Summer of Supergirl Special #1: A Wholesome One-Shot

The “Summer of Supergirl Special #1“ is a one-shot focusing on Kara Zor-El, the vastly underrated cousin of Superman. Since this one-shot comic is divided into three stories (one main story and two bonus stories) with individual creative teams, below I’ve broken this review down story by story so readers have a clear idea of what they’re getting into.

Warning: Some limited spoilers for all three stories below.

The Main Story: “The Main Man’s Best Friend” (By: Sophie Campbell, Belén Ortega, Tríona Farrell, and Becca Carrey)

Coming off the end of last week’s Lobo #4 by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona, “The Main Man’s Best Friend” mostly reads like a side story found in the last few pages of a more prolific title. That said, it’s a delightful detour into a short but heartwarming tale that proves even Lobo’s heart is full of love. Sophie Campbell’s run on the current Supergirl title has been one of Kara’s most memorable solo books in recent times, primarily because Campbell just gets Kara as a character without having to delve into melodramatic story arcs every few issues for the sake of constant, contrived character development.

In this special’s main story, Sophie Campbell captures both Kara and Lobo by placing the conflict around something they both care about… their pets. While Lobo is briefly out of the picture, Kara cares for his dog, aptly named Dawg. This leads to a chaotic reunion that is very in line with Lobo’s antics across his many appearances as a “punch first, ask questions later” kind of guy. Side characters like Lobo’s daughter Crush and Princess Shark are also given their own B plot that adds more to the general tone than it does the plot and makes the story feel larger than it is without drawing too much from the pacing.

Belén Ortega’s pen is rich with scenic spacing and character details. Lobo himself has one of his best character designs I’ve seen here, and even the side character Princess Shark Leegra has a very unique design of her own. Ortega frequently breaks up the panel layout’s rhythm page to page, which gives the story’s pacing some added variety.

Tríona Farrell’s colors carry the same bright and hopeful tone that Sophie Campbell’s writing espouses throughout this main story. The shading and lighting are both consistent even across pages where Ortega uses several panels for shot-by-shot action beats.

Bonus Story 1: “Lost Girls” (By: Gail Simone, Emma Kubert, Sandra Hope, Trish Mulvihill, and Ariana Maher)

Gail Simone’s bonus story, “Lost Girls,” is a wholesome read about all the children of the world who don’t quite have someone to look up to. The poignant message of the story is delivered to readers in both the dialogue and the action. As Supergirl teams up with a fellow heroine I won’t spoil here to take down a powerful foe, they find the necessary strength in one another to overcome their enemy. Of the three, this story leans most heavily on its message, which feels positively Supergirl-coded.

Emma Kubert and Sandra Hope’s line art is strong, especially in the action beats that serve the plot in Simone’s writing. With dramatic flair and panels that deliberately overlap, there is a sense of motion to this bonus story in particular, which is heavily driven by the action. The pair uses a couple of different camera angles to orient readers in each scene and helps the page turns feel interesting. Trish Mulvihill’s colors bring a grainy shading to Kubert and Hope’s scenes and evoke the different textures on an individual page.

Bonus Story 2: “Who is Supergirl?” (By: Mark Waid, Cian Tormey, Alex Guimarães, and Steve Wands)

Mark Waid’s bonus story gives readers a fast-tracked origin story combining most of Supergirl’s major storylines throughout the comic book eras. In doing so, Waid’s writing carefully analyzes Kara’s character and her unforgettable role in the wider DC Comics universe. Mark Waid does this by showing readers Supergirl’s complicated Justice League archives. It’s an effective plot device that enables the storyline to go through time quickly and simply without losing its overall point in the process.

As Kara has been changed so many times and has had numerous different characterizations to the point that she’s been split into two characters, this bonus story is surprisingly helpful, especially for new fans. In short, Waid combines all of Kara’s various popular portrayals over the past several decades into one neat timeline for new and long-term readers alike.

Cian Tormey’s line art is properly weighted, and Alex Guimarães’ colors have a vivid shading to them that really pops off the page, even during the longer dialogue sequences that make up the entirety of Waid’s bonus story. Together Tormey and Guimarães are able to bring out Supergirl’s many iconic looks as the artwork goes through Kara’s past and present.