WE THINK YOU SHOULD READ: SUPERGIRL WOMAN OF TOMRORROW.
I talk about Superman to every customer in the store. I've been reading his books for the last 30 years of my life and take a lot of what I read from his stories as life lessons. I admire the character - but it wasn't until this book, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow that I realized I have more in common with her than her cousin.
When I was 15, within two weeks time my family lost our home, our dad committed suicide, and the next day our Grandmother died of lung cancer. After my dad's funeral we piled into the car and drove from California to Texas to bury our grandma. Then we just stayed in Texas to start over. My own Krypton had exploded and I was a lost alien in a new land wondering how that happened to so fast and what my future would be like. I think Supergirl probably felt a lot like I did.
For decades, Kara Zor-El's (Supergirl) narrative was shaped by being Superman's younger cousin, the happy go luck teenager that Superman was responsible for after finding her crashed ship (is that still continuity?). But if you peel back the story just a couple more pages you deep you reveal something different. Consider for a second that Supergirl remembers life on Kyrpton, she was a teenager. One day her father tells her that the planet is going to die and she needs to raise her baby cousin on an alien planet. Like any teenager, she has dreams, plans, hopes, friends - she has a life and a whole life ahead of her. Kal-El (Superman's name, if you didn't know) doesn't have those memories - he's only a baby.
Ok, here's where it gets heavy - Krypton explodes, Zor-El (her dad) builds a dome over their city, Argo, so it can survive the explosion of the planet (COMICS!). Thinking they are safe the citizens of this rock realize it is slowly turning into kryponite AND KILLING THEM ALL. So - they are stuck on this rock wandering through space with no escape slowly dying. HEAVY STUFF. Zor-El saves his daughter by sending her to find baby Kal-El and raise him. When she arrives on Earth she finds her baby cousin is fully grown and is the greatest hero in the universe. At some point she had to stop and process what had happened. She's more complex that she's given credit for and Tom King gets that.
Tom King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a thought-provoking and surprising take on the beloved character. King demonstrates his understanding of the intricacies of Kara Zor-El, and how her tragic origin story has been adapted over the years. This story challenges the reader's preconceived notions, as Supergirl is pitted against alien forces. Themes from King's other works are combined to create a unique Supergirl narrative that is unlike anything that has been seen before. It focuses on the horror of Kara's past, and how it is rarely fully explored in the comics. This is an excellent and definitive Supergirl story that should not be missed.
King twice in the early stages of the book purposely stirs up the reader, testing their thoughts about Supergirl. Ruthye, our narrator who may not be trustworthy, tells of Supergirl killing the helpless villain Krem. This leaves us with the vital question: when will Supergirl go back on her essential Super-promise? This creates a great deal of tension; it could be argued that King is ruining Kara's character, before readers can understand how this book is not part of the mainstream continuity.
When Kara first appears, she is inebriated, and both she and King let the reader know that it's okay since she is now of legal age. This is a short-lived tension and resolution, as Supergirl, a paragon of virtue, is seen drinking in a strange alien bar, and the reader is faced with the question of whether or not this is acceptable. Supergirl is shown to still be capable of being heroic, even while drinking. King then takes the concept of superheroes and uses it to investigate and challenge conventional ideas and beliefs. King's writing is reminiscent of Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Traveling Heroes, but with Supergirl, a young alien, and Comet the Super-Horse. They journey through extraterrestrial lands, encountering bigotry, the aftermath of wars, and dragons. King touches on themes like war and its consequences, and that repeated exposure to violence can lead to becoming desensitized to it, and even committing it. In the sixth chapter, "Home, Family, and Refuge," King reveals the destruction of Krypton in a way that feels more genuine than any other version of the story.
This was a story that hit me harder than I ever thought a Supergirl story could, given how Kara has been portrayed in comics - but King peels back layers that make complete sense and moves her narrative into the future. I want you to get this book because not only is it a great read, I think you'll learn something about yourself when you do.