My first exposure to Supergirl was when I was a wee little lad watching some movie that had some blond haired chick flying and trying to be like Christopher Reeve. Flash forward a few years and I see Supergirl gracing the pages of Superman, sleeping with Lex Luthor and getting punched in the face by Doomsday (and subsequently turning into some alien purple goo thing). Basically, I’ve had a pretty uninteresting relationship with this character. I started buying the book with the coming of New Krypton, so while I can’t say I’m the hugest fan of the character, I’m certainly enjoying the hell out of New Krypton storyline.

As one would assume, this issue picks up the plot threads left from the previous issue, but turns the focus more on Kara. For me, Gates did a masterful job writing this issue. Even though I’ve only known her father (and really her) since the implementation of New Krypton, I was still amazed at how much his death affected me. The pages leading up to his passing are both heroic and sad, and even though his final death words are cliched, I still felt a sense of loss for Kara. The pages are well paced, but it’s really the art and coloring of those panels that really add that punch to it. The moments with Kara’s grief are reminiscent of those moments that Superman had in previous issues. There are several quiet moments with Kara’s grief aimed at nothing in particular. It’s a subtle and nice touch, and for me, it brings the character that much more into the Superman family.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the New Krypton aspects of the story were simply fantastic, and I’m finding the story threads, particularly Kara’s mother, to be compelling in all the right ways. It’s interesting to see Superman juggle all of these mixed emotions, and honestly, I think the end of this storyline is going to change Superman for the better, or at least, it will make his books so much more interesting to read.

The pencils in this issue are fantastic. I’ve already touched on the death of Kara’s father, which was superbly drawn, but the rest of the issue looks great. It’s got a nice pace to it, and the framing of both the action and the character moments are excellent. Jamal Igle draws a hell of a book.

As an entry into the New Krypton storyline, this issue is just as good as the previous ones. It propels the story forward while offering excellent character moments. This is not one to miss.