Emanuela Lupacchino

Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

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 show more 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. show less

I dropped out of the Wonder Woman series a few volumes back out of boredom and have skipped ahead to see if Becky Cloonan can bring some new energy to the title.

Soooooo . . . Wonder Woman has gotten herself dead or she's ascending to godhood or something at the end of Dark Knights: Dark Metal (not to be confused with her subsequent death for Dark Crisis mind you) -- and now finds herself in the afterlife. But not the afterlife of Greek mythology; no, no, she's in Valhalla. Turns out some show more rogue god is causing problems across the pantheons, so Wonder Woman has to set aside the rest and relaxation of death and get back to work tracking this big bad villain across the multiverse, with stops in Tartarus, Earth-11, the Phantom Zone, the Fifth Dimension, Gemworld, and a limbo called the In-Between. Fortunately she's helped by a cute squirrel (!).

It's a kinda cheesy, kinda fun road trip, and it all becomes a metaphor for healing the rift between the extremism of MAGA blindered nostalgia and Antifa anarchist revolution. Y'know, the kind of big, hopeful gesture WW is known for.

It's good enough, I'm going to keep on and check out some of the spin-off titles with Nubia and the new Wonder Girl. show less

Starfire: Volume 1 – Welcome Home collects Starfire #1-6 and DC Sneak Peak: Starfire #1 written by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti with pencils by Emanuela Lupacchino and Mirco Pierfederici, inks by Ray McCarthy and Trevor Scott, color by Hi-Fi, and letters by Tom Napolitano. As the story begins, Koriand’r of Tamaran seeks to find a new home on Earth. She asks her friends and colleagues for advice, but Superman points her towards Key West, Florida. There she begins settling in, meeting show more the locals and finds herself assisting in a hurricane and helping to defend the island against a Chida, sent to retrieve Atlee of Strata on behalf of her ex-fiancée. The volume concludes with Kori finding a job, learning about a dangerous man, and fending off a bounty hunter sent from the Citadel. Connor and Palmiotti’s writing is perfect for this version of Starfire, having the right balance of humor and action for a fish-out-of-water comedy while also featuring stunning art awash in color as befits the story’s setting. This updated version of Kori will still appeal to fans of hers from the original George Pérez and Marv Wolfman’s foundational Teen Titans comics or the Teen Titans cartoon series while also working as an introduction for newcomers. show less

The storyline was actually pretty good and seems congruent with the current CW show which is nice since I wish DC was more like Marvel in trying to have continuity throughout their media. Steve Orlando did a good job in creating realistic characters, which is saying something since he’s writing about superheroes and villains, as well as readable dialogue. His stories flow, make sense and keep your attention. I liked how he portrayed the personality and character of Kara and felt he upheld show more what the fans look for in her.

Overall the art was gorgeous, fit with the story line and seemed in character for what DC has tried to do for Supergirl except for one thing. The art in this graphic novel made Kara out to look like she was barely into her teen years, if that, when she should’ve been portrayed as much older. Most of the expressions on her face make her seem borderline teenage bratty or petulant instead of having a strong attitude. The vast majority of the frames are completely in contrast with the cover and the opening pages where she looks older and more mature. show less