REVIEW: Supergirl’s Family Vacation
‘Supergirl’s Family Vacation’ is DC’s latest YA graphic novel which is written by Brandon T. Snider, with art by Sarah Leuver. It’s a really wholesome read and I say that as a good thing, it’s perfect for any ages and has plenty of teachings and fun for all.
The story sees Supergirl plan a trip to Argo City, which is across the galaxy with Clark, Lois, Jon and her best friend Natasha Irons. Whilst Supergirl thinks they are teleporting there, Clark has other plans and taking them on a road trip in the Supermobile. On the way they find several surprises, some good and some bad, but these surprises are what set their adventure and they test not only their relationships but they also test these characters as individuals. Upon one surprise they find that things are off and whilst they can’t escape the invitation, they dig to get to the bottom of what’s going on and find a little more than expected.
When I tell you this book was a delight to read, that is no exaggeration. I am absolutely not the target audience for this release but I absolutely loved it. It had some great action sequences, had some hilarious moments, it was fun, but most of all the message really got through for me. That is not just one message, there are several, each of the characters we see in this book are going through their own things, each at different stages in their lives. Regardless of who you are or how old you are, you will relate to at least one of them and you will learn things that can be applied to your very own lives in terms of perspective. With so many characters in the mix, you would think it would get a little messy, but nope, Brandon T. Snider handles them perfectly, giving each of them their time to shine. Not only that but I loved every take on this character, but I have to say my personal favourites were Lois and Jon.
With this being for younger audiences we do get some snippets of origin stories for some of the characters, but that doesn’t take up too much space at all and just fills you in with what you need to know to enjoy this story and the context behind some of the events. I won’t go into detail but some of the themes we see in this book are based around belonging, coming of age, relationships, correcting wrongs, self love and family dynamics. We see some familiar faces along the way, some are very timely with the upcoming Supergirl film and there are also some hilarious moments. Without context, my personal favourite is when Clark is affected by some sort of Kryptonite and we see him act almost drunk. There are also tonnes of easter eggs throughout this book, which is fun for new audiences but a real payoff for existing readers who remember and love the stories in which they came from.
The artwork is just incredible, it is perfect for this audience! It’s fun, it’s playful and pretty cartoonistic, but with that said, each and every detail, whether that’s an emotion, a character or something in the background it done to perfection. You can tell there are several influences in the art too, and there are several moments that are really reminiscent of Anime and they are peppered perfectly throughout the issue at just the right moments. I also really enjoyed the pastel colour palette that was used throughout and hey, you might even get to see Supergirl don a new suit!
(9/10) ‘Supergirl’s Family Vacation’ is a really fun, wholesome and meaningful book which is perfect for all of the family, I had a blast reading this. After speaking with Brandon, he has hopes for sequel and I have to say, so do I, I would absolutely love to see this story continued and I’d also move to see more of his take on Jon Kent in particular.
