Written
by Peter David. Pencils by Gary Frank (and Terry Dodson). Inks by Cam Smith
(and Karl Story)
Colours: Gene D'Angelo, Megan McDowell. Letters: Pat Prentice, Albert DeGuzman. Editor: Chris Duffy, Frank Pittarese.
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Supergirl 1998 (SC TPB) 224 pgs.
Written
by Peter David. Pencils by Gary Frank (and Terry Dodson). Inks by Cam Smith
(and Karl Story)
Colours: Gene D'Angelo, Megan McDowell. Letters: Pat Prentice, Albert
DeGuzman. Editor: Chris Duffy, Frank Pittarese.
Reprinting: Supergirl (4th series) #1-9, with covers, plus a 10 page story from Showcase '96 #12 (1996-1997)
Additional notes: : introduction detailing Supergirl's immediate history (cleverly "written" by Supergirl).
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
Published by DC Comics
The first story arc detailing Supergirl's adjustment to
living the life of Linda Danvers.
This nicely -- and surprisingly -- satisfies the criteria
of a graphic novel. It is made up of a bunch of self-contained one
and two-issue stories, but there's an overall story arc and character progression
that comes to a head in the final two issues. It can be read both as a
collection of independent adventures, and as an interlocked epic.
This chronicles how the modern Supergirl, an artificial
being feeling cut-off from humanity, merges her psyche with that of the
murdered Linda Danvers, gaining Linda's memories, friends, family. Linda
was a troubled girl and Supergirl gradually begins to unravel the unsavory
secrets behind her new persona amid various adventures battling otherworldly
demons and conventional super villains like Gorilla Grodd (uh, did I really
say "conventional"?). Lurking in the background is Buzz, who seems to be
involved, in one capacity or another, with much of the deviltry at work
in the town of Leesburg.
Writer Peter David is a fan-favourite, and this nudges
me closer to his corner. There's clever dialogue, but more restrained than
David's been elsewhere where his penchant for one-liners and puns can threaten
to turn the proceedings into a cloying sitcom. There's wit, yes, but not
so much that it undermines the drama. He also tells briskly-paced tales,
without the thing degenerating into one lengthy brawl after another. After
reading a few comics recently where "plot" and "ten page fight scene" were
treated as synonymous, this was refreshing.
I'd use the word "intelligent" if that didn't threaten
to obscure the fact that this is a fun, entertaining read. I'd say it was
fun, but that ignores the attempts at sophisticated discourse, flirtations
with big ideas, believable dialogue and subtly handled characterization.
Of course, like many modern writers, David's adventure-of-the-month plotting
is little more than workman-like. No one story really distinguishes itself
as a "story" per se -- the closest being "Trust Fund" (#6) (which, coincidentally,
guest stars Superman). And the saga's finale, involving both Supergirl
and Buzz facing life-altering decisions, kind of comes out of nowhere,
character-wise.
The art by Gary Frank (inked by Cam Smith) is striking.
No manga-styled cartooniness, no Image-influenced distortions, just cleanly
rendered figures and emotion-conveying faces, evocative backgrounds, and
a nice eye for telling a story through pictures. All nicely coloured by
Gene D'Angelo. The opening 10 page story (from Showcase '96) is
drawn by Terry Dodson and Karl Story, and is also attractive-looking.
David and Frank re-evoke the original Supergirl, who was
eliminated from DC's mythos in The Crisis
on Infinite Earths. Stripping away some of the modern Supergirl's abilities
while making her the alter-ego of Linda Danvers, she now looks and acts
like her predecessor -- which isn't such a strange idea. Despite claims
that the original Supergirl was an unsuccessful character, she remained
a headliner (in runs of Adventure Comics, Superman Family,
and two versions of a self-titled comic) in an unbroken run for a decade
and a half -- most comics characters dream of that kind of "unsuccessfulness".
What kept her from really emerging as her own character was that every
creative team kind of jettisoned what the previous team had done by changing
her setting, her supporting cast, her job (kind of like what David does
here). As such, this is particularly appealing for older readers. There's
even an overt homage in that, before the original Supergirl was adopted
by the Danvers, her name was Linda Lee, and the town in these stories is
Leesburg.
Despite some darkness (the stories deal with cults and
blood rituals) and grown up ideas, they manage to evoke Kara Zor-El (the
original Supergirl) more than, ironically, some modern Superman or Wonder
Woman writers evoke those characters' earlier versions...this despite the
fact that the modern Superman and Wonder Woman are, technically, much more
similar to their earlier interpretations.
Though they have added a peculiar quirk that is probably
unique in comicdom...when Linda becomes Supergirl, her breasts get bigger.
Oy!
