Review: Superboy #11

The current Superboy title came to an end this week with the release of Superboy #11. 

In under a year, the creative team of Jeff Lemire and artist Pier Gallo made me care for Conner more than I have since he initially hit the scene in Reign of the Supermen. As I have said many times in reviews for this book, it was an interesting mishmash of Twin Peaks weirdness and Silver Age sci-fi with some classic Superman plots folded into Conner's life. If anything, I really felt like Lemire was world building here, creating a feeling to Smallville that there was danger lurking underneath it's country home exterior.

But with the relaunch and the DCnU, this tapestry of plot threads needs to be tied off in one big knot. As such, this issue and this book seems to rush to its ending. There are easy solutions to big problems here. Some plots will not continue to their conclusions. It is something of a let-down mostly because I have really enjoyed this series and I know I'm not going to get anymore as well as wondering how this would have read if things didn't need to be wrapped up in 20 pages. And, as I feared when I reviewed last issue, it made me question the make-up of Superboy #10. While it was great to see Tannarak's prior efforts, those pages could have been used to beef up this closing chapter.

I would love to run into Jeff Lemire at a convention and hear what he had planned for this book if it was not swept away in the tsunami of the DCnU.

The homage cover, harkening back to Superboy #1 but now showing the supporting cast, was inspired especially given the ending of this book.

But as I said, some of the threats get eliminated quickly. The Parasite gets defeated when Lori blasts him with Simon's death ray visor.

The Phantom Stranger is freed from Tannarak's spell when Superboy tosses a magical totem.

It turns out that the Stranger was able to possess the town whittler with an aspect of his power. So the Smallville citizen who spoke to Superboy of the town's history was actually the Stranger's mouthpiece. And the tiny statue he carved with his pocket knife was a sort of dispel magic bomb. Okay, a little too easy but at least it was set up a couple of issues ago.

Krypto is able to easily destroy Tannarak's soul transference machine.

While Superboy is able to help out by smashing the machine on his end.

Meanwhile, Lori is able to melt the existing hollow men into the mud they are made of with another one of Simon's devices. This Simon guy has a lot of uses.

I did like the symmetry in Con's and Lori's attempts.

And just like that Tannarak's centuries-long plot is finished. I was hoping there would be more to it than that.

Well, it's almost done. The soul transference was half done. With a little power boost from the Stranger, Psionic Lad is able to send the souls of Smallville back to where they belong.

Okay, now Tannarak's plot is done.

So the thing is this all wraps up soooo swiftly and so easily (basically smashing the machines). The build-up for this story was so very good, I just expected more.

This was my favorite moment in the book. With the souls back in the living, what should be done with these fully grown Superboy clones. Are they really alive? What defines life? A beating heart? Working organs? Self-awareness? A soul?

It is enough to cause a little existential crisis in Conner. Is he no better than these automatons?

There are some major Pinocchio vibes here but Lori is able to convince him that he is a real boy. I am still a bit weirded out by the potential Lori/Con romance.

And the whole Prime Hunter, Simon as evil future dictator, Psionic lads assassination mission gets swept under the rug. Psion was having some doubts about his mission already, wondering how the Simon he knows could end up as a villain, wondering if befriending him might change the timeline.

We'll never know what Lemire was planning. Was Psionic Lad going to try to complete his mission in a future arc?

And what of Simon. His dark side has been hinted at throughout the title. Would be become the next Lex? Or would this version of the Clark/Lex story have a different ending?

We'll never know.

Instead we get a little super-powered Dawson's Creek ending.

We get a replay of the opening of Superboy #1, the same kid playing superhero in the corn field. But instead of Con sitting alone on the water tower, he is surrounded by friends. Maybe he is 'normal' after all. Sort of a sticky sweet ending for such a darker look at a small town.

But can I fault Lemire for having to truncate his run and putting in some sort of ending? Or do I commend him for the book, one I have enjoyed far more than I thought I would. It has to be the latter. This was a different sort of Super-book. I'll miss the layers, the Lynch-ian underbelly of the town, the innovative page layouts. And I'll miss the friction between Con and Simon as I wonder which way that story would go.

Once again, I have to wonder what might have been.

