From the vaults. Supergirl #42

One of the more interesting issues of Supergirl was issue #42. People were curious about why I hadn't drawn the previous issue, #41, and the truth of the matter was I had a family vacation. We had arranged it months before and I had been on the book for nearly 8 months without a break. So we took two weeks to visit our family in France and the issue was drawn by Resurrection Man artist Fernando Dagnino.

In a way I was sort of walking in cold because I didn't get to see any of the pages until the book was near press, so the way the follow up was written from an outsiders perspective. For the most part the issue is a dramatic piece, giving me the opportunity to flex my storytelling chops,

I love how this scene between Lana and Kara played out.

The family portrait of the Lanes on the mantle

The last two panels on this page were a fun exercise, because instead of doing a photstat of  panel 3 and zooming in, I re-drew everything by hand.

LAna's phone call and the subtle change in emotion were another big clue leading towards Supergirl #50

The Solar Fly-by that closes the issue was a brilliant Sterling Gates idea.

Another fun sequence for me was the interaction between Lana, Lois and Kara. These ladies were really the cast of our series at that point. I did everything I could to differentiate them stylistically, not just facially. I had Lana dressed almost exclusively in Asian influenced clothing, something I saw Carlos Pacheco do with her a bit in Superman. Mandarin jackets, Chinese dresses. Kara ,at least in this instance, was dressed in an outfit I found in a Japanese Young Miss magazine, but I felt was an almost "Civilian" version of her Supergirl costume. Lois was much more conservative. 

Again, I didn't have too many opportunities to draw "Linda Lang" so I took them where I could.

The Death of Superwoman....?
In the previous issue Major Lucy Lane, who had been unmasked as the villainous Superwoman in issue#40 had been killed accidentally when kara pulled her powersuit apart.

   

So when the issue opens, we see General Sam Lane, leader of Project 7734 dealing with the loss of his daughter.

Readers would also get more insight in to the snippet of conversation between the two that we began in Supergirl # 37

Initially the scene had an ambiguous, ominous tone to it.

But would be revealed as a much more loving exchange between Sam and his daughter.

I actually, at this point started basing Sam Lane on R. Lee Ermey (Gunnery Sgt.,retired) from Full Metal Jacket. It seemed fitting.

Just a little bit of behind the scenes tinkering. we had to change the Starlabs building for the traditional, to the new design by Renato Guedes from his Superman run.