Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Supergirl #48

By Andy Frisk
January 5, 2010 - 16:40

New Krypton is approaching crisis stage, General Lane is pushing Earth ever closer towards war with the Kryptonians, General Zod (while currently injured) is scheming to destroy Earth, Lana Lang is dying, and Supergirl #48 features a story which focuses on a C or B level (at best) super-villain? Sterling Gates either really, really wanted to tell a Silver Banshee story, some filler issues were needed, or maybe (and hopefully) Silver Banshee might have something to do with General Lane’s anti-Kryptonian plans (he is using magical characters against Kryptonians). Either way, it just seems like an inopportune time to divert Kara and Supergirl off onto some possibly irrelevant tangent adventure when there’s so much going on in the world of the Superman Family. Maybe it’s “all part of the plan,” but right now it seems like Gates is playing the part of an “agent of chaos” (yes, I still have The Dark Knight playing in my head somewhere on one of my subconscious frequencies)…

Giving our favorite Kryptonian teenager a challenge is always a good plot device, and Silver Banshee definitely represents a challenge since Kryptonians have no super powered defense against magic. It just feels like a plot diversion dropped in that doesn’t make sense in the overall scheme of the current World of New Krypton storyline. Supergirl #48 is well written and plotted, that’s not the issue here. Gates has been great, and he’s done wonders for Supergirl, it’s just that the timing of the story feels off. Maybe it will all fall into place though.

Dagnino’s work is solid, and he draws an interesting looking Silver Banshee and moves between the Scot countryside and the glass and steel canyons of Metropolis effortlessly. His grasp on anatomy is fine and his facial expressions are realistic looking, but (you knew it was coming) I miss Jamal Igle’s work on this title. Again, there’s nothing wrong with Dagnino’s work and he’s a talented artist, but (again) Igle really brought Supergirl to new heights along with Gates. Igle enhanced and built upon the late Michael Turner’s grand visual rejuvenation of the character.

Supergirl, like all the Superman Family titles, is still a very well done book that I look forward to reading every month. The shift in storyline just has me off track this month. Let’s get back to the New Krypton plot threads…

Rating: 7 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12