Supergirl #12 review

Now, generally I get a kick out of seeing new looks for Supergirl. Not this time… poor Kara has been remade into a robotic heroine after last month’s brutal battle with Black Flame in the Bottle City of Kandor.

Behind the cybernetics and bionics is a stalwart of Krypton’s last community, Kim-Da.

Kara and Kim-Da are soon interrupted by Kandor’s council chief and the parents of her (very confused) friend Lesla-Lar. They tell her more about the recent rebellion by the young people of the city.

Despite the fact Black Flame and her lackeys tried to kill her, Kara sees the kids’ POV.

While Supergirl counsels coming up with a plan to bring peace back to Kandor, scientist and citizens already have ideas.

Kara is growing ever more disturbed and angry by what she’s learning. And finding out Kim-Da has been cloning without permission, with ‘subjects’ Thundergirl, Thunderlad and Thunderkid about to be sent to murder Lesla-Lar, Black Flame and their followers, only makes her angrier.

Speaking of clones, in the ‘outside’ Earth Superboy Kon-El is with an agitated Lena Luthor.

Superboy decides he’ll take Lena to the Fortress of Solitude, where Kara was heading when they saw her last. They’re horrified to find Kandor being strangled by Lesla’s Super-Substance.

And that’s the last we see of them in the story. Someone we see a lot more of is Black Flame, who finds the bunker where the adults have been hiding.

On the one hand Black Flame – aka Zora Vi-Lar – has a point, but she is rather ignoring the fact that she’s the one who eviscerated Kara, making some kind of surgery necessary.

What happens in the last several pages I won’t spoil, but I will say it’s pretty exciting. The good thing is that nobody loses any body parts this month.

I enjoyed this issue loads more than the last one, which was far too violent for me. This time it’s the emotions that make the biggest impression, from Lena’s fears to Zora’s anger to Kara’s horror, confusion and outrage. Writer Sophie Campbell does a cracking job, balancing action and talk, even finding room for subtle pointers towards character such as the scientist’s ‘error’ comment.

Campbell shows the depth of Kara’s character, resolute in her defence of what’s right, and utterly dauntless in the face of terrible odds. And I don’t mean in dialogue alone, Campbell’s artwork shows it all on Kara’s face and in her movements.

As last issue, Campbell shows just how strong a martial artist she is, visually at least. The fight choreography is crystal clear, with Black Flame one of the most imposing villains to come along in a while. And Campbell also provides the powerful cover image, made more fun by the Production Department’s addition of the ‘Cyborg’ to the regular logo.

The colours by Tamra Bonvillain add greatly to the picture, becoming ever more intense as Kara’s situation darkens. And Becca Carey has a fair amount of words to letter, but she lays things out with clarity and style.

One thing I wonder is where Lesla Lar is this month; last time she was at the side of Zora, her cousin, obviously conflicted by the situation, but too weak to help Kara. This time she’s nowhere to be seen, her absence not acknowledged by Black Flame. Hopefully she’s off looking for some strength of character and will show up next month and be useful. Because Supergirl could really use her as she gets used to her clunky life-saving attachments.

Lena and Superboy will certainly be around, I loved their scene, having forgotten they’re pretty much related via scumbag Lex Luthor… and they certainly act like siblings here.

Campbell never fails to please my ancient heart with references to the Silver and Bronze Age; here, as well as Jor-El’s college roommate Kim-Da we have mentions of the Kryptonian Day of Truth. It’s like an enrichment programme for longtime readers.

With craft and heart ever to the fore, Supergirl continues to be one of DC’s best books.