Once again I had no prior knowledge of Supergirl. Honestly, I am not very familiar with Superman either, so the back story of Krypton was new as well.
This Vol. One is probably one of the best I have read in regards to back story and forming a solid foundation for a series. Most of this trade was in fact just Supergirl's background information. That can turn some people off, especially those already familiar with the character, but for me it was a true selling point. I feel like I learned everything I need to know in order to appreciate the story arc that will come with the next volume.
Let's get on to the emotions of this volume. Supergirl wakes up on a new planet with no real memories of how she arrived there. She then bumps into her cousin, finding him a man when only yesterday (or so she thinks) he was a baby. Superman informs her that her planet is gone and all of her family is dead. These are some pretty heavy things to wake up to. Her emotions are just right to make the whole story believable. The reader almost goes through all five stages of grief with her. This realistic portrayal only made the story stronger.
Then there was Superman. I thought that when he came into the story near the beginning he might overshadow Supergirl, but that was not the case. Superman was used almost as a tool. He informed Supergirl about where she was and what had happened to her family, but he did little else. He tried to explain his beliefs on humans, but he did not push Supergirl towards any one path. I appreciated this because sometimes in comics the more popular characters can overshadow lesser known ones.
Supergirl herself feels like a well founded character. She acts appropriately for her age and situation. More than that though, she is just likable. I wanted to follow her story, because I wanted to know what happened to her.
Overall I give this one a five out of five stars. I read the entire thing in one sitting because I just did not want to stop at all. This is definitely something people should go pick up.
