a bit more about who she is.


And I loved this panel ... maybe even more than the one where Kara says hello!

One, the name of "Supergirl" seems to have caught on.
Two, people seem happy to see her. Some think she is dangerous. Others cheer her on.

"She's a hero! Just like Superman!" Be still my heart. Thanks Mike Johnson, Michael Green, and Mahmud Asrar! You get it.

I do worry that Tom has his pic snapped with Supergirl here. My look in the crystal ball is enemies track down Tom for info on her, kill Tom, and that reignites Siobhan's powers. And Silver Banshee blames Supergirl for his brother's death and becomes a villain.


And I hate to keep harping on this but she cares about people! This comic has consistently shown that Supergirl's heart is in the right place, she has a moral center. It is so different than the way she sometimes is described in promos.

She realizes that people recognized her (does this portend a 'secret identity'). She realizes that being attacked endangers Siobhan and Tom. She needs to figure out what it all means. So she is isolating herself ... alienating herself. But she is doing it for the right reasons. She even hugs Siobhan before leaving.

The time has come to get a better grasp of who she is, what it means to be a Kryptonian on Earth, and how to survive on this planet without being endlessly pursued - either by paparazzi or foes. And that means (as stated in the next issue blurb) she needs to talk to Kal.

This really was a great issue. It is a wonderful jumping on point so should be promoted as such. It continues to show a compassionate and caring Supergirl, evolving as her time on Earth grows. And it shows she is tough and willing to do what it takes in battle.

Add to that her speaking English (at least one word), my own theories about super-intuition, and the typical fantastic Mahmud Asrar art and I have nothing but high marks across the board.

Overall grade: A


18 comments:

Dante said...

Marvelous issue.And a very nice way of having Kara learn her first earthen words : "Hello"!

Now,I wonder how come you didn't draw the parallel to Superboy,where an issue ago,he ate for the first time and had a similar reaction with Kara...which brings to something a bit off topic,that didn't post earlier,but I feel I should elaborate one : just because Lodbell worked on the plot of SB,doesn't mean he wrote the script.Just like in movies,theatres and games,the plot and the script are miles apart,if they are handled by more than one people.

And by closing that thing forever,I too was quite happy with how the team treats Kara here.It's actually one of the most positive interpretations of the character,I've seen.And the way the people treated her here is very nice,as they slowly warm up.

Anonymous said...

So does this mean that SuperMAN might just reject his younger cousin and leave her to her own fate?
THAT is a new twist to be sure...


BTW Not that I wanna reignite the costume wars but she spent 90% of this issue in her uniform and I'm seriously starting to hate her revised "S Icon". It looks like the British Union of Fascists & National Socialists old lightning bolt insignia.
Get rid of it, whatever Superman has ought to be good enough for Kousin Kara.

JF

tony said...

Kara steals pizza,cause she wants it,and doesnt see anything wrong with it,but you give her a pass,why? She has been alive for atleast 15 to 18 years now,and she thinks taking is ok.when superboy has been alive for a couple months and takes and you cant stop saying how bad it is.you do get he wasnt even a person at all before that right,he had to learn simple things like this is my hand,this is my foot kinda stuff,and kara has been a living breathing person for years,double standard much? Yes in my opinion.she should be lightyears ahead of him about learning right from wrong,and eventually being a hero.your giving her a pass because she is your favorite,and raking him over the coals because he is the new version of SB,and you liked the last one
a lot.

Anonymous said...

I liked the issue as well and Supergirl is acting like Supergirl. The interactions with the Siobhans are nice as well, including Tom's nervousness around her. My only concern for this issue was the caption at the end,

Kal Round 2. Ugh, could they treat Kal and Kara's relationship in a realistic way. There both the only survivors of their planet and their only family. Even if Kara was trying to push Clark away out of grief, one would think he would be making to effort to look at his only family.

But what do I know :-)

Good review Anj!

Dave Mullen said...

Kara steals pizza,cause she wants it,and doesnt see anything wrong with it,but you give her a pass,why?

Well personally I see a big difference between what was obviously intended as a cultural faux Pass with the Pizza waitress, and on the other Superboy's helping himself to a Banks vault among other things!
An Enourmous difference in scale and intent.

tony said...

Not when you have the power of a god,both do,both can donwjatever they want,AND DID.

like insaod kara should no right from wrong,no matter what planet she is from,i mean can you see that happenimg on krypton? No,not me.

Dave Mullen said...

like insaod kara should no right from wrong,no matter what planet she is from

Her moral compass is not up for any debate as it has been fully on show in regular intervals. So yes, she knows right from wrong and does her best to adhere to it. What you aren't seeing though is that her taking pizza off the passing tray is not an act of willing criminality, it is an indicator that back home on Krypton food was not something you paid for - no McDonalds or Burger Kings on Krypton...! Indeed was there even a currency there?
So here we have a scene showing a clash of differing cultures and based on Kara's unfamiliarity with Earth's customs. A common theme in the book.

Superboy's emptying the Bank vault though is not only on another scale entirely but is both premeditated and self centred. He deliberatly waits till after midnight to do it.
What does that tell us? It implicitly suggests that he knows it's wrong and hence the secrecy, tactics and guile in achieving it. No witnesses.

"I waited until after midnight one night... and used my telekinesis to disable the all its security protocols and cameras.
I slipped in and out of the vault in less than a minute."

