Supergirl #18 // Review
Kara is moving-in to the Antarctic. Clark has his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic. Kara now has her Fortress of Solidarity in the Antarctic. She's getting together with all of her friends and giving them a place to live and work. Naturally, they are going to be some growing pains. Naturally, they are going to be some issues in Supergirl #18. Writer/artist Sophie Campbell opens a whole new chapter for Kara with a glance at an orphan and forgotten past incarnation of Supergirl.
It may be a lot of people getting together, who don't necessarily know each other's boundaries yet. But that's sort of the situation that you get with any kind of a shared living arrangement. And variably they were going to be people who show up uninvited. Or at least unexpected. Lena’s been working with something known as Matrix. What she doesn’t know is that it isn’t a just a piece of old tech. It’s a person. And it used to BE Supergirl.
What with all that has to go into a script for a long running series like Supergirl, it's easier for any author to overlook some of the basic fundamentals in the midst of establishing conflicts and resolving them and doing all of the pains, taking work that needs to be done with the world building. With the latest issue of the series, Campbell does a very sharp job of working with the imagination of the fans of the series. The entire extended ensemble now has very specific places to be that are illustrated in great detail. Everyone has a very distinct personality. There's no way that everything that Campbell is putting on a page could ever be fully explored. At least not in the pages of a comic book. But a big part of the success of any series or any character is how well they interface with the fans. With the latest issue of the series, Campbell creates an entire playground for the readers imagination with the extended ensemble. It's practically like a sourcebook for the imagination. Really impressive stuff.
Campbell does a really cool job of rendering a comprehensive map of Kara’s new place on the far end of the Earth. The high-tech facility is inhabitants by some really interesting people. The issue allows Campbell, an opportunity to explore intricate emotions in and within the characters while also firmly establishing the visual personality of the new base of operations.
It’s nice to see Campbell accepting Matrix as a part of the current continuity. In a way it feels like a really neat homage to creator John Byrne and longtime Matrix chronicler Peter David, who. recently passed away. There is a lot of real love that was poured into that version of the character. She's been rather casually discarded when DC editorial decided it was OK for Kara to come back.. It's nice to see her brought back in a way that allows for another chance to embrace Kara’s altruism.
