Supergirl: Girl of No Tomorrow / Plain Sight by Steve Orlando, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, et al.

Supergirl, Vol. 3: Girl of No Tomorrow

Collection published: 2018
Contents originally published: 2017
Read: February 2026

Writers: Steve Orlando, Jody Houser, Vita Ayala
Pencillers: Robson Rocha, Steve Pugh, Jose Luis, Carmen Carnero, Jamal Campbell, Julio Ferreira
Inkers: Daniel Henriques, Steve Pugh, Norm Rapmund, Carmen Carnero, Jamal Campbell, Julio Ferreira
Colorists: Michael Atiyeh, Jamal Campbell
Letterers: Steve Wands, Calos M. Mangual

The second half of Steve Orlando's Supergirl run moves away from the strengths that characterized the first. One senses that this isn't his fault, that editorial is revamping the premise periodically because the book isn't selling the way that they hoped. I don't have any proof of this, but it doesn't make sense to me that a writer would set up a bunch of concepts in their first eleven issues clearly designed to create a "storytelling engine" and then largely ignore or abandon them in their final nine. And it's probably indicative that after the last issue by Orlando, this volume of Supergirl took a four-month break and came back with a totally new creative team and a premise that completely moved away from what Orlando set up here. Though it continued this run's issue numbering, the volume numbering of the trade paperbacks reset, so it was clearly conceptualized as totally distinct. (It doesn't sound appealing, so I am not going to read it, but my understanding is that it moves away from this run's YA vibe and also puts Supergirl on her own in outer space. As far as I know, recurring characters like Ben Rubel have never appeared again.)

The series's third volume, Girl of No Tomorrow, begins where the cliffhanger ending of volume two left off, with Cat Grant seemingly shooting Supergirl. This is quickly shown to be the actions of not Cat Grant but a shapeshifter, and the gun doesn't kill her; it makes her powers stronger but also causes them to fluctuate. To be honest, I didn't really get or enjoy this subplot at all. I think my-powers-are-out-of-control subplots are rarely interesting because they don't really map onto anything comprehensible and the fluctuations can feel very arbitrary and thus the hand of the writer is a bit too evident. (The exception, perhaps, is X-Men stories where they can serve as an allegory for puberty; see X2.) Lots of stuff seems to happen but not mean anything: Kara gets attacked by a bunch of different villains, including the Legion's Emerald Empress, which means each one attacks her, then goes away, repeat. There's no development. Kara's powers fluctuate at school, but the reactions to this don't ring true at all—why, when a character falls down a hole that spontaneously appears in a hallway floor is every one just like, "lol kara is such a nerd"?

Well, this will certainly convince everyone you were being compassionate!
from Supergirl vol. 7 #13 (script by Steve Orlando, art by Robson Rocha & Daniel Henriques)

There's also one of my least favorite superhero tropes: the "regular people" turn on the superhero. This feels like a a bad fit for the Supergirl aesthetic in general and a big swerve from the inspirational approach of the first two volumes in specific. On top of that, when you don't have POV characters who embody this approach, it's just randos in crowd scenes going, "yes i used to look up to you but now you suck!" which just feels arbitrary and random. (Cat Grant is the one actual character we get who doesn't like Supergirl, but I didn't follow her reasoning.)

Look, I love the Emerald Empress, but I literally have no idea what she is going on about here.
from Supergirl Annual vol. 7 #1 (script by Steve Orlando, art by Steve Pugh)

The story doesn't so much end as stop (why all these bad guys were attacking Supergirl thinking she was a danger to the future is just not adequately explained), and there's a big status quo change at the end that doesn't pan out at all. Before that gets developed, though (which is more in the fourth volume), there's a one-issue story about Supergirl teaming up with the "New Super-Man" of China. This is fine but a bit short and facile.

Supergirl, Vol. 4: Plain Sight

Collection published: 2018
Contents originally published: 2018
Read: February 2026

Vol. 4, Plain Sight, unfortunately leans into the things that didn't work for me in vol. 3. At the end of Girl of No Tomorrow, Cameron Chase was fired as the DEO director in National City, and her boss, Director Bones, takes direct control of the DEO's operations there. For reasons that, again, I never really understood, Bones has some kind of vendetta against Supergirl. This means the setup of the first two volumes, where Supergirl works for the DEO is abandoned. Supergirl's adoptive parents are DEO agents; they quit. Who her parents are is scrubbed from the DEO records... somehow Bones can't figure this out, which doesn't really make any sense. What also doesn't make sense is that Kara continues to attend human high school despite the danger this puts both herself and her classmates in; for some reason, she also continues in her internship at Catco even though this means she spends much of her manufacturing anti-Supergirl content. Why does she need this internship so much?

This book does attempt to recapture the storytelling enginge set up in vol. 1 again, by including a subplot about Kara and Ben going—or not going—to nerd prom together, while a girl shows up who's a rival for Kara's affections. I felt, though, that this coordinated pretty awkwardly with the main plot of Supergirl continuing to battle bad guys sent by an increasingly and implausibly unhinged Director Bones. (Like, why would this guy be dumb enough to think, "oh someone from apokolips is definitely more trustworthy than supergirl"!?) Also it might have worked better if the rival character had ever appeared before! (Or maybe she did but was completely unmemorable? Either way, not well done.)

And this dude promptly never appeared again.
from Supergirl vol. 7 #18 (script by Jody Houser & Steve Orlando, art by Carmen Carnero)

The book does have a standout issue, though; the penultimate one is a lot like the story in vol. 2 where Supergirl redeemed a villain, in that it's character-driven and mostly focuses on seeing Supergirl through another's eyes. In this case, though, it's not a villain, but a nonbinary kid who finds acceptance with Supergirl when they can't get it at home. Great art by Jamal Campbell, and I felt that we were tapping into what make Orlando's version of the character actually work for the first time in a long while. Too bad the rest of the book couldn't do this.

