Review by Frank Plowright
Many Happy Returns is a strange product, not least because it collects the final issues of Peter David’s Supergirl when DC hadn’t previously issued trades of a series that had run for six years, a success by any definition. When they eventually got around to doing that fifteen years later, the final volume, Book Four, cut off before these stories.
However, David even then was a veteran writer and makes things easy for people to pick up. Supergirl’s been away from Leesburg, but now she’s back, although wearing the unfortunately objectifying crop top costume, consistently exploited by artist Ed Benes. Fortunately, there’s also the original Supergirl on hand, the one in the blue uniform and little skirt.
She’s presented as the real article, the Kryptonian alien arriving on Earth and able to duplicate Superman’s powers, including the more incredible feats of the 1950s long written out of continuity. David’s aiming at old fans who’ll be caught up in the mystery of who this Supergirl might be. Of course in the old days she might have been a robot or pulled everyone into an imaginary story, but David is craftier than that, ruling both out early, the first via DNA testing and the second by involving Superboy and, briefly, Superman, the latter unusually stand-offish.
The Kara El newcomer as Supergirl is well characterised as somewhat lost in coming to grips with a world that’s not as she imagined, and David brings out her confusion and guilt at mistakes while always striving to do the right thing. The innocence is somewhat at cross purposes with the art, but if putting aside Benes’ inclination to objectify women, this is otherwise good superhero action, fast moving and powerful.
Around the halfway point David drops his revelations, which many years later might not make sense to the casual reader, but back in the day the connection to Crisis on Infinite Earths would have been obvious. It leads to a tragic choice with the fate of Earth at stake. It’s a choice that few of us would willingly make, which is David pointing out what separates heroes from the rest of us. That’s not all, though. There’s a wistful look at the past, and some moralising on the part of powerful guest stars. The main villain, though, is a pompous windbag who never really connects.
The cleverness of what’s going on, the joyful moments and the surprises far outweigh any negativity, and allow for the times and you’ll still find this a very human story.