David tackles "ideas" and it's bracing. It's not often
that you see characters in comics (or movies or TV shows) discuss ideas
-- I mean, real ideas, like real people do everyday. When
characters do try to confront weighty ideas in comics (Kingdom
Come,
The Watchmen) they often tend to be
ideas that relate to the parochial world of superheroes, or cut-and-dried
issues ("just say no to drugs", etc.). Here David threads the dicey theme
of religion through his stories, exploring ideas of faith and the like.
But such ambition also becomes frustrating because religion as a theme,
as an allegory, is fine. Religion as a narrative crutch is another thing.
Early on we can recognize the symbolism of the angelic Supergirl vs. the
demonic Buzz, but when David tries to literalize things, it become awkward.
As well, David falls back on what can only be described as Divine Intervention
in a couple of the stories. That may wow 'em in Sunday school, but it's
weak as storytelling where we expect at least a token "logical" explanation.
Theologically, David seems to be of the new breed of religious
thinkers. Dissatisfied with oppressive dogma, he's willing to criticize
and satirize organized religion (think Kevin Smith's movie "Dogma"), even
as he views out-and-out atheism in a negative light. Buzz, the series'
villain, advocates atheism in one scene -- David seeming to equate faithlessness
with villainy. Though it's easy to be wowed, thinking, "I can't believe
characters are having these kind of adult, and controversial, discussions
in a mainstream superhero comic," more secular readers (like myself) are
still going to find it a bit superficial in spots.
Religion isn't the only two-edged sword. Though this works
better than many TPBs in that it can be read cold by inexperienced readers
(with a handy intro acquainting us with Supergirl's history) there's a
two-part story where the world is plunged into darkness as part of one
of those cross-title "events" DC Comics likes to do. But nowhere is that
explained! Of course the darkness is just a backdrop to the real story,
which has villain Gorilla Grodd arriving in town...but now the reader is
faced with a talking gorilla, but given no explanation as to who or what
he is!
Overall, Supergirl is an entrancing read. A book
that, despite some short comings, is one of those things that will be a
pleasure to re-read more than once. It even looks nice -- I mean
as a TPB. Smart writing, striking art; fun and ambitious at the same time.
What more can you want from your super-folks?
Cover price: $20.95 CDN./$14.95 USA.
Supergirl: Many Happy Returns 2003 (SC TPB) 144 pages
Written by Peter David. Pencils by Ed Benes. Inks by Alex Lei.
Colours: Brad Anderson, Digital Chameleon. Letters: Comicraft. Editor: Mike
McAvennie, Lysa Hawkins.
Reprinting: Supergirl #75-80 (2002-2003)
Additional notes: intro by Peter David; covers
Rating: * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
Published by DC Comics
Decades ago, Supergirl was Superman's cousin. Though now often regarded as
an unsuccessful character, she remained pretty prominant for years, featured
either in comics like Action, Adventure, Superman Family, or a couple of
different versions of her own self-titled comic. When DC re-invented its
"universe" with the Crisis on Infinite Earths, they decided to kill her off
and, what's more, in order to streamline Superman's mythos, they had it be she
never existed in the first place.
And then they created a new Supergirl!
No one quite seemed to know what to do with her, until Peter David featured
her in her own series, changing her about, establishing her own mythos. The
TPB collecting the first few issues of her series I really liked. But though
the new Supergirl kept going for years, sales ultimately dwindled, cancelation
was threatened -- so David needed a big story idea that would woo the readers
back. And that idea was to bring back the original, pre-Crisis Supergirl --
Kara Zor-El (yeah, they spend years telling us what an also ran she was...then
when they need a sales boost, they bring her back!) Supposedly, sales did
improve. Unfortunately (according to David) the DC brass didn't realize that
at first and ordered the entire series cancelled -- making this the final
story arc.
The saga begins with the modern Supetgirl returning to Leesburg after
spending months on the road, apparently getting involved in all sorts of
cosmic weirdness, and undergoing some sort of transformation. Her homecoming
is interrupted by a rocket ship crashing, out of which springs a perky teenage
girl in Superman-inspired costume (the modern Supergirl had long since
switched over to a white, bare-midriff sort of affair). This girl claims she's
Superman's cousin. (To avoid confusion, hencefourth the modern Supergirl we'll
call Linda, the other one we'll call Kara). Linda is a bit suspicious of Kara,
but also becomes kind of fond of her guileless innocence, and her goofy,
comicbooky understanding of things like physics.
Eventually some of the truth comes out. Kara is who she says, but she
shouldn't be in this time or dimension, and her presence threatens the
universe -- so says the modern Spectre (who guest stars occasionally). There's
also a villain who's intent on killing Supergirls throughout the dimensions,
and cameoes by Superman, and more.
And at the end of the day, it's all moderately diverting...but not much
more. To be fair, David was faced with imminent cancellation and based on some
of the ideas he speculates about in his introduction, the finished story may
not have been what he had originally intended to write.
