rhganci's review against another edition
2.0
Note: Last week, I reviewed the crossover volume "H'el on Earth", which includes four of the same issues collected in this trade paperback. To avoid a recap of that material, this review will just cover my thoughts on the other four issues.
Appropriately enough, Supergirl, Vol. 3: Sanctuary picks up immediately where Vol. 2, Girl in the World left off, puts Kara's exploration of her new secret base on hiatus to follow Superman and Superboy into battle against the Kryptonian supervillain H'el, and then essentially returns to mildly conclude the Sanctuary arc. As such, this volume is rather fragmented in its presentation of Supergirl's story and depends to a large extent on your ability to acquire the remaining 11 issues of Superman and Superboy (I suggest the H'el on Earth collection in terms of cost-effectiveness).
With the "Sanctuary" plot, Michael Alan Green does a few things right, but ultimately it only cements Kara's place on Earth. She crosses paths with Power Girl, deals with the aftermath of the "H'el on Earth," and that's about it. We learn a modest amount about the Sanctuary fortress, but there isn't a large amount of content beyond that. Aside from a cool-looking cover by Emanuela Lupaccino, Mahmud Asrar's artwork stands pat as just-okay and keeps the overall quality of the book towards the middle of the pack.
BACKLOG PRIORITY
3/10 - This is a volume for collectors of the Super-books only, as it doesn't really contain all of the content necessary to understand all of what's happening in all of Supergirl's story arcs. If this book has quickly resolved the consequence of Kara's involvement with Superman in the fight against H'el, then this is a volume safely skipped for most readers.
Appropriately enough, Supergirl, Vol. 3: Sanctuary picks up immediately where Vol. 2, Girl in the World left off, puts Kara's exploration of her new secret base on hiatus to follow Superman and Superboy into battle against the Kryptonian supervillain H'el, and then essentially returns to mildly conclude the Sanctuary arc. As such, this volume is rather fragmented in its presentation of Supergirl's story and depends to a large extent on your ability to acquire the remaining 11 issues of Superman and Superboy (I suggest the H'el on Earth collection in terms of cost-effectiveness).
With the "Sanctuary" plot, Michael Alan Green does a few things right, but ultimately it only cements Kara's place on Earth. She crosses paths with Power Girl, deals with the aftermath of the "H'el on Earth," and that's about it. We learn a modest amount about the Sanctuary fortress, but there isn't a large amount of content beyond that. Aside from a cool-looking cover by Emanuela Lupaccino, Mahmud Asrar's artwork stands pat as just-okay and keeps the overall quality of the book towards the middle of the pack.
BACKLOG PRIORITY
3/10 - This is a volume for collectors of the Super-books only, as it doesn't really contain all of the content necessary to understand all of what's happening in all of Supergirl's story arcs. If this book has quickly resolved the consequence of Kara's involvement with Superman in the fight against H'el, then this is a volume safely skipped for most readers.
bpol's review against another edition
2.0
I don't really care for this iteration of Supergirl. Powergirl was in this one for a couple issues so that made those slightly more interesting.
tyrshand's review against another edition
2.0
These collected volumes get irritating when a crossover event happens in the middle -- this one make little sense as great portions of the story apparently took place in other Super-folk lines and aren't included in this volume.
caoimhin42's review against another edition
5.0
Very good character for DC's 52. Did not know that Power Girl was an alternate/older version of same. Great art.
amzief's review against another edition
Really good comic, only recently gotten into reading comics glad I made the decision to start to read them
birdmanseven's review against another edition
4.0
The 4th star is probably kind, but the weakness can mostly be blamed on the H'el crossover. This series is clever and creative and is one of the few titles New 52 gets right. The issue with Wonder Woman was great.
For more on Supergirl check out this episode of Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj5wmMQ8-2A&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR24lQrVSfB7F47FIbH5CEQgECwjwYP5yAif0hyq_dz0ltNmB0PAO25XSiQ
For more on Supergirl check out this episode of Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj5wmMQ8-2A&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR24lQrVSfB7F47FIbH5CEQgECwjwYP5yAif0hyq_dz0ltNmB0PAO25XSiQ
dr_matthew_lloyd's review against another edition
2.0
It's a hard decision to make, placing a star rating on this volume of Supergirl. In some ways, it's the best yet, combining Kara's resourcefulness with her desire to be alone and safe, with some well-intentioned comedy and a fun meeting with Power Girl. On the other, it's a jumble of stories which aren't complete, making the impact of what should have been a great emotional arc for Kara hollow and a little pointless.
