Reviews with content warning for Murder - Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Satisfying variant of a well known character with a compelling story. The art is amazing and enhances the already strong writing. Really deserves the description of a graphic novel.

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hellsjerome's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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peachmoni's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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awesomejen2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Fan-freaking-tastic! Highly recommend. I very rarely read DC and certainly not any mainstream superheroes from that universe but this was nominated for HUGO Award so I decided to try it and was absolutely blown away by the story and the art

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philippmk's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Stunning art with exceptional writing by Tom King.

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carochacord's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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billyjepma's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Being a fan of Tom King has proven to be one of my hotter takes, so saying I enjoyed this shouldn't surprise anyone. What is a surprise, at least to me, is how much I enjoyed it. He and Bilquis Evely have constructed a beautiful, angry, and ultimately compassionate story of revenge and catharsis that had my heart in his fist from the first issue to the last. It doesn't quite stick the landing, a common occurrence for King's stories. However, the journey to get there is so richly realized that it still ranks as one of my favorite titles in his repertoire and deserves to catapult Evely into the upper echelons of artists in the medium.

The story makes the almost always wise choice of casting its titular character in a more supportive role, as Woman of Tomorrow is chiefly the story of Ruthye, a young girl who swears vengeance on the killer of her beloved father. Ruthye narrates the series, and while her narration is flowery and literary—another common trend in King's writing—it works incredibly well here. It gives Ruthye a voice she doesn't always have in action, considering her age and stature, and shades her motivation with dimensions that lend it more complexity than a simple revenge tale usually would.

Seeing Supergirl through her eyes is the key to the story's success, too, as we see a younger (she turns 21 at the start of the series) Kara, who is still very much grappling with the death of her planet and family. While Supergirl is a supporting character, this is still very much her story, too. The parallels between Ruthye and Kara are obvious but never sketched so explicitly that they feel forced or trite. Instead, King paces the story so that we see the two young women go on almost opposing character arcs that both, ultimately, are bound to lead to some form of reconciliation. Whether that resolution comes via bloodshed or not is one of the crucial questions of the series, but it's also not an important one, as the story is far more interested in the journey someone has to go on to arrive at that place. It won't be for everyone, especially if you're unwilling to indulge King in his anachronisms. But it's very much for me.

What catapults the series from "great" to "sensational" is Evely's artwork, though, as she, with Matheus Lopes on colors, gives Woman of Tomorrow a distinctive visual identity that easily stands apart from anything else on shelves. The series' visuals remind me of a cover of those old-school sci-fi pulp novels, except unlike those titles, this one lives up to the promise found in those wildly colorful and adventurous covers. Evely's compositions are cinematic and personal, and her splash pages are so outrageously stunning I wish I could hang them on my wall. Lopes' colors give it a grimy vibrancy I love, too, as the artwork expertly mirrors (and contradicts, as needed) the darkness found in the story's themes of grief and rage. It's a stunning visual odyssey through the cosmos, and I hope it gives Evely and Lopes' the spotlight they so obviously deserve. I love this comic a lot if you can't tell. I can't wait to revisit it over and over.

Oh, and if you have any lingering doubts about this being a stellar summation of Supergirl as a character, I leave you with the following.

"Every moment of every day, she suppressed the forces churning inside of her. All the energy of a dead world that strained against her many barriers, eternally demanding to be released. I believe this effort hurt her. I believe she lived her life in pain. If you would have asked her, I have little doubt she would have claimed that such an assertion was absurd. She would say she felt fine, and then she'd ask you if you needed any help."

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