Supergirl #25 – Mark Andreyko, Dan Jurgens, Writers; Emanuela Lupacchino, Lan Medina, Brad Walker, Tom Derenick, Pencillers; Ray McCarthy, Sean Parsons, Drew Hennessy, Inkers; FCO Plascencia, Chris Sotomayor, Colorists
Ratings:
Ray – 9/10
Corrina: Needs More Supergirl 🙂
Ray: For this double-sized anniversary issue of Supergirl #25, regular series writer Mark Andreyko pulls double duty and also gets an assist from iconic Superman writer Dan Jurgens. The main story is a thrilling adventure as Kara, Krypto, and their new ally Dr. Z’ndr Kol explore the ruins of Krypton. Kara had underestimated the residual radiation and poisoned herself, so she’s not in the best place despite getting the edge of a power suit to keep her safe. She still insists on exploring the ruins of Krypton, which look oddly intact – would a statue head really be floating through space after a planet’s core detonates? The villain of this issue, a ruthless mutated clone named Splyce, is more of a plot device, but this issue gets some fascinating mileage out of the sick Supergirl’s hallucinations – which also potentially reveal a shocking truth to her about who helped Rogol Zaar destroy Krypton. This continues to be my favorite of the main Superman books at the moment.
The anniversary issue also comes with a duo of backup stories. The first is also written by Andreyko and turns the focus on Kara’s Coluan ally Z’ndr Kol. An Indiana Jones-inspired scientist with a high-tech prosthetic arm, this story seems to put the kibosh on rumors about his loyalty and cast him as a benevolent scientist barely escaping hostile aliens and trying to solve the mystery of Krypton’s destruction and the monster hunting the relics. However, the real gem of the issue comes in the backup, a flashback story by Dan Jurgens and Tom Derenick. Set only six months after Kara arrived on Earth and was living with the Danvers, it’s a Christmas story that sends her back to Midvale Orphanage in search of a Kryptonian memento her foster parents accidentally gave away. It also features fan-favorite Jurgens leaguer Ice. As an aside, can we eventually get Kara back to Earth and reunited with the Danvers’? This new book is great, but I miss Kara’s family.
Corrina: I enjoyed both Supergirl stories, especially the back-up holiday story by Jurgens and Derenick. I almost wondered if DC ran out of space in the special DC holiday issue and decided to place it in Supergirl #25 instead. Whatever led to the decision, I’m glad to have seen such a cute story published.
The lead story was also good, again showing Kara’s determination to find out what happened to her home. However, I’m getting impatient for answers in this quest. So far, we’ve seen no definitive clues that point to Rogol either having caused/not caused Krypton’s destruction. I’d hoped for more but the timing could be a result of the fact that events have to happen in Superman or Action Comics first. In the meantime, it was chilling to see Supergirl gazing out at Krypton’s destruction, especially coupled with her hallucinations.
As for the Kol story, it was okay, except it spent pages on a character that was just introduced and who I have little interest in as yet. I wanted more on Supergirl herself.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
