Review: Supergirl #31

"The House Of El United"

Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Kevin Maguire, Eduardo Pansica, Sean Parsons and Eber Ferreira
Color Artist: Fco Plascencia
Letterer: Tom Napolitano 

Review by Adam Ray

Summary

Supergirl #31 picks up where #30 ended. There's something iconic about seeing the Superman family united. Supergirl, the Man Of Steel, his son and Krypto are a legendary team. The issue follows them as they defeat an army of Rogol Zar’s followers, and the family learns how deep the plans that destroyed Krypton were.

Following this they decide to seek out Gandelo, to make her pay for all the wanton destruction.

Positives

If a writer throws together enough legendary characters, the result will always feel grand. This certainly fits that bill. The great red ‘S’ on some of comic’s finest characters makes seeing them all together on one page feel grand. Readers are treated with this gathering of the super family. It doesn’t even need to be anything remarkable, them just grabbing some food together in a more subdued character issue would have been satisfying. Seeing the Super Family together is a personal comics highlight for some.

Negatives

You’d expect some emotional weight to Superman and Jor El learning what really happened to Krypton, that should have been a huge moment. However, I saw none of that. This issue – though incredibly satisfying to see the El’s kick butt – felt very throw-away. It did very little to contribute to the ongoing storyline.

Verdict

The rich artwork makes the battles across space feel grandiose and deserving. The characters this issue has gathered together are amongst comic’s finest. However, I feel that the injection of Superman hasn’t really produced the jump-start that this title needs. The arc that finally revealed what really happened to Krypton is ending, but I personally do not feel that this is as big a deal as it should be.

Nevertheless, Supergirl #31 is critical to understand what happened, and I’m curious to see if this fun title can stay super.

Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment

(A version of this review originally appeared on the DC Comics News website on June 17th 2019)