DC Comics 2021
Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Bilquis Evely
Coloured by Matheus Lopes
Lettered by Clayton Cowles
Kara Zor-El has seen some epic adventures over the years, but finds her life without meaning or purpose. Here she is, a young woman who saw her planet destroyed and was sent to Earth to protect a baby cousin who ended up not needing her. What was it all for? Wherever she goes, people only see her through the lens of Superman’s fame. Just when Supergirl thinks she’s had enough, everything changes. An alien girl seeks her out for a vicious mission. Her world has been destroyed, and the bad guys responsible are still out there. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost. Now a Kryptonian, a dog, and an angry, heartbroken child head out into space on a journey that will shake them to their very core.
I was going to pass this up but I put it aside at my store because it has a blank cover, gets me every time. So I finally sat down to read this and I was extremely intrigued and impressed with what I read. It seemed from the cover that this was going to be some sort of sword and sorcery kind of story and that alone would’ve been enough but after seeing what it’s about I am a staunch supporter of this.
I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exquisitely. The character development is phenomenal and this is thanks to how we see the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, introducing the characters and this world we are very much entranced by what we see.
I’m a huge fan of the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge, grow and strengthen. The characterisation bits like why Kara is on a planet with a red sun is unexpectedly amazing, this along with other bits really create this extra depth and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is beautifully achieved.
I love the interiors here too. The linework is great and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work is exquisite. There is both this strength and delicacy about the work and how we see it that is stunning to me. When we see backgrounds being utilised they do wonders in enhancing the moments and bringing us this great depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination that we see throughout is sensational and to pick a world like this one for her, Kara’s, purpose is simply stunning. The colour work is beautifully rendered as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is sublime.
Supergirl and Krypto, love that he’s with her here, on a planet with a red sun, encounter more than she’d bargained for that’s for sure. Yet, her new acquaintance, and future friend, Ruthye, are bound to have the kind of friendship that neither expect but both need at this point in time. This is sensationally written story full of heart and care with the unexpected moments that will bring these two girls together in some wondrous ways. Factor in these interiors and you’ve got a truly gorgeous book in your hands.