Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Evely & Lopes
Variant Cover: Gary Frank and Alex Sinclair
Publisher: DC Comics
Price:$4.99
Release Date: June 15th, 2021
Reviewer: @theglenclark
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Chapter One: Men, Women, and Dogs
STORY (Spoilers Ahead)
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 kicks off as a newly turned 21-year-old Kara visits a planet with a red sun. Why? Well, for the sole purpose of doing what many young people on their 21st birthday do, get drunk. It’s here where she interrupts a potential hit contract gone wrong.
As Kara heads back to her ship, she’s greeted with an arrow that gets lodged directly in her sternum. Krypto, who tagged along on this journey, charges the man who shot Kara. Nevertheless, he takes one in mid-charge. With her adrenaline pumping, Kara returns to her feet only to find herself hit with two more arrows. Krem, the one shooting the arrows, jumps in Kara’s ship and takes off leaving the two to bleed out on the planet’s surface.
THOUGHTS
After my first read-through, I was not too happy with the misrepresentation of Supergirl. The story itself was good, albeit a little too close to the plot of True Grit. Yet, the writing was solid. I did however have one big problem. Would Kara do the things that Tom King put her through? Upon my second read-through, my thoughts started to change a bit. Kara was sent to Earth to look over her younger cousin. However, due to a twist in fate, it was Kal-El who was the older and more mature family member leaving Kara as the young, brash teenager.
As young people tend to do, they make foolish decisions, and Supergirl or not, the choice she made to get wasted on her 21st birthday is very believable. To trash this book’s writing solely because you may not like the way Supergirl was portrayed is a personal preference and not a reflection on how well the book was written. Never once did the story stall, the plot was fluid, and the pacing was spot on.
ART
Whether or not you agree with me on the writing, the one thing we should all agree on is how stunning this book looks. The art style was perfect for this type of storytelling. Still, I believe it was the coloring that really made this book come to life. The choice of light pastel colors for the background scenes was the perfect selection. With what appears to be a change of scenery for the second book, we shall see if the preferences the artists have made continue to shine.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A good writer knows how to bring readers back to the next issue and Mr. King did just that. Yet, Tom King’s writing has been very hit or miss with me. That said, I enjoyed his 100 page Giant stories that made up Superman: Up in the Sky. So that gives me some hope that he does understand the Superfamily and will provide an exciting story over the next 8 issues of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Overall, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 was reasonably accurate for a character this age, the narrative never slowed down, the plot was entertaining, and the issue was blended beautifully with an almost perfect artistic style and tone.
I do, however, have a few early questions that I hope to get answered. Why did Ruthye not want to reveal her father’s name? Plus, under a red sun, both Krypto and Kara are vulnerable. And while I don’t believe either is done for, how will both recover from being shot with arrows? How will they get off the planet to pursue their assailant with no ship? For now, only time will tell and I can’t wait to find out.
awful review! Learn to write at some point!!!
Thanks for the read. I’ll pass your thoughts on to my reviewer. We appreciate good feedback. Feel free to email me at dispatchdcu@gmail.com with further criticism other than a simply “awful” take. Reasons would help my writing staff grow. Additionally, if you’d like to share your opinion of the article and show me your writing chops, I’ll gladly post a second opinion review. Id love to see what you have to say other than his take is “awful”. Feel free to email me anytime if you think you have what it takes to write something better. That said, his opinion is balanced, he states facts as to why he felt the way he did from the article, and even states why individuals may disagree including Supergirl fans. As someone myself who isn’t a huge Tom King fan, I let my writers post their genuine opinions especially when they back up their opinions with thoughts and examples from the issue and not simply stating “its awful” and “learn to write better”. How about you email me with your take so I can see your thoughts? See what you can do? Dispatchdcu@gmail.com Thanks again for reading the review and I hope to hear from you via email