Scan barcode
A review by rhganci
Supergirl Vol. 5: Red Daughter of Krypton (the New 52) by Michael Alan Nelson, Diogenes Neves
4.0
So I've written a fair share on my opinion of Kara's New 52 journey in some other reviews, as she has bounced from one hyperactive situation to another with no small degree of mistrust, but as Tony Bedard takes over the book with Emanuela Lupaccino in Supergirl, Vol. 4: Red Daughter of Krypton, there's really only one thing the reader needs to know:
Kara Zor-El is really, really angry.
If you really want to know why she's so angry, I suppose you could go back and get all of the convoluted details from all of the other books, but thankfully, this is not necessary. Bedard and Lupaccino make this book about the current situation and the current situation alone--and that's great, because the current situation makes all of the other rage-fest-soul-searching totally worth it when Kara finally snaps finds a new level of rage, and becomes a Red Lantern.
This is a move that makes a ton of sense story-wise. Kara has literally had zero breaks since she woke up on Earth. She's been abducted, lectured to, experimented on, mind-controlled, banished to her own subconscious, and judged by her only surviving family member. The rest of the surviving Kryptonians have creepily expressed a wish to "possess" or marry her in some way. Lining all of that up, with no breaks to explore the character, well, it's a bit of a stretch. Even for a comic book, this seems like a pacing issue, because in addition to all of that she has had to confront the "return of Krypton" not once, but twice. It's a lot to ask of a character whose entire perception of reality has just become defined by loss, a point that Bedard does a great job of making at a few key moments in this collection.
He and Lupaccino simplify all of that into a brief two-issue arc that features Lobo, and the final strand of that is some of the best writing that Supergirl has gotten in the New 52. It blends naturally, seamlessly with her conversion to the Red Lantern Supergirl that the writers explore in this collection, and it's a fascinating story that, while not close to the character's familiar core, it does take a fascinating stance on Kara that makes for what is probably the best Supergirl arc of the new 52.
With only one more collection to go before the last issue in #40, I hope that Bedard can keep the good, character-based writing that he has done here going with something a little truer to Kara's roots. There's a lot of good work done here to move the character forward out of "lone survivor" mode, and it's a shame there's not more to come post-Convergence. Still, Kara's adventure in Red Daughter of Krypton is nothing if not memorable and a highlight in her recent adventures.
Kara Zor-El is really, really angry.
If you really want to know why she's so angry, I suppose you could go back and get all of the convoluted details from all of the other books, but thankfully, this is not necessary. Bedard and Lupaccino make this book about the current situation and the current situation alone--and that's great, because the current situation makes all of the other rage-fest-soul-searching totally worth it when Kara finally snaps finds a new level of rage, and becomes a Red Lantern.
This is a move that makes a ton of sense story-wise. Kara has literally had zero breaks since she woke up on Earth. She's been abducted, lectured to, experimented on, mind-controlled, banished to her own subconscious, and judged by her only surviving family member. The rest of the surviving Kryptonians have creepily expressed a wish to "possess" or marry her in some way. Lining all of that up, with no breaks to explore the character, well, it's a bit of a stretch. Even for a comic book, this seems like a pacing issue, because in addition to all of that she has had to confront the "return of Krypton" not once, but twice. It's a lot to ask of a character whose entire perception of reality has just become defined by loss, a point that Bedard does a great job of making at a few key moments in this collection.
He and Lupaccino simplify all of that into a brief two-issue arc that features Lobo, and the final strand of that is some of the best writing that Supergirl has gotten in the New 52. It blends naturally, seamlessly with her conversion to the Red Lantern Supergirl that the writers explore in this collection, and it's a fascinating story that, while not close to the character's familiar core, it does take a fascinating stance on Kara that makes for what is probably the best Supergirl arc of the new 52.
With only one more collection to go before the last issue in #40, I hope that Bedard can keep the good, character-based writing that he has done here going with something a little truer to Kara's roots. There's a lot of good work done here to move the character forward out of "lone survivor" mode, and it's a shame there's not more to come post-Convergence. Still, Kara's adventure in Red Daughter of Krypton is nothing if not memorable and a highlight in her recent adventures.