DC has been on a roll this fall with revamps of solo female titles like Batgirl and Catwoman, and next week, a new creative team arrives on Supergirl to take Kara Zor-El in a different direction. Kate Perkins joins former Supergirl writer Mike Johnson as co-writer on the title, and their first issue together sees Kara thrown into a new environment as the latest student at Crucible Academy, a school that Johnson describes as “Hogwarts crossed with a Star Destroyer” in an interview with Comic Book Resources.
DC has struggled to find a strong angle for Supergirl in The New 52, most recently playing off her angry teen persona to briefly make her a member of the Red Lanterns. But a change of setting may be just what Kara needs to become a more interesting character. This preview of next week’s issue doesn’t give the character time to catch her breath as she’s mysteriously teleported from Earth to an outer space locale, putting her in the middle of a fight with no prep time. It’s an exciting sequence that poses a lot of questions for the rest of the story, featuring striking art from Emanuela Lupacchino and colorist Hi-Fi.
Luppachino has illustrated issues of Supergirl in the past, and her clean, detailed style brings the cosmic environment to life in these preview pages. More importantly, this preview introduces a new costume for the character, a suit of Kryptonian armor that covers her entire body. It’s a welcome departure from her New 52 redesign, with its strange thigh-high boots (complete with unnecessary knee cut-outs) and awkward red crotch shield. Judging from this preview, this new creative team is making some strong decisions for the character, and hopefully Kara will be joining Barbara Gordon and Selina Kyle as one of DC’s revitalized superheroines.