Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters 2
I liked this more than the first issue. The gang seems to come around to Uncle Sam's view fairly quickly, but that was the only jarring note. The stakes are raised, the tension is maintained, there's intrigue and danger, and great art. The hug between Firebrand and Uncle Sam when they're reunited is heartfelt. There's a nice, edgy realism in this book, which makes it fit well with the leadin of 52 and the concurrent (I think) OMAC and Checkmate. It's these titles, as well as storylines in books such as Green Lantern, that show things are not SOP in the DCU, that times are indeed more dangerous.
52 17
I don't know Lobo, so he's a new, intriguing villain for me. Well, I don't recall him, at any rate. The story has shifted back to Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire. We also see all is not perfect in Lex Luthor's metaparadise (d'uh). By now, I'm firmly entrenched in this super soap opera, and it would take at least 4 extremely bad issues to shake my love for this series.
~~~o0o~~~
Now, Supergirl. Tom Foss has written a brilliant analysis of Supergirl 9. He hit all the high spots, of which there are several. He caught connections with Superman books I'd missed, contrasts that show how alienated this version of Kara is. He pointed out how much has been expected of her and how much pressure she's had put on her. She didn't get the human homelife the original Kara got with the Danvers upons her arrival on Earth, nor did she have the normal upbringing in Argo City the original had. Tom nailed the points home with excerpts and insight.
Issue 9 was the story that should have been told as soon as she got her own title. It is important for her to find her place in the DCU, on Earth, as both a member of the Super family and as a person. And she's a teenager, which brings its own angst. When I read it, I recall thinking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. During the high school years and moving through the college era, Buffy often questioned her role as the slayer, accepting the responsibility reluctantly, knowing the importance of what she alone could do and conflicted by the urges of wanting to lead a normal life with all that entails, with that conflict colored by that teenage search for identity that would have been there even if she hadn't been the Slayer.
Kara is not THE super being on Earth, but she is super and she does stand out. She doesn't have years of a support system behind her. She came to Earth under suspicious circumstances and was doubted, mostly by Batman, until she could prove herself trustworthy. That little interlude with Darkseid didn't help.
I know many readers didn't like SG 9. Not much happens. Kara seems all whiny-ass. But to me, she seemed real; she seemed, well, human. And it was about time.
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