The Marc Andreyko/Kevin Maguire new direction of Supergirl is still about a month away. That's a month without a new Supergirl book to review. So it was time to head to the back issue boxes to find a story to cover. My hope is always to try to find a back issue that has some echo to the current continuity or current storylines.
The new arc for Kara is her heading into space to investigate Rogol Zaar. And in doing so she runs afoul of the Green Lantern Corps. We have all seen the 'Wanted Dead of Alive' advertisement.
With the Lanterns playing a role, I thought I would try to touch on some interaction between Supergirl and Green Lantern. I have already covered the Red Daughter arc back when it was hitting the shelves. And I didn't want to cover Hal doing everything in his power not to hit on her in the Mark Waid era Brave and Bold.
Instead, I'll be covering Green Lantern #65, the second part of The Siege of Zi Charam storyline, from August 1995. This is an interesting time in the history of Supergirl. This is the Matrix Supergirl. We are about one year out from the Roger Stern mini-series, a story where she finally separates herself from Lex Luthor and his control. We are also about one year away from the Peter David reclamation project for the character, making her an amalgam of Matrix and Linda Danvers.
So where was Supergirl in this time? I'll say 'a little lost'. I don't know if creators knew exactly what to do with her. She became a kind of member of The Titans during a hard time for that team as well. A lost soul from a pocket universe with no anchors to anyone, she even seems lost. And this issue showcases that very well. While Supergirl seemed to grow in Funeral For a Friend and beyond, that self-confidence isn't here. She is basically unmoored. Writer Ron Marz gives us some very good moments to Mae and Kyle Rayner as Matrix begins to open up.
Art is done by Ron Lim and he brings a sort of house style to the affair, a perfect look for the mid-90s. The women figures are very thin. Everyone has rather flat faces. But it is still a very pretty book to look at.
