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astraeasversion's review
5.0
don't mind me.. just reminding myself why i fell in love with supergirl in the first place.
jmitschke's review
4.0
Too many tie-ins with other superheroes/groups in the middle, but the narrative of Supergirl trying to find her place and fighting against inner darkness was great.
nenya_kanadka's review
3.0
Surprise Power Girl! The Supergirl/Power Girl identity angst, but from the other side. I liked Supergirl in this, but the art wasn't amazing and I'd gotten used to her not having a micro-mini skirt. Dark Supergirl (or whatever she's actually called--the one on the cover) was actually pretty fun.
swingdingaling's review
2.0
Oof. I like the story it told but the art style was gross, both aesthetically and in the way it posed women (specifically Supergirl, whose age (16) comes up a lot)
zestquest's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
a pretty run of the mill story. not my favorite but i don’t hate it. a very quick read
rhganci's review
3.0
So what we have here is a decent volume that does a few things well, but comes off as an uneven collection, and ultimately is far less enjoyable than the origin story that we find in Loeb's work with Turner in Batman/Superman. While it would be easy to lampoon this collection on the artwork alone, there are some storytelling beats that also drive down the quality in this follow-up of the origin of the Maid of Might.
But it is the artwork that hampers this collection the most, on the basis that Churchill's model and study of Kara is rather irresponsible for the character at the center of this story, especially considering the background they're developing for this new direction. While it's clear that he is working to follow up the distinct work of Michael Turner, Churchill does so less comfortably than does Turner, relying on an immodest uniform and an embarrassingly impossible likeness for Kara throughout the collection. These artistic choices really diminished my enjoyment of the collection on the whole.
The story wasn't half bad, but neither did it advance or develop Kara's new role in the DCU. Power is ultimately the same sort of story as is the origin this is spinning out of, with Kara trying to find her own identity as others try to manipulate or control here. The internal conflict gets a different look--because in this collection, Kara literally battles herself--but there's not a lot of development to her character, nothing but one hurried conflict after another.
We'll see where this goes as Joe Kelly and Amanda Conner take over in the next collection (Candor!), but I hope to see a better, more conservative effort on the part of the artists, and a better, more progressive effort on the part of the writers. Like most Superman-family books, balance remains the most elusive aspect, and it is the key thing missing from Power.
But it is the artwork that hampers this collection the most, on the basis that Churchill's model and study of Kara is rather irresponsible for the character at the center of this story, especially considering the background they're developing for this new direction. While it's clear that he is working to follow up the distinct work of Michael Turner, Churchill does so less comfortably than does Turner, relying on an immodest uniform and an embarrassingly impossible likeness for Kara throughout the collection. These artistic choices really diminished my enjoyment of the collection on the whole.
The story wasn't half bad, but neither did it advance or develop Kara's new role in the DCU. Power is ultimately the same sort of story as is the origin this is spinning out of, with Kara trying to find her own identity as others try to manipulate or control here. The internal conflict gets a different look--because in this collection, Kara literally battles herself--but there's not a lot of development to her character, nothing but one hurried conflict after another.
We'll see where this goes as Joe Kelly and Amanda Conner take over in the next collection (Candor!), but I hope to see a better, more conservative effort on the part of the artists, and a better, more progressive effort on the part of the writers. Like most Superman-family books, balance remains the most elusive aspect, and it is the key thing missing from Power.
howattp's review
4.0
This worked well as Supergirl's first solo adventure. She has some inner demons to deal with, while trying to live up to her potential and Superman's expectations. She goes up against many major villains and eventually must fight a darker part of herself in order to come to terms with who she is and how she can move forward.
dr_matthew_lloyd's review
4.0
This was part of a mini-re-read of my Supergirl comics when I happened to be at home where they were. I first read the story around 2007, and I really wish I could remember why I decided to start reading Supergirl over other superheroes - nontheless, it was good to begin with a character who had only recently been relaunched.
Kara's own adventures begin after one last Superman/Batman strip in which she tries to shake off the obsessive stalking of her that Superman has been doing. Superman compares the relationship he and Kara have to that which Batman has to Robin, which is an unfair comparison: the Robins have largely been young, orphan boys Bruce Wayne has taken in to look after, which is a strange enough relationship, but Clark's assertion that he has a right to be involved with the teenaged and largely capable Kara's life simply because they are related is intrusive and uncomfortable. Batman highlights the weirdness on the first page when he comments on Clark's hovering over Themyscria - he doesn't seem capable to see how wrong his actions are. And yet, he wonders why Kara tries to outrun him, to escape him.
This is important because it essentially establishes the relationship between Clark and Kara as she begins her own series. Clark thinks he has a right to be involved in Kara's life; Kara wants to establish her own identity and personhood and doesn't think she can do that with Clark around. It doesn't help that everyone on Earth (or at least in the superhero community) knows that she's Superman's cousin, and that she's stuck wearing an imitation of his costume.
