Supergirl (2005) #45

And now it’s in the middle of another crossover… I love it when comic book publishers are hostile to casual readers.

Umm. Rucka co-writes here. Not sure what contributions he made.

From what I can tell, the world now knows Sam Lane is alive and he’s a hero and the Kryptonians (Superman included?) are the villains.

Does anyone else remember the nineties, when you had to read every Superman title just to understand what was going on? It’s very similar. Except they don’t have flashy hologram covers. The nineties stuff was probably a little better in some ways; at least it was the first time they’d done it in that manner.

Again, Sibal’s inks hurt Igle’s pencils. Especially on Kara’s cat.

Gates gets in a good scene with Lana Lang and almost a good one with Lois. The Lois one is undercooked.

Unfortunately, getting through this issue is trying.

Supergirl (2005) #44

I really don’t like Sibal’s inks on Igle. He’s way too reductive. It’s almost like he’s trying to make it look like Ian Churchill or something.

This issue is part of a Superman family crossover. It seems like Sam Lane is trying to get a Kryptonian to assassinate the President. So Gates has to compete with the just plan stupidity of the crossover here. I mean, didn’t Marvel do something like this one in the nineties? Or Image? It’s just awful.

But Gates does a decent job with the action, even though he barely has time for anything else. Lois shooting Supergirl the evil eye is about as close as he gets to any subplot here. It just serves to remind the book can be quite good when it’s not slave to the crossover.

And the end, with Supergirl being possessed–is way too subtle. Hopefully it’s a short crossover.

Supergirl (2005) #43

Kryptonian society really isn’t thought out enough. This issue is about Kara going from guild to guild (a guild is basically a career path–I’m assuming it’s all for the greater Kryptonian good, dirty socialists) and seeing what they’re like. Gates frighteningly frames it in a letter to her dead father. Because he’s using it for narration, it sort of cheapens the idea of it as a grieving process. It comes off as an easy way to narrate an issue and to feign emotional connection.

What’s so off about Gates using it is the actual content is good and shows Kara and her mother grieving. It goes far to humanizing the mother, who now gets the excuse of being in the Science Guild to explain why she acts to remote and evil all the time.

It’s decent; the narration device hurts.

Sibal’s inks here take away some of Igle’s enthusiasm.

Supergirl (2005) #42

I love how Kara’s got a backpack for traveling between New Krypton and Earth. It’s a fantastic detail.

The issue opens on a low point—the revelation Sam Lane served under Sergeant Rock—but it quickly recovers.

First it’s Kara telling Lois about killing Superwoman. It’s an excellent scene, even if Lois is being a bit of a bitch and not particularly smart. I thought she was an investigative reporter and she can’t figure out her evil dad is back from the dead.

Then here’s some superhero stuff with the bad guy getting out. I guess this Reaction guy is a Supergirl villain, not a Superman villain? Because she needed her own Metallo? It goes on way too long, but Gates makes up for it with a lovely close with Lana and Kara.

Igle’s back and he handles everything quite well. He’s got a great finale sequence at the sun.

Supergirl (2005) #41

It’s another fast issue.

Gates doesn’t reveal all about Lucy Lane being Superwoman (she dies so I figure it’s safe to spoil) but it’s pretty clear Sam Lane was having his daughter murder people in order to frame Superman. Did Thunderbolt Ross ever go that far?

The problem with Supergirl so far is the villains, whether Lucy, Sam Lane, the supervillains this issue or Kara’s mom… is their one dimensional personalities. Gates is following the DC standard—being really mean and evil makes a great villain—and it hurts the book.

Also hurting the issue is the fill in art from Dagnino. Igle always goes far not to make his Supergirl appear silly or slutty, but Dagnino doesn’t have the same approach. She’s not really slutty, but his proportions are Liefeldian.

This issue would have worked a lot better without the cliffhanger, just to give the reader a slight break.

Supergirl (2005) #40

Okay, I did not expect that reveal for Superwoman’s identity.

