Early November Solicits. Dark Supergirl ... Again .... yeesh

DC has early solicited some of their November books so that orders for special 'acetate' covers can be gauged. Here is a link to that story over on Newsarama: https://www.newsarama.com/46215-dc-comics-november-2019-solicitations.html

But more than anything, it had me muse over a famous quote by Satayana.

'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.'

Because, in case you can't tell from the studded leather corseted, KISS make-up wearing, angry red eyed Supergirl on the cover of Supergirl #36, we have once again entered a Dark Kara phase. 

It occurs about every 3 years. 
It never works.
And we need to rebound from it.

Here I thought 'Queen of the Axe' Kara was Marc Andreyko's Dark Kara. But he and Dan Didio said 'hold our beers while we get shots of whiskey'.

Here is the solicit:

SUPERGIRL #36
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JULIO FERREIRA
acetate cover by DAN MORA
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

Supergirl—the infected! Brainiac-1 attempts to contact Supergirl at the Fortress of Solitude, but for what nefarious purpose? No matter what he has planned, things are about to go from bad to worse as Supergirl heads on a collision course with the Batman Who Laughs! He’s targeted Superman as part of his plan to infect heroes and transform them into their twisted Dark Multiverse counterparts—but Supergirl gets caught in the crossfire, and the Year of the Villain stakes get even higher!

And frankly, I'm tired of this.

Even if this is temporary, which of course it is, DC Editorial could have decided not to have Supergirl succumb, not to have Supergirl infected. But instead we get the drum beat again. 

As I have said many times, one of the reasons I started this blog way back in 2008 was because I didn't like what was happening with Supergirl around that time.

2003 - Brainwashed by Darkseid, implied they may have been lovers.

2005 - Split into Dark Supergirl. Bitter and angry. Doesn't like much.

2007 - Zor-El sent her to Earth to kill Superman. She shot up her school with him thinking her classmates were possessed.

So much wrong there. Supergirl is supposed to be optimistic, seeing the best in people. She is learning and might be fierce in achieving her goals. But she shouldn't be dark ... ever.

And yet ...

2011 - Again Dark, albeit as she deals with survivor's guilt

2011 - New 52 Supergirl hates Earth, hates her cousin, wants to be left alone, willing to destroy Earth with H'El, leaves Earth, gets killed by her evil father.

2014 - Embraces rage and becomes a Red Lantern, albeit as a way to a redemption tale and her shedding the darkness of her past.

2019 - A new direction gets taken where, despite all that has happened since Red Daughter and during Rebirth, she again embraces rage, leaves Earth, becomes Queen of the Axe, and comes close to killing people a bunch of times.

Can't get worse, can it?

Turns out it can.

Seriously.

The sad thing is we get the right tone for Supergirl out of these dark times. And those books sell well and consistently.

Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle.
Tony Bedard.
K. Perkins.
Steve Orlando.
Jody Houser.

All those runs, with a heroic, optimistic, young and learning Supergirl, are great.

I guess we have to repeat history again.

And I am sick of it.

Posted in: Reviews