The ending is surprisingly downbeat, for both Supergirls, and
unsatisfying. David's penchant for humour and silliness doesn't really seem to
lay the groundwork for the conclusion, and it's unclear how and why some of
the things that happen, do. Perhaps David's bitterness over having his series
cancelled infused his writing, but it seemed a poor way to treat his longtime
fans. I'm being vague, I realize, but I don't want to give away too much. And
when I say "downbeat", I'm not just talking about the fate of Kara (DC had
done stories before "re-introducing" classic characters, only to then tweak the
fans' noses by having it be a con, or killing off the character, or
something). But Linda, too, seems oddly treated in the end. No, she doesn't
die or anything, it's more a psychological thing -- but even then, I'm not
quite sure why or what is supposed to have happened.
Admittedly, since I'm not that familiar with this version of Supergirl
(other than the original TPB collection and a few issues in the middle of the
run) it could be this all makes sense. But in this collection, it seems odd.
Some of the basic conceits to the story are iffy. David wanted to have fun
contrasting the old fashioned innocence of Kara with the modern wordliness of
Linda, not just as people, but literally as representatives of comicbook
styles. I'll confess, I've never been that big on the obsessive trend of a lot
of modern comicbook writers for wanting to "deal" with the medium itself. It
just seems too self-reflective to me. Besides, it's a kind of debatable
conceit. Yes, early comics tended to be silly and goofy -- but were they more
so than modern comics? It seems you can't turn around without encountering a
serial killer in modern comics (like this story arc's villain who's killing
Supergirls) but serial killers really aren't that prevalent in the real world.
The pre-Crisis Supergirl confronted robbers, street gangs and neo-Nazis (just
to selectively choose a few) while the modern Supergirl has, apparently, just
come off an epic story arc where she battled demons, dealt with a "chaos
stream", somehow separated into different entities... Uh, sorry -- which was
the more "realistic" reality again?
I may be being unfair. David maybe intends it as contrasting the goofy,
unrealistic, Silver Age, with the gritty, but equally unrealistic, modern age
-- a contrast of styles, more than an assignning of values. But in order to
make his point, his Kara seems a lot more innocent, a lot more childish, a lot
dimmer, than I recall Kara being. In other words, David kind of has to
reinvent the character to justify his thesis. And Linda seems a lot more
juvenile than I remembered her being in the first TPB, speaking in the hip
patois of "so, like, way cool, man." I just didn't get that much sense of the
contrast of her maturity with Kara's immaturity.
To be fair, I may've just read the book in the wrong frame of mind.
Sometimes a book can take you out of your worldly concerns, and sometimes
those wordly concerns stay with you. I may just not have been in the right
mood.
There are some cute and imaginative scenes, particularly when Linda starts
living a life on an alternate earth (the "pink kryptonite" gag is funny,
though maybe out of place). The book does have David's usual quips and one-
liners -- some which work, some which don't. One can infer the influence of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Linda as Buffy, Kara as Dawn, and menacing
villains who make wry quips. But I just didn't think it worked as well as
Buffy. One also can speculate about the Star Trek episode, "The City on the
Edge of Forever", which David has gone on record as really digging...and this
story arc borrows a similar idea of a character faced with the dilemma whereby
an innocent must be sacrificed to save the universe.
I really enjoyed Ed Benes' art on Birds of Prey, though this, slightly
earlier work, maybe shows a little less control, with the early issues
inparticular a little too busy with background detail, where the key elements
of the scene aren't necessarily brought out fully. But it improves over the
run (or else I just got used to it). His style is vaguely manga-influenced,
with lots of big eyed women that, I'll admit, is a bit cartoony and robs some
of the realism necessary to involving us emotionally. But Benes' real talent
is for Good Girl Art -- drawing sexy gals in tight clothes and cut-off shorts.
Whooo-oooh! I've got nothing against that, in the right context in the right
series. Buuuuut...is Supergirl the place for it? Particularly when David's
script is supposed to be emphasizing Kara, in particular, as a naive innocent,
and Benes is drawing her all long legs, tight bottom, and perky breasts?
It reminded me a bit of Supreme: The Story of the Year, where a writer's
nostalgic script clashed with the very modern art styles of his artist.
I really liked the first Supergirl TPB but, since I didn't really follow
the comic regularly, I guess I'm guilty of being partly responsible for the
low sales that led to the series' cancellation. This story arc is certainly an
O.K. read, briskly paced -- maybe too brisk (it feels rushed, which maybe it
was, with cancellation looming). And it seems to rely too much on knowing
prior information relating to Linda's past adventures, and too much of a sense
that, cancelled or not, there's a lot left unexplained, perhaps to be followed
up on in another series somewhere, some time.
It's an O.K. page turner, but as a return of Kara Zor-El, and as a close to
the modern Supergirl series, it's a bit disappointing.
(Of course, a couple of years later they returned Kara full time -- I think. And she's now starring in the current run of Supergirl comics.)
Cover price: $__ CDN./ $14.95 USA
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