Supergirl #41 // Review
A young Kryptonian aids in disaster recovery in Florida only to find herself haunted by phantoms of the past in Supergirl #41. Writer Jodi Houser frames a very clear and simple story for Kara Zor-El in an issue drawn by Rachael Stott. Colorist Cris Peter lends depth to the panels. Memories of Supergirl’s hellish transformation into something very, very dark, serves as a much more sinister shadow than it did when she was actually suffering from it in issues past. The moodiness of the story feels potent enough to carry the issue, but in light of all of the events of the recent past, #41 feels a bit sparse on action and dramatic weight.
Supergirl has just recovered from the infection that made her look like some weird Judge Death-style mutation of herself. She’s trying to find herself, so naturally, she’s going to want to get lost in her work under the bright red cape. Duty calls in a tornado-damaged Florida, but phantom visions brought on in the wake of the infection are the least of her problems when the US government takes notice of her activity. She only wants to help, but will she be able to with all of the baggage of the recent past?
Houser’s story takes a deep dive into Kara’s psyche. Supergirl is determined to prove to herself that she’s better. She HAS recovered, but the phantoms of the past stick...and they stick in a way that doesn’t bring a whole lot of thematic complexity to the issue. She’s powerful. She did bad things when she was infected. She wants to do good things now. Not a whole lot going on here, but it IS admirable to see Houser give Kara a starkly simple task this issue. Supergirl has got a long way until she can feel stable again, and she DOES have to start somewhere. It’s just too bad Houser isn’t able to deliver much depth to this moment in Kara’s life.
Stott is given a wide-open canvas on which to render Supergirl’s uneasy mood. Though there IS a respectably immersive feel to Florida thanks in part to Peter’s use of color, Houser’s script makes it exceedingly difficult to deliver the kind of nuanced impact necessary to render the kind of haunting effect that this issue seems to call for. The chapter is not without its appeal, however. Stott does an excellent job with perspective in select moments as Kara zips around the overcast Florida skies in some very gracefully-composed panels.
There may not be a lot going on in this issue, but Houser and Stott do an admirable job of sketching out a moment in Kara’s psyche. It’s a moody lead-in to what will likely be a much more substantial story next issue with the meeting that’s set-up at issue’s end. The rhythm of the story could have led to that meeting in a much more compelling way if the pacing had just a bit more punch.
