Why you should read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced their upcoming DC Film slate and have decided to bring us another Supergirl film. This one though is based on a book everyone needs to read and that’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

Regardless of this being the basis for the upcoming film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a masterpiece of the comic book medium. It draws you in with its simple premise, that being of a child named Ruthye looking for someone to help her kill a man named Krem of the Yellow Hills as revenge for Krem killing her father in cold blood. Soon after setting out on her quest, she runs into a depowered Supergirl who has arrived on this planet, which has a red sun, so that she can get drunk on 21st birthday. Before Kara leaves though, Ruthye makes one last plea for help to, only to be ambushed by Krem, leading to Kara and Ruthye’s search for Krem across the cosmos.

So, that seems just like a basic revenge quest, right? Something that you’ve seen or read probably hundreds of times before this. And sure, on its basic principles, it kind of is, but it is so much more than that.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a story of pain. It is a story of trauma. It is a story of horror. But it’s also a story of kindness. At its core, it is a story of hope. A hope for healing. A hope for peace. A hope for a better tomorrow. Woman of Tomorrow is an eight-issue comic series that manages to show more horror, trauma, and pain than most runs that span years and yet, you never manage to feel like you’re going to be dwelling in that darkness forever. There’s always kindness and a light at the end of the tunnel on the turn of the page.

The way that Tom King writes Supergirl is profound as well. She’s a foul-mouthed, stubborn, kind, caring, pain and trauma-ridden woman who simply wants to help everyone around her through their pain. To paraphrase Ruthye in the book, King’s Supergirl lives in pain every second of every day and yet, she will never say so and will just figure out what she needs to do to help you. It is genuinely the best characterization of Kara ever and every page that she’s on in this series is a gift.

Enough about the writing though. Comics aren’t simply a prose medium, obviously, so anyone who talks about comics (and especially this series) would be remiss to not talk about the art. So, let’s just say, every single panel in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a work of art that should be hung in museums around the world.

That might be a bit of hyperbole, but Bilquis Evely’s line art combined with Mat Lopes’ coloring is sublime on every level. Not only is it gorgeous in every way imaginable, but the amount of visual storytelling that Evely does throughout this series is simply phenomenal. She’s genuinely one of the best artists working in comics right now, in this writer’s opinion. From Supergirl taking on fiery angel wings and flying through a space dragon (No, I will not explain. Just read it.) to seeing the tears in an aliens eyes while he’s digging thousands of graves, to Supergirl screaming her lungs out in the middle of a star, Evely and Lopes never miss a single beat.

Truthfully, there’s so much in this series that it’s hard to go into every single detail of why it’s incredible without spoiling everything in it, which ruins the fun for a first time reader, which is why the spoilers are minimal in this. In the end though, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a breathtaking work of literature and art that will blow you away on every single page.

”It’s too big. We’re too small.”

Are you looking forward to seeing Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow in the DC Universe? Have you read the comic? Let us know in the comments below!