I wondered, in my reviews of [b:Batman: The Night of the Owls|15784159|Batman The Night of the Owls|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344000972s/15784159.jpg|21501850] and [b:Nightwing, Vol. 2: Night of the Owls|17137617|Nightwing, Vol. 2 Night of the Owls|Kyle Higgins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356139939s/17137617.jpg|23539657], if it was fair for a volume to include all of the stories from a cross-over arc if those stories were also going to be published in the individual volumes of each hero. In the case of Batman, this might have worked quite well, although there are a lot of different series which tie together in the Bat-family. With the H'el on Earth storyline, I am fairly certain that it only crosses over with Superman and Superboy, but I don't have access to those comics, so that was frustrating. But, from what I can grasp from the Supergirl portion, this would actually make a perfect emotional arc for Kara. The story as it stands makes it out as if Kara trusts the wrong people, but fails to exploit the obvious counterpoint that Kal-El has done nothing to encourage Kara to trust him. Thus, when Kal-El turns out to be right on this one (was there any chance that he wouldn't?) Kara feels betrayed - but unless he explains why he didn't trust H'el (which he certainly doesn't in what's recorded here) then there is no reason why Kara should have believed him - all it sounds like is that Kal-El, having grown up on Earth and not Krypton, doesn't care about his home planet or the people who lived there. Kara has genuinely lost something Kal-El never had. It would be an opportunity not just for Kara to make a mistake and have to live with the consequences, but for Kal-El to come to understand all the mistakes that he is making with Kara, and to try to repair their relationship. There's plenty to explore for Kara here, but it doesn't seem like that will actually happen in the Superman volumes, which should, really, be focused on him.
I did enjoy the meeting with Power Girl, when the story got back on track with things that were mostly Kara-related. The Supergirl/Power Girl relationship should, by rights, be an interesting one and it's good to see them doing something different with it than in the Crisis-period. Just try not to notice their terrible costumes...
I wondered, in my reviews of [b:Batman: The Night of the Owls|15784159|Batman The Night of the Owls|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344000972s/15784159.jpg|21501850] and [b:Nightwing, Vol. 2: Night of the Owls|17137617|Nightwing, Vol. 2 Night of the Owls|Kyle Higgins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356139939s/17137617.jpg|23539657], if it was fair for a volume to include all of the stories from a cross-over arc if those stories were also going to be published in the individual volumes of each hero. In the case of Batman, this might have worked quite well, although there are a lot of different series which tie together in the Bat-family. With the H'el on Earth storyline, I am fairly certain that it only crosses over with Superman and Superboy, but I don't have access to those comics, so that was frustrating. But, from what I can grasp from the Supergirl portion, this would actually make a perfect emotional arc for Kara. The story as it stands makes it out as if Kara trusts the wrong people, but fails to exploit the obvious counterpoint that Kal-El has done nothing to encourage Kara to trust him. Thus, when Kal-El turns out to be right on this one (was there any chance that he wouldn't?) Kara feels betrayed - but unless he explains why he didn't trust H'el (which he certainly doesn't in what's recorded here) then there is no reason why Kara should have believed him - all it sounds like is that Kal-El, having grown up on Earth and not Krypton, doesn't care about his home planet or the people who lived there. Kara has genuinely lost something Kal-El never had. It would be an opportunity not just for Kara to make a mistake and have to live with the consequences, but for Kal-El to come to understand all the mistakes that he is making with Kara, and to try to repair their relationship. There's plenty to explore for Kara here, but it doesn't seem like that will actually happen in the Superman volumes, which should, really, be focused on him.
I did enjoy the meeting with Power Girl, when the story got back on track with things that were mostly Kara-related. The Supergirl/Power Girl relationship should, by rights, be an interesting one and it's good to see them doing something different with it than in the Crisis-period. Just try not to notice their terrible costumes...
nancyotoole's review against another edition
2.0
It appears that there's a really interesting story here, too bad you only get about a third if it. Supergirl, vol 3: Sanctuary, continues DC's tradition of having these large crossover events (this one involving the Sueprgirl, Superman, and Superboy comics), but when it comes to their trade paperbacks for the individual titles, they only collect the issues for that title. This means you only get the Supergirl part of the story, which is only PART of the actual story. It's like picking up a book to find most of the chapters missing. As a result, Sanctuary contains a rushed romance, unresolved cliffhangers, and doesn't even give us the end of the story, resulting in a choppy, uneven mess.
The second storyline, which involves Power Girl, is more successful (despite the ridiculous moment when Supergirl, WHO ISN'T WEARING ANY PANTS, criticizes Power Girl's equally ridiculous Boob-window outfit). Still, that doesn't change the fact that much of this volume is too frustrating. I am quite glad that I got this from the library and did not pay my own money. The artwork is fine, at least.
Originally read and reviewed- 11/19/15
Re-read- 08/28/16
The second storyline, which involves Power Girl, is more successful (despite the ridiculous moment when Supergirl, WHO ISN'T WEARING ANY PANTS, criticizes Power Girl's equally ridiculous Boob-window outfit). Still, that doesn't change the fact that much of this volume is too frustrating. I am quite glad that I got this from the library and did not pay my own money. The artwork is fine, at least.
Originally read and reviewed- 11/19/15
Re-read- 08/28/16
valgus's review against another edition
3.0
better than the last volume, but still not very impressed.
noysh's review against another edition
3.0
This series had been on decline since it's strong initial putting, which makes it all the more disappointing that it sort of just unravelled toward the end. It think that it's definitely worth pointing out that Mike Johnson appears to have left the book as writer after the H'El storyline. There are several problems with this volume. First, the H'El storyline is told across issues 14-17 of Superman and Superboy as well as 14-17 of Supergirl. So for the first chunk of the book, you're getting a disconcerting leap forward in the story between issues that are covered by the Superman and Superboy comics. Then after the H'El storyline, Mike Johnson leaves the book as writer and the change in tone and coherence is immediately evident. The parts that you do get of the H'El storyline are compelling, but the following issues are not.