That statement is pretty damning. Due to his origins Superboy is inherently naive yes, but he isn't ignorant to basic rules of Law. And his statement shows as much.

Kim said...

Excellent review. And yes, showing that people consider her a hero despite what the military says was great.

Anonymous said...

Easily the best comic DC is currently putting out. This is possibly the best written version of Supergirl ever and the art is wonderful. Much, Much better than what was going on in issues 20 to the end of last series. I'm fine with her "S" symbol. Better her symbol have "socialist" ties than xenophobic, right-wing ties. I also disagree with "whatever's good for Superman is good enough for her." The last thing I want is for her to be his inferior or underling. Youth and gender do not make one inferior. Maybe she should be superior and have him follow her for once. After all, she grew up on Krypton and ought to be a little more technologically advanced than he is.

I do miss the short skirt and would prefer the matrix/movie costume, but better this than the skort or the shorts under the skirt.

Anonymous said...

"Better her symbol have "socialist" ties than xenophobic, right-wing ties".

Larry you didn't understand a word I wrote did you?

The British Union of Fascist was indeed a violent right wing xenophobic organization...So if her "s-icon" is suggestive of their insignia then it hardly constitutes "Socialist ties" quite the opposite frankly.
That is of course, if you go in for guilt by association, we all know Larry Gardner is above that sort of thing...isn't he?
No my point was, the S-Icon Supergirl is using is overdone and a bit ugly. If there is supposed to be familial continuity between her and Kal EL, then they ought to sport the same insignia. However if Kal El is cutting her dead then at least redesign Supergirl's S so it comes across as less fascistic, really it looks like it was designed by Benito Mussolini (Who was not a socialist Larry, not in the end when they shot him).
***
BTW I loved the Nanosuit, first original villain tech gizmo I"ve seen in a comic in quite some time, beats the living daylights out of those cockamammie World Killer beasties.


JF
"Better One Day as a Lion, Than a Hundred Years as a Sheep".

Anj said...

Now,I wonder how come you didn't draw the parallel to Superboy,where an issue ago,he ate for the first time and had a similar reaction with Kara

Thanks for the comment!

You know, it had completely slipped my mind that Superboy had the same reaction to the tropical fruit!

Anj said...

Kara steals pizza,cause she wants it,and doesnt see anything wrong with it,but you give her a pass,why? She has been alive for atleast 15 to 18 years now,and she thinks taking is ok.when superboy has been alive for a couple months and takes and you cant stop saying how bad it is.

Kara takes 2 slices of pizza of a waitress tray in broad daylight in front of a room full of people. She immediately gets chastised by the waitress and Tom apologizes for her and later says he will 'take care of everything' about it (presumably paying for the pizza and talking to her).

Superboy in the middle of the night, breaks into a bank, disables the alarms, and steals millions of dollars.

Those simply aren't the same.

Now that might be how servers serve food on Krypton. Maybe she thought it was like Dim Sum. But she clearly didn't know it was wrong.

Superboy broke into the building in the dead of night and disabled the alarms !!! On some level he knew it was wrong.

I said before we will just have to disagree here. I also think you need to reread my earlier SB reviews. I liked the character. That last issue just felt off.

Anj said...

Kal Round 2. Ugh, could they treat Kal and Kara's relationship in a realistic way. There both the only survivors of their planet and their only family. Even if Kara was trying to push Clark away out of grief, one would think he would be making to effort to look at his only family.

Thanks for the comment.

Hopefully 'Round 2' simply means the second time they meet and not the second time they fight.

Like you, I think they should have a more friendly and familial relationship.

Anj said...

That statement is pretty damning. Due to his origins Superboy is inherently naive yes, but he isn't ignorant to basic rules of Law. And his statement shows as much.

I completely agree with you Dave.

And good thought on whether or not they even had 'money' on Krypton.

This wasn't Hyperion (in Supreme Power) burning the restaurant bill with his heat vision and daring the owner to 'make him pay'. This was a faux pas and one she was about to learn about if the villain hadn't arrived.

Very different from Superboy's actions.

Anj said...

So does this mean that SuperMAN might just reject his younger cousin and leave her to her own fate?
THAT is a new twist to be sure...


It's a whole new world!

I don't think that is where Johnson and Green are going. But Idelson and Didio might think that makes perfect sense.

Anj said...

And yes, showing that people consider her a hero despite what the military says was great.

I love that panel, especially the smiling girl in the foreground.

At least some people recognize the intent of her actions with the World Killers and Black Banshee.

Anj said...

Easily the best comic DC is currently putting out. This is possibly the best written version of Supergirl ever and the art is wonderful. Much, Much better than what was going on in issues 20 to the end of last series.

I also disagree with "whatever's good for Superman is good enough for her." The last thing I want is for her to be his inferior or underling.


I get it.

You liked issues 1-20 of the last series.

You don't want her having any relationship with Superman.

You have made those points abundantly clear.

Martin Gray said...

Top review, Anj! I wasn't overly enamoured of the villain, but loved all the things around it that you mention; learning how her abilities work is especially exciting. I'm real enjoying how you're interpreting events though the lens of your super-intuition theory. You may well be right!

I really do hope that next issue sees the beginning of a proper friendship between Kara and Kal - enough misunderstandings, let's have sme sunshine.