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Mild Mannered Reviews - Supergirl Comics

Supergirl #28

Supergirl #28

Scheduled to arrive in stores: April 2, 2008

Cover date: June 2008

"Way of the World - Part 1"

Writer: Kelley Puckett
Penciller: Drew Johnson and Ron Randall
Inker: Ray Snyder and Ron Randall

Reviewed by: Jeffrey Bridges

Click to enlarge



Kara fights random bad guys in the street with Wonder Woman, and tells her of her plan to cure cancer. Diana tells her that was a ridiculous thing to do, and makes her fly to Themyscira and back with the purple healing ray.

Diana then punches Supergirl in the face and uses the ray to heal her, telling her that even the ray can't cure cancer and Kara is meddling with things she shouldn't. And Kara thinks perhaps these are the exact things they SHOULD be doing.

She finds Resurrection Man and wants to keep killing him over and over again until his new power is that he can cure cancer. He finally agrees, but she can't bring herself to do it. Instead they break into a prison and leave with an inmate, the man who made the "tektites" that causes Resurrection Man's powers (I think). They leave with him, instructing him to take them to their lab.

At the Daily Planet, Perry gets the story about Kara breaking someone out of prison, and Clark takes it.

3Story - 3: Will someone put Rucka or Bedard back on this book, please?

This was a vast improvement over recent issues, but I gave my word I'd start every review that way until I honestly didn't believe those words any longer, and that day has not yet come.

Even with a four page recap of who Resurrection Man is (yes, the audience needs to know who he is if they already don't, but those first two pages were a complete waste) there was some good character here. Kara wanting to help, Diana thinking it wasn't their place... and Kara thinking maybe it should be their place. Even if she's wrong, she has the right motivation and it's good character building and could lead to more good conflict later. Kara also not being able to go through with her plan of killing Resurrection Man over and over again, even though it will bring no harm to him, was also a nice touch.

I don't buy Diana sucker punching Kara in the face just to make a lame point about the purple healing ray, though. That didn't feel like Diana at all.

It was good that they addressed why Kara didn't bring Clark in on her plan, but they also didn't at all mention why she had to break through a prison wall to get help from Dr. Luzano, instead of perhaps talking to the people at the prison or working out something through the JLA or whatever. She's impulsive and impatient, sure, but that could have been addressed.

Still a minor complaint, though. I'd have rated this issue a 4 if it were the first issue of Puckett's run. It's a good start and could be leading to good things, if these moments and threads are picked up on.

But it's not his first issue, and I am completely dubious about the follow-through, based on his previous issues on this book, so I can't rate it higher than a 3 until I know there can be growth and resolution and story logic.

At the very least I'm not utterly dismayed, and it's the first time I can say that about a Supergirl comic in a while.

3Art - 3: So many different artists, so much disjointed art.

Some of it's horrible, like the top of page 4, where Kara's flying after apparently being stomped into a U shape by Superman... and some of it's really good, like pages 21 and 22, where Kara looks amazing, Lois looks amazing, and Clark looks amazing (his ridiculous glasses notwithstanding). But why is Perry a bobble-head doll?

2Cover Art - 2: This cover doesn't really make any sense, even metaphorically.

And the little "oh ho! Tee hee hee!" arrow just grates on me.

How about Kara as the one looking at the grave, and Resurrection Man's hand coming out of it? THAT would be cool and make sense.

Strike this cover, reverse it!


Mild Mannered Reviews

2008

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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