Supergirl #40 Review

Written by: K. Perkins and Mike Johnson
Art by: Emanuela Lupacchino
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 18, 2015

(In)Completely Awesome

I have been a big fan of Perkins and Johnson's run on Supergirl.  Others may have scoffed at the whole Crucible Academy story, but to me it sounded like a lot of fun.  Guess what?  It was. Unfortunately, it ended a bit too soon.  Too soon for me and also (it seems) for the creative team.  I am sad that we didn't get to see the full potential of this story, but the writers did a great job of ending it without it feeling too rushed.  So, it's with a heavy heart that I review this last issue of Supergirl (for now) and say goodbye to a kick ass creative team that should have been on this book for a lot longer.

I mentioned above that this ending to the Crucible story didn't feel too rushed and I mean that. Instead of ending a first arc, Perkins and Johnson had to end a series.  That's a tough job for anyone and I say they passed the test with flying colors.  Of course, fans of the book will notice a couple of cut corners along the way...Kara mentioning all the things she learned, students becoming preceptors, Comet and Tsavo showing up out of nowhere...they all come off as odd, but the circumstances dictated them. The one thing that wasn't rushed was the feeling that Kara and her new friends had formed a bond.  A bond and a killer Superhero team.

It's a shame we won't get more of this team ,because they get the job done.  They make quick work of Korstus and Roho and then concentrate on saving Superboy.  Kara shows why her name is on the book and Superboy tries to duplicate his "Krypton Returns" heroics by saving the day and living to tell the story.  Then we get my favorite part of issues like this...finding out what everyone is going to do next.

Comet is off to check on "The Wanderers" (I want that story) while Tsavo and Maxima will run the Crucible Academy.  Superboy is off to jump into Teen Titans Annual #1 and Supergirl is heading back to Earth to work on her barista skills.  It doesn't feel "big", but Perkins and Johnson sneak in a little cliffhanger that points to the direction the Supergirl book will take when it inevitably returns. I'm sure some people will be up in arms about it, but I'll take a wait and see approach.

The main thing I took away from this issue was it is such a shame we aren't getting more.  I want to see Kara learning how to combine her powers, I want to see her and Maxima become best friends (or maybe more?!?), I want to see the awkward conversations between Comet and Mike, I want to see Tsavo become a great leader in spite of his brother's betrayal.  I want all that and so much more.  I guess I'll just have to come up with those stories in my head for now.  That sucks!  I don't come up with good stories, that's why I only review comics!

I'm also going to miss Emanuela Lupacchino's art.  It was so good and really combined with the story in such a seamless way that felt right.  This book was so fun to look at and this issue continued to show why.

Bits and Pieces:

How many times can I say I'm going to miss this book.  In a perfect world (or alternate one...say Earth 93), this book would continue and we'd get the full Crucible story.  If I've learned anything, though,  this isn't a perfect world and we'll have to be happy with what we got...a cool Supergirl story with great art.  Man, I wish this was Earth 93!

8.0/10