Overall grade (issue): B
Overall grade (series): B+/A

November 2011 Solicits

The November DC solicits are now available for perusal. Here is the link to Newsarama's coverage:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dc-comics-november-2011-solicitations-110812.html

As this is the third chapter of everybody's story, it is somewhat hard to gauge my interest. I don't know much about these versions of these characters. As I have said before, I am glad that the relaunch is almost here simply because I am tired of speculating about what these books will be like.

SUPERGIRL #3

Written by MICHAEL GREEN and MIKE JOHNSON

Art by MAHMUD ASRAR

Cover by MAHMUD ASRAR

The ship that brought Supergirl to Earth - her one remaining link to Krypton - has been stolen! Can The Girl of Steel navigate a strange new planet to find it? And will she uncover the trap set by a deadly new villain in time to save herself?

So, the solicit is mysterious enough to warrant only a couple of comments. One, Kara's ship wasn't mentioned that much in the main comic, seen in the Fortress. If she truly feels alien on Earth, then her ship probably should have some sentimental value for her. And I assume the 'strange new planet' she is navigating is Earth? I don't yet get a sense of how long this Supergirl has been on Earth. If she is truly befuddled by simple things that could get old real fast.

The cover itself is very nice. I think Asrar's art is going to really sparkle here. That said, I have to join the growing crowd complaining about the bottom of her costume. I really think the corners where the red meets the blue are just awkward looking and distracting. I wish it would just become a level edge.

ACTION COMICS #3

Written by GRANT MORRISON

Art by RAGS MORALES, BRENT ANDERSON and RICK BRYANT

Cover by RAGS MORALES

1:25 Variant cover by MIKE CHOI

1:200 B and W Variant cover by RAGS MORALES

"Superman, Go Home!" In a startling tale only Grant Morrison could bring you, the people of Metropolis turn on their new champion! But why? Plus, shocking secrets from Krypton revealed!

Only Grant Morrison can write this story? Wasn't the first half of Grounded people telling Superman they hate him?

Anyways, I still think this is going to be a big win. Of course, I love almost everything that Morrison does. So I am probably biased. I have always liked Rags Morales art so this is a great creative team for me.

SUPERMAN #3

Written by GEORGE PEREZ

Breakdowns and cover by GEORGE PEREZ

Art by JESUS MERINO

Superman finds himself beset as a TV reporter at the new Daily Planet makes a case that Superman brings Metropolis more harm than good, while a vicious new foe attacks those nearest and dearest to Clark Kent! Who are all these new villains attacking Metropolis lately, and what deadly secret connects them? Superman's not going to like the answer!

Hurray! Yet another storyline were someone makes the case that Superman is more harm than good. Wasn't the first half of Grounded the very same story. And is there anything bold or new about this? Isn't being bold and new and fresh what the DCnU was supposed to be about?

I have less confidence in this book.

SUPERBOY #3

Written by SCOTT LOBDELL

Art by R.B. SILVA and ROB LEAN

Cover by ERIC CANETE

When N.O.W.H.E.R.E. assigned Superboy to put down an alien prison riot, they couldn't have suspected his powers would bring the entire prison down on top of him. Inside the wreckage, he'll find a mysterious - and gorgeous - alien who could help him escape... but does she want to? Meanwhile, Superboy's handler, Rose Wilson, is about to discover that she is connected to the origin of her "assignment" in a way she never imagined!

So the addition of Ravager (if she is Ravager) as Superboy's handler is a nice touch to this book. But I still don't know if I have a sense of what this title is all about. So I don't know how to react to this solicit yet. I still don't like the Tron look of Conner's costume.

I don't know if I am going to like this book. But I will go in with open eyes.

SUPERGIRL: GOOD-LOOKING CORPSE TP

Written by NICK SPENCER and JAMES PEATY

Art by BERNARD CHANG, CHRISCROSS and MARC DEERING

Cover by MAHMUD ASRAR

Someone is trying to kill the young heroes of the DC Universe in these stories from SUPERGIRL #60-67! Who is this villain, and how can Supergirl stop him? Maybe her friends can help – namely, Batgirl, Blue Beetle, Miss Martian, Static and Robin!

Well, I suppose I should be glad that the last 8 issues of this Supergirl are being collected in a trade. But there is a lot that isn't right about this description.

