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iainkelly_writing's review
fast-paced
4.0
A decent Supergirl story arc supported by excellent artwork. The edition I read also included an origin story for Resurrection Man, which was an excellent addition.
ageorges's review
3.0
No.
I can understand why this book was made. Really, I can. While the DC Universe contains aliens and magic, it still somewhat cemented in the real world so that we can maintain understanding about people's motivations and actions. The problem with this crossing of fantasy with reality is that it occasionally falls into the awkwardness TvTropes refers to as a Fantastic Aesop: "In the course of presenting the story the Aesop either gets shoehorned to fit into the world or is arbitrarily discarded." Many of the problems that make sense in the real world should be easily taken care of in the DC universe.
Take this story for instance. Supergirl promises to cure a little boy of cancer. Everyone she encounters tells her this is a bad idea. Why? Because of reasons. In the real world, we don't yet have a cure for cancer, so her promise to the boy would definitely be irresponsible. But in the DC universe, there are Kryptonian and Amazon supertechnologies, not to mention a number of geniuses that would make Einstein look like a blithering idiot. Are you really telling me that no one has cured cancer yet? This is a comic where the idea that bringing people back from the dead is wrong is espoused by Superman of all people. Never mind the fact that Superman himself was brought back from the dead. Never mind that fact that people in the DC universe die and come back so often they were able to make an events comic out of it. This is a comic where Supergirl destroys the time machine rather than using it to help people because of reason. Never mind the fact that there are several DC superheroes who use time travel. No time travel devices are inherently evil and must be destroyed.
This book had some good points. Supergirl is definitely more likable than she has been in other books. Her interactions with others were very moving. Resurrection man was pretty fun. If the weird setup doesn't bother you, go ahead and check it out.
I can understand why this book was made. Really, I can. While the DC Universe contains aliens and magic, it still somewhat cemented in the real world so that we can maintain understanding about people's motivations and actions. The problem with this crossing of fantasy with reality is that it occasionally falls into the awkwardness TvTropes refers to as a Fantastic Aesop: "In the course of presenting the story the Aesop either gets shoehorned to fit into the world or is arbitrarily discarded." Many of the problems that make sense in the real world should be easily taken care of in the DC universe.
Take this story for instance. Supergirl promises to cure a little boy of cancer. Everyone she encounters tells her this is a bad idea. Why? Because of reasons. In the real world, we don't yet have a cure for cancer, so her promise to the boy would definitely be irresponsible. But in the DC universe, there are Kryptonian and Amazon supertechnologies, not to mention a number of geniuses that would make Einstein look like a blithering idiot. Are you really telling me that no one has cured cancer yet? This is a comic where the idea that bringing people back from the dead is wrong is espoused by Superman of all people. Never mind the fact that Superman himself was brought back from the dead. Never mind that fact that people in the DC universe die and come back so often they were able to make an events comic out of it. This is a comic where Supergirl destroys the time machine rather than using it to help people because of reason. Never mind the fact that there are several DC superheroes who use time travel. No time travel devices are inherently evil and must be destroyed.
This book had some good points. Supergirl is definitely more likable than she has been in other books. Her interactions with others were very moving. Resurrection man was pretty fun. If the weird setup doesn't bother you, go ahead and check it out.
mohan_vee's review
4.0
"Supergirl: Way of the World" is a quick and fairly entertaining read. Nothing really pops in this book, but it does tell a mostly coherent story as it follows Kara Zor El (Supergirl) through the stages of grief.
A pet peeve of mine about many DC books from this era is that they are pieced together in a haphazard way with issues missing in the sequence or added from other titles. This book is by no means the worst I have seen but it is clunkier and less accessible than it should be because of this sort of bad editorial decision. As such, the main driving force behind the plot is muddy and unclear sine it was introduced in an issue not included in this volume. Additionally, the narrative of the main plot arc is abruptly interrupted in the middle of the book by an issue that is only partially relevant to the rest of the story.
As for the plot itself, it is fairly straightforward and mostly does not present any surprises. The book focuses on Kara's unfulfillable promise to a dying child to save his life. The examination of her initial hubris and eventual acceptance of the inevitable is fairly predictable but also fairly unusual, since super heroes are not usually shown to fail.
All in all this is a good read that covers some tough, yet familiar territory, but unfortunately suffers from the clunkiness of bad editorial decisions.
A pet peeve of mine about many DC books from this era is that they are pieced together in a haphazard way with issues missing in the sequence or added from other titles. This book is by no means the worst I have seen but it is clunkier and less accessible than it should be because of this sort of bad editorial decision. As such, the main driving force behind the plot is muddy and unclear sine it was introduced in an issue not included in this volume. Additionally, the narrative of the main plot arc is abruptly interrupted in the middle of the book by an issue that is only partially relevant to the rest of the story.
As for the plot itself, it is fairly straightforward and mostly does not present any surprises. The book focuses on Kara's unfulfillable promise to a dying child to save his life. The examination of her initial hubris and eventual acceptance of the inevitable is fairly predictable but also fairly unusual, since super heroes are not usually shown to fail.
All in all this is a good read that covers some tough, yet familiar territory, but unfortunately suffers from the clunkiness of bad editorial decisions.
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