Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
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Collection published: 2022 Contents originally published: 2021-22 Acquired: July 2023 Read: August 2023 |
This is Tom King's third nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic, this time with artist Bilquis Evely for a Supergirl story. While the previous Tom King comics I've read have all been about taking apart heroes, breaking them down in the face of the violence at the core of the medium, this one takes a different approach to Supergirl, showing what makes her keep going (even if admitting to a bit of tragedy and darkness).
The basic premise is that on Kara's twenty-first birthday, she travels to an alien planet with a red sun in order to get drunk and feel it without her powers; she happens to get caught up in the quest of a girl named Ruthye to hunt down the man who killed her father—and then that killer makes off with Kara's ship into space. So Supergirl and Ruthye go on a quest across galaxies to find that man and bring him to justice. The story is narrated by Ruthye, and we entirely see Supergirl through her eyes, always at a remove. The narration is dense, but it really works, and what the narration doesn't give us, Evely's beautiful art does, highlighting the strength and flaws of this powerful woman.
The story shows what make Supergirl Supergirl: not the powers (though they certainly help), but how she chooses to use them—which goes back, as one flashback chapter points out, to before she had the powers. I though that issue (#6: "Home, Family, and Revenge") was the single best Supergirl origin I have read, really tapping into the tragedy in a way that other origins (such as Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner's shit) have neglected, and it's beautifully paired with Supergirl riding Comet the Super-Horse in a desperate race. King embraces the tragedy of Kara Zor-El, but he also doesn't shy away from the ridiculousness of the history of the character.
Overall, I really liked it. Surely the best of Big Two superhero comics, and I was glad to have an excuse to pick it up and read it. It's my first Best Graphic Story finalist, but it feels like the one to beat.
(I will say, though, that content appropriateness choices at DC continue to baffle me, just like with Strange Adventures. Genocide and mass graves? A-okay! Someone saying "fuck"? Better cover that #%$&@ up with grawlixes! They throw me out every time. Either actually swear or don't.)
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