First off, Kelly Sue DeConnick and ChrisCross are the creative team for #65-67 and should be listed.

Second, despite early descriptions, Batgirl and Static don't appear in the book.

Still, the stories contained in the trade are very good and I'll get it, despite DC's lousy write up.

SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN TP

Written by GEOFF JOHNS

Art by GARY FRANK and JON SIBAL

Cover by GARY FRANK

Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank bring you a startling new look at the beginnings of Lex Luthor, The Legion of Super-Heroes, Lois Lane, Metallo, Jimmy Olsen, The Parasite and more of your favorite characters from the Superman family in this new trade paperback collecting the acclaimed six-issue miniseries!

So, I thought Johns and Fran did a pretty good job with this Secret Origin. The first several issues detailing the young Clark were really inspired. I also think that the Luthor story weaving through the mini-series was also very good. But the ending, with Superman taking on the military, where the army was portrayed as the enemy, fell a little short.

Of course, this was the last of many mini-reboots of Superman's origin over the last decade. This one didn't even last a couple of years as the DCnU will wipe the slate clean again. I am on the fence about getting this in trade form.

Review: Justice League Of America #60

Justice League of America #60 came out last week, the next car in the funeral procession of the current DCU.

One of the interesting things to watch this month has been how each creative team has decided to usher out their books. Some, like Birds of Prey, didn't even acknowledge it. Some, like Red Robin, have had an ambiguous ending, allowing the reader to decide which direction the character would end up going. Some, like Batgirl, have really felt like an ending.

Justice League falls into the latter category with writer James Robinson literally turning off the lights and shutting the doors of this incarnation of the League. It has certainly been an interesting ride with this League, made up of legacy heroes of some of the original 'big 7' and a couple of oddball DC characters. Robinson has kept the stories 'big', keeping the threats on a 'need the League' level. And the characters have been treated very well. In particular, Supergirl, Donna Troy, and Jade have all been handled with respect and shined throughout. But I sense Robinson felt that he needed to justify this lineup as starring in the biggest team book DC produces, having some character say 'This is the Justice League' at least once per arc.

Still, I have enjoyed this book more than I thought I would coming out of Cry For Justice. I am typically a 'big 7' League guy, thinking that Morrison's run on JLA was the pinnacle of JLA stories I have read. And yet, Robinson won me over.

Daniel Sampere provides the art here and sparkles in some places. I will admit that some panels the characters appear stiff or oddly positioned. But for the most part, especially in the splash pages in the book, he shines. And Ivan Reis' cover is just fabulous; what a beautiful Supergirl.

But this is the end of this DCU and so it is the end of this version of the League.

The issue picks up right where last issue left off. The members of the League have gathered on the satellite one last time as each one explains why they are moving on from the JLA.

Intermingled between these character moments, we are shown other battles the League has fought between Eclipso and now. I don't know if these were arcs Robinson was planning or just ideas to flesh out the history ad importance of this League. But they all match the same caliber of threat that full arcs had. So first we see how The Construct, an old JLA villain and Red Tornado nemesis, took control of all the robots on Earth in hopes of detonating the weapons cache in the Fortress of Solitude.

I thought this splash page showing Supergirl throttling Kelex while Jessie takes out the Superman robots was fabulous.

Despite these successes, Supergirl thinks it is time to leave the League.

With the trauma of New Krypton relatively fresh, with the Dark Supergirl period just behind her, she thinks she needs some alone time to sort out her life.

If she was the only one leaving, I think I might scoff at this. Kara has  never been someone to shirk her duty. And she seemed to thrive in the League. I guess time away would not be unheard of given the other events in her life.

But Supergirl isn't the only one who thinks it is time to move on. Donna also thinks she needs to move away from the League. That fire in her belly that kept her going just isn't there anymore. She is going through the motions.

If anyone has grown in Robinson's time on the book, it has been Donna. Certainly her character has been dragged about as low as you can in prior DC stories. So to have her filled with anger at life made sense, even if it made for a crasser Donna Troy than I am used to. Anyways, I am glad she was able to face her issues and put them behind her. I like Donna as a character and I am sad she doesn't seem to be part of the DCnU.

