Who's Who: Buzz & Linda

 

Last week I reviewed Supergirl #9 (1996), a pivotal issue in Peter David's Supergirl run, beginning a story of redemption.

One of the things that rereading that issue reminded me was that Linda was pretty dark, a tainted vessel for Supergirl to merge with. It makes her appearance in Supergirl #9, that bruised soul telling Supergirl the path of light is the better way, that much more powerful.

But it also was reminded that this story is as much about Buzz's redemption as Linda's. He is a demon working for the Lords of Chaos. His job is to bring about evil. He lured Linda down her dark path. And yet, in that issue, he is shaken from his devotion to malevolence. He helps Supergirl come to her senses and reject evil. In the end, he becomes something of a good guy!

With the characters so fresh in my mind, I thought I would post their Who's Who page from Team Superman Secret Files and Origins #1. The text, written by then-Supergirl scribe Peter David, is more about Buzz than it is about Linda but touches on their troubled relationship. It talks of him falling in love with Supergirl. Later in the series we learn his origins and how he sold his soul.

Perhaps most interesting about this art team.

It is penciled by Amanda Conner and inked by Jimmy Palmiotti! I love the expressions here, the leering, devilish Buzz accompanied by the cynical, hard Linda. I love Conner's work.

The cover date for Team Superman is May 1998, meaning it was released about 2 years into the PAD run. We didn't know too too much about Linda's angelic powers at this point. The issue itself is worth hunting down for fans of this Supergirl as it has lots of Who's Who pages for many of the characters in the book including the Danvers, Comet, and Supergirl herself.

I suppose over the course of time I will post all of them and review that interesting 'Lost Diary of Linda Danvers'.