Gates does manage to reduce his supporting cast by at least two and maybe three here, so it’ll be interesting to see if he uses that opportunity to finally get Supergirl running on its own.

But what he does with the Superwoman reveal is nice since he’d sort of set it up to be something different the last issue and then this issue, when Supergirl does figure it out, the reader isn’t privy to her thought process. It’s a surprise for everyone (well, at least for me).

He does take the time to do other things, of course. Like Jimmy Olsen flirting with high school girls, which is creepy and makes Cat Grant sympathetic because of her disgust. But the Lana Lang plot development is a little problematic because she’s barely in the series.

It’s well-executed, modern superhero stuff.

Supergirl (2005) #39

This issue is a very fast read. It’s solid, because it should be a fast read–it starts with Superwoman revealed to be a villain and continues to get Supergirl up to speed on that point.

Gates manages to get in some decent moments. The way he establishes Lucy Lane isn’t particularly bad, just a jerk. He also gets in a nice scene with Kara and Lana. The series really needs a breather issue where Gates isn’t forced to spend half his time on crossover obligations.

It’s clear Gates hasn’t set the series up to run independently yet.

Caldwell fills in for Igle on a few pages–not special pages, just a few pages at the end of the issue. Their styles don’t match at all. Igle has a fluidity and roundness to his lines, Caldwell is sharp and jagged.

Supergirl shows potential, even with New Krypton weighing it down.

Supergirl (2005) #38

Some revelations this issue. Well, for me anyway. First, Superwoman works for Thunderbolt Ross (sorry, Sam Lane–again, who ever said Johns’s Superman: Secret Origin was better in terms of continuity revising than Byrne’s Man of Steel? Not me). Second, she’s not Kryptonian. Do these revelations have anything do with Supergirl? I mean, the book’s called Supergirl. Maybe. I’m sure they’ll play out in action scenes anyway.

Otherwise, there’s not much Supergirl here. Superwoman kicks her butt and Kara crawls home to Lana, one of those nice relationships I wanted to see more of but don’t get to because of the New Krypton stuff. Gates is good at those scenes. He’s also good at the stuff with Agent Liberty’s death and Lucy Lane (maybe the series should just be called, Superman’s Women) and the Metropolis detective.

Some very nice Igle art–and from Clark on the backup.

It’s nearly fine.

Supergirl (2005) #37

This issue’s a little bit better. There’s a lot of down time with Supergirl (why she wears make-up, I’m not sure–it’s a big Gates is a guy writing a female character moment) hanging out with Superwoman. The development of Supergirl being her mother’s pawn is a little weak and Gates doesn’t spend any time trying to give Alura any depth.

It must be a DC editorial directive to have lame Superman villains.

There’s a lot of nice stuff in the issue, mostly because Igle gets how to balance the superhero comic. Supergirl hanging out at the sun, flying through the city with Superwoman, it all looks fantastic.

I’m sure some of the problem is I haven’t read the crossovers (it reminds so much of the nineties it’s a little scary); I don’t understand the existing character relationships.

But it’s decent. Gates writes good dialogue for his real characters.

Supergirl (2005) #36

Ah, so it’s Supergirl’s mother who’s a psycho nut… Interesting choice.

There’s some very nice Igle art this issue. He’s got a lot to do here–battle scenes, talking heads scenes, a memorial service. He does fine work. Maybe a little fast on Supergirl’s father dying, but still… nice work.

As for the writing, Gates is constrained. He’s writing a big crossover event installment. He’s got to get the plot from point A to point B so the next guy can pick it up (I’m safe saying guy because I’m talking about Superman comics).

Turning Supergirl’s mother into a one dimensional villain isn’t outlandish, because the character was a one dimensional bitch last issue. Not much of a push.

I started reading Gates’s Supergirl because I’d heard good things. If I hadn’t, this issue might have made me give up–this New Krypton stuff reads like a bad nineties crossover.