Jessie's reason to leave the JLA is pretty straight forward. She is pregnant! What a great little revelation in the last issue.

Her difficulties with the Speed Force are sort of swept under the rug, a side effect of the strain she put on her connection when she was racing around in the Omega Man story. I wonder if that is what Robinson's original idea was. Or was there a bigger story to play out there.

Does Jessie Quick have a place in the DCnU? She is the daughter of Jonny Quick and it is unclear if he, or any of the JSAers, even exist in the DCnU. So this may be the last time we see Jessie. I guess if Wally is MIA, Jessie can be too.

And then Robinson hits us with another 'what could have been' storyline ... The League interceding in a Saturn-Thanagar war. And Bill gets a moment to shine as we see him pummeling the Faceless Hunter, a traitor in the Saturnian ranks.

Again, I have to wonder if this was a story that Robinson hoped to do one day. And I like the classic heroic team pose on this double page spread, even if Jessie looks just a bit askew.

Congorilla has a reason to leave the League as well.

He is supposed to be looking for the next B'Wana/Freedom Beast. Remember, Freedom Beast was killed in Cry For Justice. But more than just that, Bill wonders if it isn't time for a different JLA ... a Justice League of Africa.

I don't know if I exactly understood Robinson's love of the character. Bill seems to vacillate between distinguished man and true beast. He has had some of the better lines in the run.

We get to see another League adventure when we see Starman fighting Dark Opal in the 'War of the Gemworld', the League fighting Mordru. Starman has been injured in this fight and so plans to head back to Opal City to recuperate.

I am a big fan of Amethyst and kept hoping Dark Opal was going to be the villain in the current Legion arc. At least I get to see him here. And I would have loved to read this arc.

And Dick realizes that with Bruce back, his time as Batman is limited. He'll be back to being Nightwing again soon. (Of course, we know in the DCnU, that is true.)

I have really enjoyed reading the Batman character here as he also grew in this book. I really felt Robinson showed just how much weight there is in simply being called The Batman, how people expect you to be a perfect hero, a brilliant tactician. And even though Dick was always up to the task, it was interesting to see him occasionally question himself, wondering if he was worthy.

Now I know I am biased. But I was so glad to see Supergirl in the League, acting as the muscle of the group. And I think Robinson handled her character very well.

But I also loved the sibling sort of relationship between her and Batman. She really did lean on him in the book, and he was always there for her. So I have to thank Robinson for putting in this scene where the two acknowledge that relationship. Just fantastic.

But this was my favorite moment in the book. We saw in Supergirl #67, Linda asking people not to forget her.

Here Donna tells Dick she wants to vanish for a bit, to be forgotten for a while. Within the story it works. She needs some time to recharge her batteries, to enjoy some quiet time. She even says she needs to figure out 'Who is Donna Troy?" a question asked in comics many time.

But metatextually, she is going to be forgotten. We haven't heard if she exists in the DCnU. Will she be forgotten? Batman tells her not everyone will forget her. Donna has her fanbase like everyone else. I know I am going to miss her. She is one wonderfully complex character. Maybe it is time for Donna fans to grab on to that great line from Steph Brown in Batgirl #24. It is only the end if you want it to be.

Still, there was a definite sadness to this issue, Dick and Donna turning out the lights of the satellite and transporting away. Nightwing is in the DCnU. Supergirl is in the DCnU (albeit not this Supergirl). Jade is there (but what is her origin if Alan Scott wasn't the first GL). But the rest of these characters might not be seen for a long time.

So I'll thank James Robinson again for his time on the title. Major threats, big arcs, legacy heroes ... it has been a fun ride. And this was a fitting closure.

Overall grade: A

Review: Supergirl #67

Supergirl #67, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and drawn by ChrisCross, was the last chapter of the 'This Is Not My Life' three issue storyline and came out this week. It was the end of this version of Supergirl, a mere 7 years after her return to the DC Universe. And as such, it is hard to comment about the story itself without factoring in that 'historical' context.