Supergirl #1 begins with a recap of her origins - naturally - and a conversation with Stargirl which highlights a persistent problem with Ian Churchill's art: his women's faces all look largely the same. With Stargirl also being a long blonde-haired red, yellow and blue wearing, midriff-bearing superhero, Kara's story opens by making her look like an identikit female superhero, whose one distinguishing feature is the "S" on her chest (leading to an obsession in the story with her chest, most aptly and unfortunately mentioned by Lex Luthor). As she mentions at the start of #3, all of her powers have already been named by her cousin.
The storyline focuses on Kara trying to find her place in a DCU where she can't look after her little baby cousin, who's all grown up, where the family of S-wearing superheros into which she has been thrust doesn't want her, and where everyone from Superman to Lex Luthor wants to exploit her for their own purposes. Superman and Batman have been watching her, but so has Lex Luthor, and to be fair, so has much of the DCU including the Outsiders and the JLA. She makes it pretty damn clear that she's more powerful than all of them, too.But ultimately, Superman makes his weaknesses - the fact that he holds back and doesn't unleash his full power - look like strengths. Perhaps they are, but it comes across as sounding like an excuse for the fact that he's afraid of Kara, and afraid of her power. How can a little girl be more powerful than Superman?!
There's great moments here, especially for those of us who were watching Smallville before this comic came out and knew exactly what the black Kryptonite would do; most of the actions of the heroes, though impulsive and controlling, ring true. Kara ultimately (for now at least) accepts the identity of Supergirl, although part of her has rejected it. It opens up the idea that superpowered characters shouldn't be polarised, good-or-bad figures, but even heroes can have some darkness in them - and should.
There's a lot to be critical of in the art, story, obsession with other characters (although this does allow Kara to be placed in the wider DCU) and the fact that Kara is largely pressured into accepting her identity as "Superman's cousin" rather than a fully realised individual, but I enjoyed this introduction to a complex character with much development to go.
Kara's own adventures begin after one last Superman/Batman strip in which she tries to shake off the obsessive stalking of her that Superman has been doing. Superman compares the relationship he and Kara have to that which Batman has to Robin, which is an unfair comparison: the Robins have largely been young, orphan boys Bruce Wayne has taken in to look after, which is a strange enough relationship, but Clark's assertion that he has a right to be involved with the teenaged and largely capable Kara's life simply because they are related is intrusive and uncomfortable. Batman highlights the weirdness on the first page when he comments on Clark's hovering over Themyscria - he doesn't seem capable to see how wrong his actions are. And yet, he wonders why Kara tries to outrun him, to escape him.
This is important because it essentially establishes the relationship between Clark and Kara as she begins her own series. Clark thinks he has a right to be involved in Kara's life; Kara wants to establish her own identity and personhood and doesn't think she can do that with Clark around. It doesn't help that everyone on Earth (or at least in the superhero community) knows that she's Superman's cousin, and that she's stuck wearing an imitation of his costume.
Supergirl #1 begins with a recap of her origins - naturally - and a conversation with Stargirl which highlights a persistent problem with Ian Churchill's art: his women's faces all look largely the same. With Stargirl also being a long blonde-haired red, yellow and blue wearing, midriff-bearing superhero, Kara's story opens by making her look like an identikit female superhero, whose one distinguishing feature is the "S" on her chest (leading to an obsession in the story with her chest, most aptly and unfortunately mentioned by Lex Luthor). As she mentions at the start of #3, all of her powers have already been named by her cousin.
The storyline focuses on Kara trying to find her place in a DCU where she can't look after her little baby cousin, who's all grown up, where the family of S-wearing superheros into which she has been thrust doesn't want her, and where everyone from Superman to Lex Luthor wants to exploit her for their own purposes. Superman and Batman have been watching her, but so has Lex Luthor, and to be fair, so has much of the DCU including the Outsiders and the JLA. She makes it pretty damn clear that she's more powerful than all of them, too.
There's great moments here, especially for those of us who were watching Smallville before this comic came out and knew exactly what the black Kryptonite would do; most of the actions of the heroes, though impulsive and controlling, ring true. Kara ultimately (for now at least) accepts the identity of Supergirl, although part of her has rejected it. It opens up the idea that superpowered characters shouldn't be polarised, good-or-bad figures, but even heroes can have some darkness in them - and should.
There's a lot to be critical of in the art, story, obsession with other characters (although this does allow Kara to be placed in the wider DCU) and the fact that Kara is largely pressured into accepting her identity as "Superman's cousin" rather than a fully realised individual, but I enjoyed this introduction to a complex character with much development to go.
heypretty52's review
2.0
Loeb does not do his female characters justice. Plagued by unnecessary fighting amongst themselves and babysitting male characters, the story suffers almost as much as the stereotypical art. My expectations were too high.
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