Supergirl #16

Supergirl #16I’ll be honest, I haven’t looked at the current Supergirl title since the first days of the New 52 and I haven’t been keeping up with Superman, either. That means I felt a little lost at the beginning of this “He’l on Earth” tie-in, but what I really picked up the issue for, Supergirl going one-on-one with the Flash, the comic delivered.

From what I could understand there’s an alien named He’l who wants to travel back in time to save Krypton. A somewhat smitten Kara is in favor, while Superman is not. While the Man of Steel and (apparently) the Justice League are busy with He’l this issue focuses on the Flash fighting, and trying to talk some sense into, Superman’s stubborn cousin.

There’s plenty of action along with a couple humorous surprises for the Scarlet Speedster as his discovers that Superman not only has a zoo in the Fortress of Solitude but also a dog. The story does a good job explaining how the Flash can keep up with Kara by choosing to focus on how the hero thinks and moves faster than everyone, even Kryptonians.

Even though I enjoyed the art by Mahmud A. Asrar, the comic does suffer from the same problem with every Flash appearance not drawn by Francis Manapul in the inconstant drawing and coloring of the yellow streaks and lightning that only appear in about half the comic’s panels featuring the hero. Use them or don’t use them, but using them for only half the issue doesn’t work. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]