To be honest, I didn't totally buy this argument. "If your parents reject you, it's because they love you!"
from Supergirl vol. 7 #19 (script by Steve Orlando & Vita Ayala, art by Jamal Campbell)

The last issue is very much an "oops we're being cancelled let's cram it all in and wrap it all up" one, unfortunately. Necessary from a storytelling perspective, I guess, but not interesting to read. Shame that this run started out strongly but fizzled out so badly.

How did Director Bones get to be so dumb?
from Supergirl vol. 7 #20 (script by Steve Orlando & Jody Houser, art by Robson Rocha & Daniel Henriques)

As I said, I'm not interesting in continuing onto the Marc Andreyko run that continues from here (even if it does feature Kevin Maguire on art!), but what I've read about the subsequent Sophie Campbell one makes it sound more my speed. Maybe someday!

Supergirl: Reign of the Cyborg Supermen / Escape from the Phantom Zone by Steve Orlando, Brian Ching, et al.

Supergirl, Vol. 1: Reign of the Cyborg Supermen

Collection published: 2017
Contents originally published: 2016-17
Read: February 2026

Writers: Steve Orlando, Hope Larson
Artists: Brian Ching, Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy, Matias Bergara, Inaki Miranda
Colorists: Michael Atiyeh, Eva De La Cruz
Letterers: Steve Wands, Deron Bennett

My seven-year-old is a bit of a Supergirl fan; they've read all of the Supergirl volumes in DC's short-lived "Silver Age" series of trade paperbacks, the Showcase Presents Supergirl volumes that cover what that series doesn't, and even The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl trades collecting the 1980s material. So one day, when I was flipping through the books in my library's "Friends of the Library" bookshop and found the first collected edition of Supergirl's "Rebirth" comics, I paid a dollar and brought it home for them (after doing enough perusing to determine it was age-appropriate). They enjoyed it and requested the next, and I ended up picking the other three volumes online, and once they finished the series, I decided to read it myself.

I'm not very au fait with Supergirl's "New 52" continuity, but writer Steve Orlando does a very good job of quickly orienting the new reader. Kara has recently lost her powers (and I guess Superman is dead, but by the time of vol. 2, he's not anymore, so it doesn't really matter), but has agreed to work with Director Cameron Chase of the Department of Extranormal Operations to cooperate with them in exchange for getting her powers back. Part of this deal is that Kara will be adopted and raised by a married pair of DEO agents and live as a human, even attending high school.

The art really nails the cute-but-dorky vibe.
from Supergirl vol. 7 #6 (script by Steve Orlando, art by Brian Ching)

But just as Kara is settling into her new home and family, the ghost of her old home and family return. National City is attacked by the Cyborg Superman, who I guess Supergirl has battled before—but what she didn't know until now is that he's the Brainiac-revived remnants of her father, Zor-El. 

You go Kara.
from Supergirl vol. 7 #7 (script by Steve Orlando, art by Matias Bergara)

This is basically perfectly-executed light superhero comics. I mean, there is some heavy backstory here, but overall the book's not going for exhausting; it keeps the pace moving and the energy up. I don't think I've ever read anything by Steve Orlando before, but he writes above-average dialogue for superhero comics, which manages to balance action and character and exposition. Orlando moves into position a solid cast of supporting characters, including Kara's new parents, Cat Grant, and a guy at Kara's new school named Ben. You can sense things being shifted into position for an ongoing run, in a good way; this is a setup that should continue to generate stories.

Poor Kara.
from Supergirl vol. 7 #3 (script by Steve Orlando, art by Brian Ching)

Orlando is ably aided by Brian Ching, who draws all but one of the seven issues collected here, and whose style is a perfect match for what Orlando is doing in the writing. Ching was one of the regular artists on the Star Wars ongoing Knights of the Old Republic back in the day, and was instrumental to that series's success; I'm glad to see him employed by one of the Big Two.

"Yes, we swear these characters who were previously from totally different continuities really do have a relationship!"
from Supergirl vol. 7 #8 (script by Steve Orlando, art by Matias Bergara)

I even really like Steve Wands's lettering. Contemporary comic book lettering is often very samey, but he does some different things here that I found very effective. 

Supergirl, Vol. 2: Escape from the Phantom Zone

Collection published: 2017
Contents originally published: 2017
Read: February 2026

The second volume is pretty good, too. It begins with three one-shots: one where Kara teams up with Batgirl (in the "Burnside era," though after the original creative team left and I stopped reading), one where Kara helps redeem a villain from the previous volume, and one where Kara connects with her cousin. Each of these is pretty solid; the best is definitely the middle one, a really well done story about Kara reaching out and helping someone who needs her, someone who was let down by everyone his whole life; Matias Bergara does a solid job fitting the Brian Ching style. I though the team-up was fine, though Supergirl seemed to be made a little dumb so that she had a reasons to need Batgirl's help. The Superman one has some good moments, but Matias Bergara's art seems rushed and the story is too obviously there to make sure you know how everything fits together.

The last three issues are one long story, "Escape from the Phantom Zone." On the one hand, I was glad Brian Ching was back, but on the other hand, I found the premise didn't play to the strengths; Supergirl, Batgirl, and Ben end up trapped in the Phantom Zone, and the setting of National City and Kara's supporting cast is largely irrelevant; Ben is there, but having him interact with Supergirl turns out to be dramatically inert. I did not think the villains were very interesting, either. 

I do appreciate how Orlando paces his ongoings. Usually each issue's story ends a couple pages before the end, then there's a bit of a breather/coda, and then the issue will end with a couple pages setting up the next one. It's a simple but effective device.