The Batmom

Supergirl 9

COVERGIRL: Groovy. I like the concentric circles and Black Banshee’s crazy eyes. Supergirl looks she’s tiptoeing so as not to attract his attention, which seems a smart move, if not very superheroic. She kinda looks like the main character in a YA book. Super Harriet the Spy.

INSIDE STORY: Kara’s new Irish friend Siobhan, aka Silver Banshee, tries to fight her destiny and resist domineering dad, the Black Banshee, a supernaturally mean SOB who wants his daughter by his side sucking souls dry.

Siobhan and Kara spend issue 9 battling bad-ass Double B and battling the more powerful, less controlled selves they become in his malevolent presence. Finally, in a desperate attempt to save Siobhan, Supergirl flies headfirst into Black Banshee’s glowing center.

RAMBLE: The Michaels Johnson and Green can surely write themselves a comic book. I am loving the Banshee Family Feud so much I can practically hear the tragic 13-verse Irish ballad in my head, but where’s it going to leave me when the last “Come home, Silver Banshee, to me” is sung?

Back with blah-di-blah Supergirl.

WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Supergirl/Kara Zor-El: Recently arrived to earth from her home planet, Krypton. Older cousin of Superman on Krypton; younger cousin of Superman on earth

Black Banshee: Celtic dude. Bad dude.

Silver Banshee/Siobhan Smythe: Kara's new friend, introduced in issue 8. Daughter of Black Banshee.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Supergirl’s home planet, Krypton, has been destroyed, along with most of its inhabitants. She and an unknown number of other Kryptonians are on earth. Feeling lost, Supergirl was happy to make the acquaintance of Siobhan, but now it turns out she's a bad guy named Silver Banshee.

Superfast Supergirl #8: A Short Sprint

Impressed by @JaneEspenson’s writing sprints, I’m conducting a solo mini. Goal: 1 review. 15 minutes of writing. 5 minutes of editing.

7:33 p.m. GO.

7:34. Because I only have 10 fingers and not 15, it took me 60 whole seconds to add 15 to 7:33. I will never be a Mathlete. No Captain Abacus, I.

Covergirl: (Which I wrote last night. Boring Fact Added During 5-Minute Editing Sprint: I always write the Covergirls before opening the comic book, and a day before writing the review. So this part isn’t part of the sprint.)

I don’t know, maybe I’m being harsh, but I’m just kind of growing tired of Supergirl. She hits the stands the same week as Wonder Woman, and it’s always WOW WONDER WOMAN followed by, oh and there’s Supergirl.

I do like the female Skeletor, especially her fierce-yet-feminine white corset. But come on, Supergirl. At least if you’re going to scream, be a Woman about it.

INSIDE STORY: Having just rid the planet Earth of the World Killers, Supergirl faces some unthankful Army guys wielding guns. Out of the crowd springs a silver-haired sprite, possessing a gift for gab in any tongue, including Kryptonian. Supergirl dashes, taking her new friend Siobhan Smythe with her. Siobhan, like Supergirl, has left home (Ireland) and feels a bit lost.

The two bond, they share, and then at the end Siobhan turns into an evil skull-head wearing a silver Riverdance costume: Silver Banshee.

Ramble: A great read, primarily because of the intriguing pixiesh Siobhan Smythe. I want to read Supergirl #9 because I want to know about Siobhan’s bad-girl self, why she thought she could escape her villainous destiny by running away to America, and what’s up with her rock star dad Black Banshee. Who, by the way, has a totally cool face, not a skull head like his daughter.

Great issue, but begs a question: If the same writers who created Supergirl created Silver Banshee (the New 52 iteration, assuming she’s historic), why can’t they make me as interested in my superhero as I am in this super anti-hero?

I keep all my comic books in a big orange box, which shall hereby be known as The Big Orange Box. Supergirl may be the first woman voted out.