Graphic Novel Review: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely

Posted on November 29, 2022 at 6:35 am by Gene Ambaum

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King, Bilquis Evely (artist), Matheus Lopes (colorist). DC Comics, 2022. 9781779515681. Contains #1 – #8.

After her father is murdered by a man named Krem of the Yellow Hills, Ruthye takes the sword from his body and sets out to find someone to help her take revenge. When a bounty hunter tries to take advantage of her, Supergirl intercedes. Supergirl is on the planet (which is under a red sun, which means she has no powers) so that she can celebrate her twenty-first birthday by getting plastered. She takes out the bounty hunter anyway. While she’s throwing up, Ruthye tries to hire her. Supergirl refuses. But then Krem attacks Supergirl and, more to the point, her dog Krypto, and then steals her ship. So Supergirl and Ruthye set off on a quest to the stars (and toward places with yellow suns) for revenge and to save Krypto’s life. Many people make the mistake of underestimating them. Comet makes an appearance. It’s epic.

This is one of my favorite superhero graphic novels, and it’s right up there with Mark Waid’s run on Legion of Super-Heroes in terms of creating a new tone for a young hero. It makes plain the trauma Supergirl endured as a young person (and how much worse it was than the trauma Superman endured when Krypton exploded), but the story doesn’t marinate in the darkness; Supergirl is a point of light.