About halfway through his first story arc, Jeph Loeb lost me on this title. The series started out on a wonderfully strong note, but it stumbled afterward. I decided to check out this new story arc, and I was pleased to find the same strong two-pronged narration and insight into the unusual relationship between the two title characters. What didn't work for me this time around was the art. Michael Turner, with the aid of the colorist, achieves an enjoyable atmosphere of darkness and tension, but some of the figures are sketchy and one in particular is completely gratuitous.
A recent meteor shower has forced Superman into seclusion, as some of those falling space rocks were made of Kryptonite. Heroes around the world scramble to gather up the radioactive debris, and in Gotham's harbor, the Batman discovers Kryptonite isn't all that's fallen from the sky. Meanwhile, a mysterious young woman, speaking a language unlike any other on Earth, wanders the streets of Gotham, confused, scared and alone. Some rough customers, and the Dark Knight, soon discover that just because she looks vulnerable doesn't mean she's helpless.
Hey kids, look! It's a naked chick! And a probably a teenage chick at that! Isn't it sexy?!? So Top Cow. Oops, I mean, so Aspen, or Fathom. Whatever. The point is... NAKED BLONDE! She's got the body of a porn star but the big innocent eyes of a sheletered school girl! Aren't you excited?!?!?
Well, I'm not. What's most frustrating about this gratuitous re-introduction of a character just doesn't make sense. Why would she be rocketed into space naked? No blankets? No space suit? It's a shame that this objectification is the dominant visual in the book, because there is some strong artwork to be found here otherwise. turner does a great job of capturing the Batman's underwater actions and gear, and he brings an appropriately dark intensity to the character as well. Steigerwald's dank, muted colors bring a fittingly mature and somewhat surreal tone to the story as well.
Loeb continues to pepper his scripts for this series with observations that the two title characters make about one another. It offers insight into both characters and fleshes them out beyond the one or two dimensions to which we're accustomed.
Plot-wise, this new six-part story arc has just barely gotten underway. I love the darker, edgier tone the creators have brought in their tribute to the Silver Age introduction of Supergirl. I have to admit that this strikes me as a bit early to be telling another new Supergirl story. Peter David's Kara Zor-El story is still fresh in many readers' memories, as is the ill-conceived Supergirl from the future from Steven T. Seagle's recent Superman stint.
