The Books of Jeph Loeb

Over the years there have been several incarnations of Supergirl, making the character's story very complicated. Now, however, DC have reintroduced the character in the way she was originally intended; as another survivor of Krypton and Superman's cousin. However, this new Supergirl is incredibly powerful (perhaps more so than Superman) and has a very dark side to her. In this graphic novel she tries to find her place on Earth by spending time with various super-teams, whilst trying to escape the stifling protection of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Among the others she encounters (and trades blows with in most cases) are the Justice Society, the Teen Titans, the Outsiders and the Justice League. However, it is an encounter with her cousin's arch nemesis, Lex Luthor, that leads to her dark emotions being released as an autonomous 'evil twin'. I have to admit, I didn't go looking for this book as I don't like Superman much, let alone his girly cousin. I was pleasantly surprised, however, that this is basically the story of a teenage girl who (like most teenagers) is desperately trying to find out who she is. The darkness which is revealed in Supergirl's character is great, particularly the scene where she turns her frustrated rage against Wonder Girl (she's got the glowing red eyes and all). Heroes battling evil copies of themselves isn't a new concept but it's done very well here as the fighting is brutal and emotional and Supergirl is gripped by the fear that the evil twin may be her true self. One thing I liked about the art in this book is that Supergirl's breasts are relatively small. Now, that might seem like an odd thing to make a note of, but I thought it was quite telling that, rather than making her the usual big-chested heroine who is sold on sex appeal, it seems that the focus with Supergirl is going to be on her character (which is a strong contrast with her doppelganger Power Girl). So be it snogging Nightwing (and Poison Ivy, for that matter), dislocating Superboy's jaw or getting beaten half to death by Lex Luthor, I was suprised to find that I really enjoyed the adventures of this new Supergirl.