It’s the summer of Supergirl. On the heels of DC‘s latest feature film, Supergirl gets a brand-new Elseworlds story from DC Comics with Supergirl: Survive. Eisner-nominated writing duo Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan and artist Rod Reis craft a story featuring Kara Zor-El and Kal-El’s moment’s leading up to and the attempt to escape a failing Krypton in an emotional and action-packed premier issue.
Kara Zor-El lives a life of small problems. How are you supposed to hold a floppy little baby like her new cousin Kal? Who should she ask to the spring formal? And when will her father and her uncle Jor-El stop squabbling? But the planet Krypton has big problems… like the militaristic dictator Zod ruthlessly crushing dissent and threatening to unleash the planet’s most dangerous weapons on the opposition. And when things boil over and Krypton begins to burn, Kara and her infant cousin will find themselves trapped together in a prototype rocket, struggling to survive in a hostile universe that doesn’t care if they live or die… and which might prefer the latter!
As someone who has never really jumped into a Supergirl story, let alone one featuring her daring escape from Krypton (although I know the story), Supergirl: Survive was a new experience all together. What made the story even more exciting to read was the fresh take on the well-known story of Kara and Kal’s journey away from Krypton from Parker and Sheridan.
Supergirl: Survive lays the foundation of the cousin’s daring escape, but first we get a bit more depth from Kara’s character. She deals with the same issues those in High School on Earth deal with, including classroom work and finding a date to the formal. This gave her a humanity that I wasn’t expecting and showed that her life was actually kind of trivial prior to Krypton’s collapse, even if she didn’t think so in the moment. Life can change on a dime, and it sure did for those on Krypton.
What surprised me a bit was Kara’s immediate love, respect and care for her cousin Kal and her promise to keep him safe. Griffin and Sheridan humanize Kara so well, giving her the parental and loving family emotion needed to take care of such a young child in a moment of catastrophe. This also goes for the final moments on Krypton where the fear, emotion, and adrenaline can be felt, letting myself care about what actually will happen to these fictional characters. What this must have been like for Kara and even young Kal during this moments is hard to swallow.
The story itself shines in Supergirl: Survivor, but it’s the artwork that allows it to glow even more. Reis illustrates a stunning work of art in this premiere issue. There is a finesse to their style that had me glued to each page and added to the emotional moments. There is pain, fear, and emotion on these pages and Reis visualized them so well to give such an impactful work of art. Truly stunning.
Supergirl: Survive #1 is an emotional, character-driven, fresh take on a familiar story with fantastic artwork. Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan make Kara instantly relatable while Rod Reis elevates the story with outstanding visuals, both capturing the tragedy of Krypton’s final days and the hope for a better tomorrow. Supergirl: Survive is a stunning and heartfelt retelling of Kara Zor-El’s journey that pairs great storytelling and beautiful artwork to create a story with exploring.
Supergirl: Survive #1 hit local comic shops on June 3, 2026 from DC Comics.
Supergirl: Survive #1 Preview
