(COMIC) SUPERGIRL #8

STORY: Michael Green and Mike Johnson
(GUEST) ART: George Perez and Bob Wiacek


Last month, Supergirl finished up it's fantastic first arc, "Last Daughter of Krypton", in which she woke up on Earth, went in search of Krypton, and fought the four Worldkillers created by Kryptonian scientists. It was a fun (if not somewhat fragmented) story that gave Kara a solid, well-written origin. Supergirl has been written and re-written so many times (the 'New 52' Supergirl technically counts as Volume 6) that it's hard to keep her continuity straight, even for die-hard fans.

This month sees the the reboot of a Superman villain who has received mixed reviews since 1987: Silver Banshee. Exhausted from her fight with the Worldkillers - and with nowhere to go anyway - Supergirl becomes surrounded by Metropolis police looking to arrest her. A young Siobhan Smythe intervenes, shouting that it was Supergirl who saved the city. After a short kerfuffle and a quick getaway, the girls bond when Siobhan learns to speak Kryptonian after hearing only a few short sentences from Kara, a gift for languages some people possess.

Siobhan gets Kara set up with street clothes and they head out to a bar where Siobhan is playing an acoustic guitar set. Usually, I'm a big fan of George Perez's artwork - it often reminds me of Silver Age books without seeming cheesy or overdone - but the pencils of Siobhan's performance make her look like she's drowning or making a "cooooo" sound with her mouth. Also, the silver lettering that identifies her singing are drawn jagged and nigh-broken looking. This is the kind of font I'd expect from a withered, old sorceress who cackles and sounds like a crow - not from a young Irish woman who claims she has a pretty voice.

Michael Green and Mike Johnson have created a whole new character for Supergirl, a way to make Silver Banshee more than a simple third-tier villain. Black Banshee arrives at the club, using his dark magic to stir up chaos in efforts to find his daughter, Silver Banshee, and in the confusion, Kara loses Siobhan. Of course, fans already knew who Siobhan was the moment she showed up earlier in the issue: Silver Banshee. Green and Johnson leave the issue on a cliffhanger for next month when it looks like Supergirl will team up with Silver Banshee, something I never thought I'd say.

GRADE:

B+