March Sales Review

March 2020 comic sales will definitely be an interesting month to look at as we move forward. This month was just on the cusp of the COVID pandemic, the shuttering of comic stores, and the beginning of social distancing.

As always, ICv2 does a great job of looking at sales. Here is a link:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/45663/top-500-comics-march-2020

But this month was also fascinating for me because it again shows how dark Supergirl stories, stories where she is the villain in her own book, never sell and are never successful.

And we are at the bottom of the barrel.

Because March Supergirl #40 on the shelves.

You know, that story.

Kara is infected by the Batman Who Laughs, fights Wonder Woman, terrorizes Smallville.
At least she tries to burn this away ... but only after (once again) Krypto stops her from doing something heinous.

Also, to add one more layer to this rough story, the book was known to be cancelled.

So how do you think it sold?

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Superman #371

Well, after that whole Candor nonsense, I thought we all could use a little palate cleanser. So let's head away from modern comics and head to the Bronze Age and the then 'new' Kandor.

Superman #371 came out in 1982, just about 3 years after  Superman #338 , the classic story when the 'real' Kandor was enlarged and those Kryptonian citizens were relocated to Rokyn. (Funny to think that that issue was one of the earlier books I reviewed here.)

But just as any good IP gets reinvented, DC and the super-offices must have thought that the Bottle City of Kandor was too good an idea to stay away forever. So why not bring it back.

Even more interesting, at least to me, is that Len Wein wrote this issue bringing back Kandor, just as he was the writer on #338 which took it away! Did Wein regret the decision? Want to bring it back? Was this just editorial dictating it and Wein happened to be on the book?

For Superman fans, it certainly is an eye-catching cover. What is this bottled city in the Fortress? And what is the crazy alien doing trying to destroy it? For continuity nuts like me (even at that tender age), I had to buy this. My original copy was lost in the 'parental purge' so I was only able to get it again recently.

On to the book!

Mystery Solved: Nightwing And Flamebird Promo Page

Today I finally wrap up my look at the Candor arc in the early days of Supergirl's solo title from 2005.

Back in my first post about the arc, I posted a splash page from within the trade collection of Supergirl and Power Girl in their Flamebird and Nightwing armor.

I wasn't sure where it came from.

The answer was provided by commenter Rober Todd Bruce who pointed me to Superman/Batman #27. As a big Huntress fan and a Power Girl fan I actually had the issue in my collection, signed no less by cover artist Ethan Van Sciver (a long time ago ... before things were known) and inside artist Kevin Maguire!

I had completely forgotten that the page came in here.

Read on!

Supergirl Episode 517 'Deus Lex Machina'

After a little midseason hiatus, the Supergirl show aired a new episode this last week titled Deus Lex Machina. And I am a little torn by it.

It is a very good episode, looking back at this New Earth since the Crisis on Infinite Earths event and seeing how Lex Luthor has been manipulating things behind the scenes to set up all his enemies as well as solidify the Luthor family. One thing I have been clear about this season is that I like how the show is recognizing its own continuiuty and building on it. I like that a lot and this episode does do that as well.  Not only does it prop up this season's timeline it even brings back old friends and acknowledges things from prior seasons.

It is brilliantly acted by Jon Cryer as Luthor who shows how he can be cold and calculating when he needs to be. It shows how he can be charming when he needs to be. It shows how angry Lex can be when he explodes. Lex is a wonderful cauldron of emotions and personality and Cryer crushes it, even down to what I think will be his downfall.

This episode was directed by Melissa Benoist and there some very nice shots and angles here. I wonder how much if anything she added to such elements as dialogue and music choices as some stuff really sings.

And it sets up the end of the season with Lex apparently seeing the whole chess board and in position to win his heart's desires. It also seems to foreshadow and Supergirl/Gamenae brawl in the climax. All good.

So why am I torn?

Well once again we have an episode with very little Supergirl in it. This is a Lex episode after all. But I am starting to feel like our title character is missing in her own show.

And this also felt a little like House of L from last season where again, in flashback, we see how Lex is pulling all the strings. I loved that episode for that trick. So is it too early for a second bite at the apple?

