There have been a few Supergirls over the years.  The most famous was killed in the 80s during Crisis on Infinite Earths.  She was replaced by a couple of other Supergirls (Matrix?) and then recently replaced by a form of the version we know (Superman’s cousin).

This new version is a return to the classic concept.  It’s Superman’s cousin.  But it is the start of her career.  She doesn’t know she is on Earth and cannot speak english yet.  She gets her powers fast though.

The story is fast-moving and sets up the basics very fast.  There are some good mysteries, like what is happening to her hands.  And I really like the dialogue from the other comics that were inserted while she was hearing stuff from all over the world.

While the story is sparse, the art is fresh.  The images are clean and open, and provide a great sense of movement and action. The artist likes to draw mechs and he does it well.

I really like the new ‘Alien’ Supergirl.   B    — Don

Supergirl is neck and neck with Hawkman for most rebooted versions in the DCU. She started out as Superman’s cousin, got killed off in Crisis, came back as a half-protoplasm half-dead-girl thingy that was also half angel or something (I know, that’s three halves… just accept it), also came back as Superman’s cousin, was also Power Girl who was Superman’s cousin and/or an ancient Atlantean, was recently Superman’s cousin again, and also a crossdressing Superboy Prime (okay, at least one of those is made up. Sorry, only the last one is made up… so far. Give them time…).

It looks like she’s back to being Superman’s cousin, which works fine here. I think they stopped that originally because it took away from Superman’s “uniqueness” as Krypton’s sole survivor. It’s not that impressive when there’s also a dog, a cat, a monkey, his cousin, the Phantom Zone criminals, etc. If this new 52 keeps going for a few decades, that might well happen again, but for now, Supergirl is off to a rather good start. Like Superman, there are obvious changes to her costume, but the overall look is still recognizable. The “S” shield reminds me a bit too much of the electric Superman’s symbol, though, but that was actually a cool look, just not the best status quo for him. This is a chance to see what it might have been like for Superman if he had come to Earth as an adult and instead of being found by the Kents was instantly “attacked” by armored assailants. Unlike Superman and Action, this issue serves as a good origin story – there’s still back-story to be learned, but what we don’t know doesn’t get in the way of the plot and gives us something to look forward to. Like all of the #1s so far, the art is pretty polished and hopefully this quality can be maintained on monthly basis.

One nice touch I noticed – when she first experiences super-hearing, the dialogue she picks up is straight from other DC books that must be happening at the same time. It’s one of those nice bonuses that gives you a little something extra if you notice it but it doesn’t confuse you if you’re only reading Supergirl.

A-  — Ed