Superwoman #15 Review and **SPOILERS**

And I Am an Immaterial Girl

Writer: K. Perkins 

Art: Sam Basri 

Colors: Hi-Fi 

Letters: Josh Reed 

Cover: Miraka Andolfo 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: October 11, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

The solicit for Superwoman #15 turned out to be for the previous issue. Looks like it’s course-corrected for issue #16, but I’m recalcitrant to reveal stuff about the story in this introduction that hasn’t already been shown in the solicit or preview. That’s just how I roll! So, uh, what’s new with you? Everything good? Yeah I’m good. Same old stuff. Okay, that’s enough copy for an introduction, let’s just right into my review of Superwoman #15, right here!

Explain It!

“I think, therefore I am.” This was the musing of philosopher René DesCartes, who, with these five words, ushered in a new (and decidedly misogynist…which was not new) mode of thinking that would shape modern philosophical thought. It suggests that our beings—the important bits, anyway—are contained more in our creative thought than in the pastiche of flesh and bone that keeps our smelly internal organs from spilling all over the place. Of course, it is an arguable point: another, lesser-known philosopher, my grandmother, said, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.” And then she’d chain smoke Marlboro cigarettes to the tune of five packs a day. Hey, she was from a different time. I think she believed what she said, even if she didn’t practice what she preached.

Lana Lang seems to be going through a different conundrum, looking not for her meaning or identity, instead she wants to know the reason she’s just so freakin’ awesome with a bunch of cool, ill-defined powers. Her current theory is that she was always awesome, her awesomeness lay dormant in her cellular DNA, and was awakened by the New 52! Superman’s self-immolating solar flare. Either that, or it was that bitchin’ Ed Sheeran concert. Either way, she’s got like electric fire powers, and she’s not afraid to use ‘em!

Good thing, too, since there’s a new villain on the scene, name of Midnight. Seems that like most terrible things these days, it came right out of the internet, and grows in shape and power with every human being it absorbs. It’s got a special date with Lana, though the reasons are unclear, and particularly unclear to Lana who is as self-absorbed through most of the issue anyway. Until her honey Steel gets sucked up by Midnight, then it’s on like Donkey Kong! In the fracas, Lois Lane gets all kinds of messed up, which is something I’d like to discuss in the last paragraph.

Few people would like to see Lana Lang and Lois Lane all friendly, like they were in issue #1 of Superwoman and in previous incarnations of the DC Universe. Relatable female friendships are rare in superhero comics, and they should be cultivated. But when you address the fact that the currently-rocking Lois Lane isn’t the one Lana knew best, it highlights the fakeness of how close they’ve suddenly become. On one hand, I appreciate the nod to continuity, but for the narrative it made things between them awkward. The whole issue seems a little off-step, but it’s not a bad beginning to a story, all told. The proof will be in how it all concludes.

Bits and Pieces:

A spooky new villain is enough to charge this issue, which is otherwise the same old stuff; Lana ruminating about the source of her powers. There's enough here to keep one's attention, aided by the exceptional artwork of Sam Basri and Hi-Fi.

6.8/10