But maybe I am being too critical on that part. On to the show.

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Epilogue in Supergirl #9

I (sort of) close my long look at the Candor arc in the early run of the 2004 Supergirl series with this brief look at Supergirl #9.

Remember that last issue Supergirl scooped up Power Girl and left Kandor in the middle of an uprising of the alien citizens against the nationalistic Kryptonians. Why did she leave the good fight? Because Saturn Queen gave her some undisclosed information about Argo.

That issue was the first issue for Joe Kelly and, as I have said many times before, I just don't care for Kelly's take on the character. Now it may be that Kelly didn't want anything to do with the Kandor story (remember Greg Rucka started it) and so he simply pulled the plug on the whole thing.

But you can definitely see the direction Kelly was interested in within the pages of this issue. At the very least he addresses the quick exit from Kandor.

Ian Churchill is on art again and he has his style. His Kara looks rail thin and stretched out. That said, I think Churchill would make a dandy Power Girl artist. And if you can look past the sleaze, his stuff has a lot of polish.

We should start with the cover as it also is something of a foreshadow of the darker tone for this book.

Here we see Kara sitting in the dark of space, crying, looking at shattered rocks. Perhaps this is the detritus of Krypton. But this is an homage, really an homage through a mirror darkly.

Because it an homage to All Star Superman #1.

Here a rather peaceful looking Kal is sitting on a cloud in the bright blue sky looking at a sunny horizon. This is a far more optimistic and idyllic image.

But that wasn't meant for Supergirl in the early going of this book.

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Pt 3 Supergirl #8

Welcome to my review of Supergirl #9, the third part of the Candor storyline I am covering.

After two issues, the Greg Rucka era on this Supergirl title ended. I would love to talk to Rucka at some point to see if this was always planned to be a brief run or if he had editorial differences or other opportunities that led him to leave.

But Supergirl #9 is the beginning of the Joe Kelly run on the book. For me, Kelly's run is the worst run for this character. That took me by surprise. After all, Kelly wrote 'What's so funny about Truth Justice and the American Way' in Action Comics #775, one of the better looks at Superman remaining an inspirational hero in a cynical world.

Instead of giving us a heroic Supergirl, learning the ropes on Earth, he gives us a petulant child, an angry and angsty young woman who only cares about herself. He made her a violent person, a killer on Krypton. And his portrayal of her was hypersexual. It certainly isn't any type of Supergirl that I want to read. And at times it is downright creepy.

The art on this issue leans into that portrayal. We start with the cover by Joe Benitez who gives us a Power Girl defining pulchritude. The internal art by Ron Adrian isn't as overt. Adrian brings a decent take on Kara, Karen, and the weird Kandor.

But this story can't end soon enough. And as you will see, it ends abruptly and rather terribly. On to this book!

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Pt 2 Supergirl #7

Welcome to part 2 of my review of Candor, the second arc in the Supergirl  series from the early 2000's.

I had my concerns with Candor Part 1, an opening chapter which showed and angry, violent, murderous, and barely dressed Kara struggling with her place in a rebellion in Kandor.

A man claiming to be Kal-El is running Kandor like a fascist regime. This Kal is a racist, considering the Kryptonians in Kandor to be the True Children and all others lesser beings. He runs the place with an iron fist, keeping the aliens suppressed and with limited rights. Supergirl and Power Girl went into Kandor to help oust this regime and help the aliens. But to earn the other species trust, they have to don masks and the identities of Nightwing and Flamebird.

I was surprised that Greg Rucka was the writer on this. His female protagonists usually have agency. They usually depth. They are usually more mature. This Kara doesn't read like a Rucka character. And part 2, here in Supergirl #7 isn't much better. In fcat, in some places it is worse. Perhaps Rucka didn't like editorial leanings? After all, he is gone after this issue after this 2 issue 'run'.

Regular series artist Ian Churchill is back. He doesn't bring the same sort of curves that Ed Benes brought to things last issue but this is still drawn to the male gaze. Churchill's characters are always rail thin, almost stretched out.

We are One Year Later in the DCU. Let's head back to Kandor.