When we take a look at the last couple of years of Supergirl stories, no one can deny that the character has grown tremendously. First, we had the closing arcs of Sterling Gates' run on the title. In the BizarroGirl storyline and the 'Day of the Dollmaker' arc, Supergirl was able to finally work through the emotional and psychological trauma that had happened with New Krypton. She was able to shed those feelings of guilt and self-hatred and actually had come to a point where she could look in the mirror and smile. Then we had James Peaty's story where we got to see just how Supergirl interacted with other young heroes, to show us her place in the hierarchy of the heroes of the world. And now we have this run from DeConnick, a more humorous story where we get to see Kara socializing with other plain old humans her age, showing us what her place is in the non-super world. While it might not have been planned, there just seemed to be a natural progression of the themes of these plots.

Now sure, I don't quite know exactly what the villain was hoping to accomplish here in 'This is not my life'. And yes, Lois and the other college students get a lot of face time in this story. These are things which usually irk me. But these didn't detract from the story when I put it in the context of this character going away.And I think a lot of that is because Supergirl is treated appropriately when she is in the issue.

And yes, Supergirl is in Linda-mode for a lot of this arc too. But that didn't bother me at all. In fact, I thought that might be the best thing about this. Here we got to see Linda, and that shows us how Supergirl feels about Earth and her contemporaries. I loved the addition of Linda way back in Gates' first issue. We didn't get to see much of her until now.

And DeConnick really has a great sense of dialogue. I thought the snappy patter here, the funny quips and conversations all felt unforced and natural. It didn't feel scripted the way some books feel.

Cross' art is tough to assess. Some panels really jump off the page. Others look flat or warped or rushed.

On to the story.

Supergirl finally comes face to face with Professor Ivo and begins to destroy his Monqi minions. Ivo ups the ante by jumping into a giant robo version of his Monqi and decides to skirmish.

I liked the banter here, Supergirl calling him a Gundam reject. And, for the most part, Supergirl does get to flex her muscles in the final chapter, thrashing Ivo pretty handily and letting him know that inevitably she will defeat these robots.

In the background, Lois learns more about the Gardner's plot. A journalism student names Ngoze Onwualu has also been doing some digging and shares her info with Lois. (They meet in Mooney Library - a sure nod to Supergirl legendary artist Jim Mooney!) It turns out that a secret society, The Order of Ponce De Leon, founded by Ivo when he was a student, has been receiving funds from the University. The order's goals were to eventually unlock immortality.

Okay, it is a little bit of exposition but DeConnick adds some depth to Onwualu. Ngoze was always chasing Charlize Yue (the missing student who kicked off this whole story) academically but always came in second. When Yue disappeared, Onwualu decided she needed to do some investigating.

I suppose I am somewhat schizophrenic in my comic reviewing. I often lament 'wasted pages' and maybe some felt three pages of conversation between Lois and an ancillary character not in the upcoming DCnU took away from time which could have been spent on Supergirl. But as I always say, good story trumps all. This was a nice scene with some depth.

At last, Ivo's plot is revealed. He tells Supergirl that he is just trying to stall her until the upload of the minds of the captured students is complete. It is his 'gift to the species'. So I don't know if that upload will harm the students. Will it kill them? Wipe their minds clean? Since Charlize was so addled, I figure it must damage them in some way.

Nice left cross by Supergirl.

Unfortunately, Supergirl needs to be bailed out a bit by the rest of the Pajama Society. The smaller monqis are somehow able to wrap up Kara and hold her.

Using just the odds and ends located in the catacombs of the college, the students are able to cobble together 2 laser rifles and working water pump. So that was a bit tough to swallow. But I guess these kids are supposed to be the best and the brightest.

But the combination of these co-eds whipping up weapons and saving Supergirl from the monqis was the low point of the story.

Luckily, even while entangled, Supergirl is able to guide the students into turning off the download. And then she is able to free herself and blast all the monqis away with her heat vision.

I do like the riff on The Princess Bride by Kara. And it is better that Ivo doesn't say 'inconceivable'. It doesn't have to be a straight copy.

And then this great scene when Ivo tries to scamper off.

Maybe 'Frogface' was over the top. But still fantastic to see that confidence in Supergirl. And nice point of view in that second panel, shot from Ivo's vantage.

With Ivo captured and the students saved, there is just the wrap-up.

Lois thinks Ngoze has a future in journalism. Nice touch.

And Supergirl has to 'go find' Linda. Shades of Silver Age Secret Identity zaniness.

