Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 came out the first week of July 1985. This issue came out 4 weeks later in August 1985. So amazing timing by writer Paul Levitz and artist Steve Lightle to maximize the impact of Supergirl's death.
Levitz always had the knack of juggling the many characters and many plot lines of this book. He knew that Supergirl's death would have a major impact on Brainiac 5. Legion fans love continuity. Kudos to him for giving the aftermath the pages it deserves. And given Brainy's past with mental health crises, we needed to see this, in all its beauty and ugliness.
But Levitz has more irons in the fire. We get the five new Legionnaires on a solo mission. Four of them are peppering the then relatively unknown Sensor Girl about her powers. The rest of the Legion is away at a baptism. Heck, there is even a hint at a storyline that is more than two years away. That is a lot of plot. But Levitz had that knack.
Meanwhile, legend Steve Lightle is on art. Bob Smith is on inks this issue, giving Lightle less of a polish than Larry Mahlstedt does. But the art is still great. Brainy's pain is palpable. The action is swift and potent. And the downtime scenes with the other Legionnaires show a posh side to the super-hero team.
But why??? Why is there no official Crisis Cross-Over banner on this issue! This has way more to do with the Crisis than some of those 'look, the sky is red' ones!
On to the book.
