The quest to find a cold-blooded murderer continues, as Supergirl finds herself in a town where some dark deeds might be hiding just beneath the surface. Your Major Spoilers review of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3 from DC Comics, awaits!
SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW #3 (OF 8)
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Brittany Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 25th, 2021
Previously in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: Supergirl has agreed to help a young girl find the man who murdered her father, after he also severely injured Krypto. After being under the effects of a red sun, Kara isn’t at full strength, which has made the search difficult.
THE STREETS OF MAYPOLE
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 opens with Supergirl and her companion on an alien planet at a town called Maypole. She speaks with a police officer about the whereabouts of Krem, who they believe had been there. The police officer is non-cooperative and claims he doesn’t know the person they’re asking about. Kara then goes to get a room at the inn, along the way she notices other instances of the townspeople being standoffish and strangeness in relation to the color purple. The next day, they continue their search for Krem, but find nothing. That night, the two are ambushed and gunmen open fire on them as they sleep. Having survived due to Supergirl having her imperviousness returned because she’s back under a yellow sun, the duo apprehend the attackers and they go to get answers from the mayor. Not getting what she wants, Kara sets out into the wilderness where she comes across the remains of a town called Purpletown along with the remains of those who lived there. Back in town she’s told that sometime prior a group known as The Brigands arrived wanting to commit genocide if not paid. The blues of the planet couldn’t afford it all, but Krem suggested that The Brigands kill the purples to make up the difference. He’s then recruited by the murderers.
SHOCKING CONCLUSION
This series has borrowed heavily from the Western genre in the first two issues and that continues here as well. Through her narration, we see the young girl start to realize more about who Kara is and the bond between them deepening in a similar way to True Grit. So, a lot of this issue plays out as expected: Supergirl rolls into town, asks some questions, ruffles some feathers, fight time. But, this issue takes a big turn once things start to get revealed about the relationship between the blues and purples. This quickly becomes an allegory for segregation and genocide, with what happened to the purples being reminiscent to both the Tulsa Race Massacre as well as the countless instances of racial violence enacted upon the indigenous population in America. Now, unfortunately some of the impact of these subject matters being here is lessened by the fact that they’re broached via a conflict between stout little blue and purple aliens, but that doesn’t mean they were handled poorly. At a certain point though, it became clear that that was what they were going for so it wasn’t completely surprising. What was shocking though was how the issue ends. Typically you’d expect there to be some sort of justice enacted via two Kryptonian fists, yet here we don’t get that. What we do get is the young girl having a revelation about the universe and then suddenly no longer wanting to speak about her time at Maypole. There’s no catharsis here and as readers we’re left in a similar unsteady state about life, or in the reader’s case how comics are supposed to go.
FINE LOOKING COMIC BOOK
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3 and the series as a whole is one of the best looking comics out there right now. Bilquis Evely’s art is reminiscent of 60s and 70s French, ligne Claire, Sci-Fi and the similarities only grows when you add Matheus Lopes’ colors. The way they handle lighting is particularly impressive, not settling for just grey or dark blue to handle shade, instead the absence of light is often colored with pinks and purple that make the whole issue feel as if it’s in the hours of dawn and dusk.
BOTTOM LINE: UGLY SUBJECT MATTER, GORGEOUS ART
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3 goes to some dark and ugly places in the course of 28 pages. Now, the handling of these subjects might not be the best we’ve seen in the comics medium, but they aren’t handled poorly either. Also, credit should be given for the restraint shown in not giving the reader a cathartic but shallow conclusion. Combine this with stunning art that makes this series look unlike anything out there right now and you have a stellar comic book. 5 out of 5 stars.
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Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #2
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3 manages to succeed on every level. A beautiful book, it keeps the tone of the previous issues in the series, while showing it can go into some more challenging places.
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Writing10
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Art10
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Coloring10
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.