Comic Book Review: Supergirl Annual #2

Literary & Artistic Credits

Writer: Sterling Gates

Penciller: Matt Camp & Marco Rudy

Colorist: Blond with Brad Anderson

Letterer: Swands

Cover Art: Amy Reeder, Richard Friend & Guy Major

Editor: Matt Idelson

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Let’s take a boat to Bermuda…Let’s take a plane to St. Paul…Let’s take an alien space craft into the 31^st century where Supergirl must stop an evil Satan Girl from enslaving the minds of all Earth’s inhabitants and bringing down a dictatorous evil witch.  Road trips are always fun.

One thing you can expect from any yearly annual within the DCU is the slight deviation from continuity.  This particular installment gives off that very same vibe as Supergirl is seemingly a member of the Legion of Superheroes trying to stop an event which could result in tragedy for the entire city.  Little did I know, thanks to the exceptionally SLOW mailing system that is the United States Postal Service, Supergirl took an accidental detour in issue #56 of her own series to the 31^st century on her way home from Bizarro World where she meets up with the Legion and decides to stick around for an extended vacation.  But will she meet the inevitable death that the 31^st Centuries’ Superman museum reveals?  (Except for this book’s kind readers.)  Will she and Brainiac actually go forward with a relationship that was initiated by that unsuspecting kiss?  All this and more on today’s edition of “Supergirl: The Young and the Restless!”

This is what comic book annuals SHOULD be like!  Very well designed and planned out to help push the superheroes into a new year of 12 issue mayhem and action.  Annuals typically have this “discarded” aura about them; never truly being vital to the overall scheme and plan of a Superheroes life and choices.  Gates uses this opportunity to help give the Supergirl title a new focus and direction that’s full of mystery and pleasant ambiguity.  As disappointing as it was to not see exactly how Supergirl dies, it does keep my interest glowing for what might happen in the future (er…I mean the past..er, I mean….Darn you paradox of time!) and how Brainiac decides to save Supergirl from her terrible fate.

Speaking of which, what is it about Brainiac that Supergirl found so attractive?  I understand that she was able to connect with the green asshole in a way she never could with anyone else before, but he’s still a pompous jerkwad whose attention to people’s feelings is almost as dull and numb as Sheldon’s from “Big Bang Theory.”  I certainly hope this is a mere fling that Supergirl will overcome, for this rates as good of a match with me as was the marriage of the Green Arrow and Black Canary.  (Yes I realize I’m just jealous that I didn’t get the bird, but there’s still Wonder Woman or Power Girl!) 

Many low points occur as well.  It may have been humorous to think up, but having a holographic Jimmy Olsen brigade come in to save the day really didn’t sit well with me.  But this doesn’t detract from the pure maturity and grown attitude that Supergirl maintains within the future.  She is a leader and good friend to the entire Legion.  But I wasn’t quite sure why Supergirl and Brainiac 5 had this shocking attraction to each other, much less why Supergirl was able to tap into the thoughts of the long lost cousin of Superman’s evil foe.

Was it absolutely necessary to change artists when Matt Camp was doing a phenomenal job?  I understand the need to give an artist a break, but with Marco Rudy’s below average and less than appealing visual additions, I wonder if DC made a poor choice of substitution and if they realize that.  Oh well, I enjoyed Camp’s fantastic art and will rate HIM accordingly even if Rudy will bring down the rating I WOULD have given Camp.  (FYI, it would have been a 10!)

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

There’s a whole lot more to come and I couldn’t be more excited about it!  DC, almost a year ago hinted at the fact that this team-up between the last daughter of Krypton and the future’s finest superhero team and did not disappoint with the end result.  We all known Supergirl isn’t going to die right?  So the question is, how will this “death” be changed and how will it effect Supergirl?

Rating: 8 out of 10

Writing: 8

Art: 7

Themes: 9 

Comic Book Review: Legion of Super-Heroes #1

Book Information

Written by Paul Levitz

Penciled by Yildiray Cinar

Colored by Hi-Fi

Inked by Wayne Faucher

Lettered by Sal Cipriano

Cover by Cinar & Faucher

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

I never gave the Legion of Super-Heroes a chance growing up; not because I thought it was a stupid comic, but rather I was unfamiliar with the characters.  Superman and Batman were my thing, anything else was kid stuff right?  As I have transcended my geeky adolescence into a more mature form of nerditude, I decided to give this new relaunching of the classic super-team of the future a chance.

Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar have come together to give this title that silver age feel to it, giving the script an intelligent stance with hints of hokiness.  Likewise, Cinar’s artistry resembles the “lower budget” approach but keeps an excellent foundational quality.  The book is structured in such a way that satisfies that nostalgic arousal that I’m sure most hard-core Legion fans crave but doesn’t linger on the past.  There’s just enough info to help newer Legion readers get onboard with the story, but wont bore our Loyal Legion fan-boys. 

Levitz presents a story that sets Saturn-Girl up as the protagonist.  While the story is centered around her, it toggles to Brainiac 5 every once in a while.   It seems two plots are being presented; one involving Saturn-Girl and the other involving what looks like a baby Guardian sperm from the planet Oa.  I did find myself a little confused as to what exactly was going, but the basic gist of the story does come through.  My recommendation: read this issue slowly to ensure you have a legitimate comprehension of the story; it moves at 100 miles an hour and crams in a lot of dialogue, story preparation, and plot progression that can’t be fully appreciated without taking time to read it slowly.

Like I mentioned above, the art resembles the classic, silver age artistry but maintains a modern glimmer to it.  Cinar calls upon various “stocked” poses of people flying through the air and zooming forward on a track of speed lines.  The coloring of every page was wisely executed; giving us enough explosive action without going too over the top.  The cover itself is so detailed that it elicits a powerfully emotional impact causing feelings of rage, aggression, and excitement to pop out at you with more force than any artist could muster.  (Best Cover of 2010 maybe?)

Now if you are a complete newbie to the Legion, don’t worry, the great Paul Levitz has given his readers a brief one paged historical summary of the futuristic super-team.  The summary is very well written and gives Levitz a chance to bask in his own literary glory being the inspiration and “head-man in charge” of making the Legion what it is today.

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion

I couldn’t be happier with this issue.  It’s a non-stop action packed issue that keeps you wanting more, but stays excellent in its literary quality.  I think it was a good idea to make this a 40-page, oversized issue since I can’t see how it would be a successful beginning to an already popular title.

Ratings

Writing: 10

Themes: 9.5

Art: 10

Overall: 9.83 out of 10