Superhero/science fantasy graphic novel, written by Tom King, illustrated by Bilquis Evely, and published by DC Comics, first as an eight-issue miniseries starting in June 2021, and then as a collected graphic novel in 2022.
Our plot: It's Supergirl's 21st birthday, and she's decided to get drunk to celebrate! But it's really hard to get Kryptonians drunk, so she takes her super-dog Krypto and travels to a far distant planet under a red sun so she can lose most of her powers. And once Kara's gotten there and gotten thoroughly sloshed, she gets roped into helping out a young alien teenager named Ruthye Marye Knoll. Ruthye's father was murdered by a creep called Krem of the Yellow Hills, and she wants revenge more than anything in the galaxy. But a teenaged girl can't kill a killer without help, and she wants the Maid of Might's aid in her quest.
Well, that's nice, kid, but Supergirl isn't really for hire, and she doesn't kill. So she's gonna hop into her spaceship and fly back to somewhere with a yellow sun and -- and that's when Krem of the Yellow Hills shows up and shoots Supergirl with a few arrows. Luckily, even mostly unpowered Kryptonians are tough enough to survive arrows -- but Krypto isn't so tough against Krem's poisoned arrows -- and even worse, Krem steals Supergirl's spaceship, too! Well, Kara still isn't willing to kill Krem, but she does need to find out what poison he used so someone can brew up an antidote for Krypto, so she decides to accompany Ruthye to help apprehend the killer.
What follows is a lengthy mission across space as Supergirl and Ruthye pursue Krem. That includes traveling coach on a space freighter filled with sometimes hostile aliens. That includes visiting a small town of little blue aliens who like to appear friendly and are very definitely not friendly. That includes learning of the monstrous depravity and cruelty visited upon dozens of innocent worlds by Krem's new allies in Barbond's Brigands. That includes getting stranded on a planet orbiting a deadly green Kryptonite sun. It includes outrunning certain death. It includes battling an alien armada. It includes watching a friend die. It includes making the ultimate decision: life or death.
Tom King's comics tend to focus on the dark inner psyches of his characters, usually B-level or lower superheroes, like the Vision, Mister Miracle, and the Omega Men. We get less of that here, partly because angsty Supergirl has been done plenty of times and it's no longer interesting, and partly because Ruthye is actually the lead character of the book. Ruthye narrates the tale, Ruthye is in the story from the beginning to the end, Ruthye is the one who learns and grows as a character.
Not that Supergirl is a bit player in the tale. She does a lot to smooth the path they take -- Kryptonian strength, flight, speed, and other powers help a lot, of course. She also has a nose for justice that leads her to work to punish wrongdoers, as well as a compassionate heart that helps her to comfort those who are suffering. She has her moments of darkness, too, particularly when she remembers the slow, painful death of Argo City, the final remnant of Krypton, the few survivors dying of Kryptonite radiation, no matter what is done to help.
King also admits that the plot is a loose homage to Charles Portis' Western novel "True Grit," which may give you a hint of some -- but definitely not all -- of the story beats.
Bilquis Evely's art is worth admiring, too. It's very much unlike anything we've seen in comics in ages. The art style has its roots in the late 19th century and early 20th, particularly in Art Nouveau, and character design pulls its influences from the past, too. Though Supergirl's costume is the classic and traditional superhero outfit, most of the rest of the characters draw inspiration from the art of Charles Dana Gibson, particularly his glamorous Gibson Girls. That means everyone is beautiful (okay, everyone except the alien monsters), the eyes are riveting, and the hair is flowing and luxurious.
That turn-of-the-century design aesthetic dominates the rest of the book, too. Many costumes are ornate and old-fashioned, like they came out of illustrations for an old planetary romance. Some of the spaceships have sails. The alien town of Maypole looks like one of the American small towns in Ray Bradbury stories.
Evely's gorgeous artwork probably gets more attention than King's storytelling -- but that's okay, because her art is genuinely amazing, and probably did more to sell the book to many readers than anything else.
Should you read it? Heck, yeah, kids, get your butt to your nearest comics shop and get yourself a copy.
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