Out With The Old And The New — Reviewing ‘Supergirl’ #9

New Years is a time of celebration to let go of the past and look toward a potentially better future. A change of the calendar can spur new mindsets, new goals, new behaviors, and new status quos.

For Kara Zor-El though, the rolling over of the calendar brings more heartache, disappointment, and loss than anything else. It’s a melancholy affair in Supergirl #9 from Sophie Campbell, Joe Quinones, and Becca Carey.

So many things came to a head in this issue in the most unexpected of ways. Through the first eight issues, Campbell set up a lot of character beats, plots, and threads. We were given a grand dynamic of this quartet of women with Kara at the center supporting each other and journeying through the days and months in Midvale.

Within one night, though, it’s all broken up.

Campbell is a masterful storyteller, and it shows here. All the foundation built allows the hard moments here to hit directly on the heart. We’re watching these connections sour and break, putting the title character in a hard position, juggling what is best for others but also her own emotions and feelings of betrayal.

That moment between Lena and Kara … damn. Just damn.

Right away, I’m going to reiterate that I love what Campbell is doing and trust her completely. I was a bit bummed at where things are left with Lesla, especially the reveal about her parents and Kandor machinations, but there is clearly somewhere this is going. Our hero stumbles and makes a choice that they believe is right, but really seemingly might not be is how we get character growth and development. The Supers are not perfect, nor should they ever be.

They are flawed beings who are trying their best to uphold good and truth. That’s not always going to be pretty or leave them personally in a great spot.

Quinones guests as the artist this month and just delivers that stunning style he’s known for. He easily captures the more fun aspects of the issue with the party with the dense detailed and emotional aesthetics of the art. That balances with the heavier, darker, and more emotionally punchy elements we get later.

I’ve always loved Quinones’ art for how it really fits so well into a middle space between realistic and whimsical. Soft smoothness that meets sharp angular roughness give everything a very authentic and living breathing feeling. Paneling emphasizes the sense of scale and space in every setting they enter.

The art is paired with coloring that does a balancing act of its very own. It lies somewhere between the sharp vibrancy we need in a story like this and the lighter, more natural denser coloring which sets up the baseline, giving visual familiarity to every space mixed with the flashier fantasticness of it all.

All the same can be said for Carey, who, month in and month out, always delivers. She brings power and density to the lettering, casting each voice in a unique way to evoke the full emotion and differentiation for everyone on the page. Additionally, there are elements dropped into the mix which maximize the visual power of the lettering. Modifications bring color, shape changes, and more into the picture with such ease.

Supergirl #9 is now available from DC Comics.