Linda finds Henry Flyte who is feeling a bit lackluster. He isn't the hero in his own story. But Linda reminds him that they all played a part in this incident. Supergirl may have saved the day, but not without help from everyone including Henry.

Again, I really thought that the foundation of this story was Kara embracing the Linda part of her life, fitting in with other people, and having some fun. So I love the second panel where she says she just wants to be a normal part of 'some guys'. She really is Linda here. In fact, it seems like this short arc is the antithesis of what the next team is doing.

That isn't a knock on that team. After all, it took 67 issues for Linda to be seen like this. I just think it is a pity that after all that character growth we are moving away from this.

And the story ends with Linda going back to the campus after orientation. She lets Henry know she isn't going to head to Stanhope next year, that her life is too crazy and she needs to find herself.

I have to believe that DeConnick isn't commenting on the relaunch in that second panel. Yes, Supergirl has a way of sticking around. But will people remember Linda? She asks Henry ... and us, I think ... to not forget her, to not forget *this* Supergirl. Heck, Linda is looking right at us when she says that.

The story ends with Linda kissing Henry, the first love interest in the book since the odious Power Boy/Boomer time period. And she basically reveals she is Supergirl to him on the last page, something I would have minded if 'this' Supergirl was continuing.

That's all folks.

Much like the bittersweet ending of Batgirl, I felt that this had an almost elegiac air about it. This Supergirl, the one who is happy with who she is, who is happy as a hero and has friends in that circle, who is happy as Linda and finding a life on Earth ... this Supergirl is leaving. This was a fun and sometimes silly sort of romp of a story, a happy way to end this title.

So congratulations are due to Kelly Sue DeConnick for giving us this story. I would have loved to see what she would have done with this crew of characters in Supergirl if you had continued on.

And, as always, thanks to Sterling Gates, Jamal Igle, James Peaty, and Bernard Chang for all their work on the title which brought us up to this point. This story could not have happened without the foundation you guys put down, revitalizing Supergirl, making her heroic and likeable again, especially Gates and Igle.

Overall grade: B+

Streaky In Grant Morrison's Animal Man

I have mentioned plenty of Streaky sightings on this blog over the course of the years. I am surprised that I hadn't posted this one before, a sighting I was reminded about recently.

In Grant Morrison's fantastic run on Animal Man, the multiple tweaked origins of Buddy Baker are explored, including some great fourth wall busting scenes where he comes to realize he might be a character in a comic book.

Part of the conclusion of Morrison's run was a showdown in Arkham Asylum where the Psycho Pirate is letting all the DC characters in limbo as well as some new incarnations of classic characters spill into continuity.

One of the first characters to materialize is Streaky. Here he is just forming from the mist, so I guess I can forgive the colorist showing him as a gray cat. As he 'streaks' away, we see the more classic orange hue complete with yellow lightning bolt.

I also love the original Owl Man, sort of phased out, trying to convince himself he exists.

Later we see Streaky taking matters into his own paws when it comes to dinner, burning open some cat food with his heat vision. It is this sort of craziness in the midst of some heavier metatextual stuff that makes me love Morrison's work.

Anyways, I could go on forever about Morrison's Animal Man. At one point all the characters realize they are ... well ... characters and try to break out of the book into the 'real world'.

This is just a small sample of that part of the story, Ultraman feeling a panel's edge and pushing through it.

Morrison's Animal Man run is collected in three trades and just mind-bending fantastic stuff. And you can't go wrong with Streaky getting some screen time.

For a more recent story where Morrison broke the fourth wall, I would highly recommend his Seven Soldiers:Zatanna mini-series which includes this fabulous ending. For a more in-depth look at this ending, I wrote about it on the DC Bloodlines blog here: http://dcbloodlines.blogspot.com/2011/07/grant-morrison-breaking-4th-wall.html

Will there be a Streaky in the DCnU? My instinct tells me 'no'.

Back Issue Box: Detective Comics #509

With the relaunch around the corner and Barbara Gordon about to put the cowl on again, I thought I would continue my look back at one of the last Supergirl/Batgirl crossovers in the pre-Crisis DCU.

As I have said before, Babs leaving Oracle behind and becoming Batgirl again is one of my least favorite parts of the DCnU. This is the cover for Batgirl #2 where Barbara looks like she is about 14 years old wearing a cowl too big for her. Lots of other places have covered the de-aging of Barbara, even from the cover of #1 to this one.

Detective Comics #509 included the middle chapter of the Batgirl/Supergirl story where they square off against The Annihilator. As mentioned, the story has Batgirl feeling a bit outclassed by Supergirl as they fight this unknown foe. Writer Cary Burkett and artist Jose Delbo continue that theme here.

The Batgirl material was the back-up feature of Detective and doesn't even get mentioned on the cover. I do like this Jim Aparo cover featuring Secret Six' Catman.

Last issue ended with the mutated scientist Kenneth Anderson, now calling himself The Annihilator, terrorizing Gotham and draining Supergirl of her energy.

So Supergirl got taken out pretty easily last issue, flying too close to the Annihilator and ending up in his clutches. Like many mad scientists in comics, he wants to be noticed and wants people to bow before him. With Supergirl helpless in his grasp, Batgirl wonders just what she'll be able to do to the villain.

Despite her self-doubt, Batgirl actually continues to be effective throughout the adventure.

From a distance she is able to notice that despite absorbing Supergirl's energies, he has not absorbed her powers. He is not invulnerable. And that means he can be attacked.

Burkett separates brains and brawn a bit too neatly in this story, showing how time and time again Supergirl's strength alone isn't enough to defeat the villain. It is Batgirl's intellect that is equally important. Unfortunately, the only way to convey that is to have Supergirl thinking more with her fists than her brain.

Batgirl frees Supergirl from the Annihilator's grasp by stunning him with a tear gas grenade and a well placed kick.

In one of the weirder moments of the book, Babs hoists Supergirl's unconscious form and uses it as a sort of invulnerable human shield. Kara's body blocks the Annihilator's blasts. In fact she actually gets revived by them.

But again, Batgirl seems crushed that Supergirl can shrug off these blasts ... even though it was Batgirl that just saved Supergirl.

Refreshed, Supergirl decides to refrain from hand to hand combat with the Annihilator given his absorbing power. So she blasts him with heat vision.

But the villain's mental powers are fantastic. He is able to create a telekinetic shield which reflects the beams back at Supergirl and Batgirl. Moreover, after the attack he evolves even further, his head growing. And as soon as his new form materializes, he teleports away.

It is another time in this story that Supergirl does something flashy and super only to have it not be effective.

The two heroes decide to regroup to see if they can figure out how to defeat the Annihilator. They head to Batgirl's not so secret hideout, mechanic Jeff Cotton's fix-it garage. There isn't even a secret entrance.

It is something Supergirl can remedy pretty easily. In the span of 2 pages she cores out a mini-Batcave beneath the garage, including a secret entrance/exit in a tiny alley blocks away. It is a nice gesture from Supergirl. But it only makes Babs a little jealous! Batgirl can't believe how smitten Jeff seems.

It all seems a little beneath Batgirl. But I guess part of this story is her feeling some sort of self-worth.

And what is The Annihilator doing? Well like any ignored scientist suddenly flush with powers, he looks to find that special someone to be with. That's right! While planning to destroy all life on the planet, he also decides to look for a mate! I giggled at this.

But I also laughed at the heroes dismay for not figuring out how to defeat this guy. "Hey, we fought an unknown foe with unknown powers for about 20 seconds before he mutated and teleported away. Why can't we figure out a full proof plan to defeat him!"  Silly.

Luckily, Babs' photographic memory comes into play. She recognizes his lab coat. It is a lead!

The two decide to storm the research lab to fight The Annihilator. Unfortunately for Batgirl, the villain has picked her to be his macrocephalic bride. He plans to blast her with his weaponized meteor, mutating her into his mate.

I'll review the last chapter soon. While it is great to see Supergirl and Batgirl team up here, there isn't much space cleared to show us just how well they work together, just what good friends they are. Instead, Burkett plays up Batgirl's insecurities in the presence of Supergirl. It is the one note played throughout the story.

Delbo's are is pretty standard here. It is always nice to see the hot pants costume in action. As I said before, I will grade the story at the end of the next chapter, the final one.