Here is the Toronto Star article about Supergirl for which I was interviewed last week. I only got a couple quotes, and the first is an offhand comment I made that totally fails the weasel word test (“People say”) *grin*
But! Jessica of Super.Girl. made a terrific showing which is very, very cool and totally makes up for it. Of all the articles floating around about this subject (yes, it’s about the shorts), this must be the first to actually get the opinions of *female Supergirl fans* with a web presence. And Jessica isn’t just any fangirl – she wrote her senior thesis on Supergirl. Who better to ask? ^_^
While I do like the new depth Supergirl has (I greatly enjoyed the start of the series, but upon rereading it, I’ve been very disappointed–maybe I was too caught up in the novelty of the new Kara?), I still am kind of curious as to why she should relate to normal teenagers.
She’s a superheroine and an alien. To the extent that she’s an adolescent filling very big shoes and that she has needs for friendship and belonging like anyone else, yes, she ought to be humanized. But I do think there needs to be a certain degree of separation between Kara and normal girls too. She shouldn’t look like some sex toy, but neither should she look like a “real human girl” per se. She should look different, but a difference with dignity–so I get what you’re saying, Michelle, but I don’t want her to be average. I want her to be respected. She should be special, not average, but also certainly not treated in an exploitational way.
And you’re right, they’re getting better at it. I think by far my favorite portrayal of her as a character was in Maelstrom–I don’t know who wrote it, but they did it right. She was humanized and she was young, but she was thinking about issues larger than herself and having issues with her heroic journey in a believable way. That’s how it’s done.
The only things I really miss from the Loeb/Churchill run is her absurdly long cape (I may have mentioned this before, but I looove the ridiculously unrealistic fluttering it does) and her face, which I’ve typecast in my mind as “Kara.” However, the two banner images you use on your site–the main one and the one on the gallery–also do it well. They’re just not what I’ve ingrained in my mind. But that’s not likely to change or matter–the cape and characterization just might, though!
“I greatly enjoyed the start of the series, but upon rereading it, I’ve been very disappointed–maybe I was too caught up in the novelty of the new Kara?”
Yeah, I waited until the series had been out a while before I picked up the first trade paperback (Loeb/Turner). Reading that all in one swoop *is* a very different experience. The story really fell flat for me.
“I still am kind of curious as to why she should relate to normal teenagers.”
I’ve never quite understood what other people mean when they use that phrase. Personally I just want girls (and women! I’m no girl myself :) to be able to read the book and not feel like *their* superhero has been appropriated by men. That doesn’t necessarily mean I want to see her going to high school and trying to fit in with human teenagers, etc. I want her to be larger than life and having adventures that are really beyond her years. She *is* a superhero.
“She shouldn’t look like some sex toy, but neither should she look like a “real human girl†per se.”
Like Renato Guedes draws her? I like that every once in a while, but I do think she looks too real there – too much like a normal person wearing a Supergirl costume than a superhero (I feel the same way about how he draws Superman and all the other characters – a little too imperfect and realistic).
“She should look different, but a difference with dignity–so I get what you’re saying, Michelle, but I don’t want her to be average. I want her to be respected. She should be special, not average, but also certainly not treated in an exploitational way.”
Yes, this!
It took me a while to adjust to his Jamal Igle’s style – I really, really missed Drew Johnston’s interpretation at first. I thought she looked gorgeous and striking (just needed some help with that skirt falling off). Igle’s Kara seems a bit small, and his characters’ faces are more “average-looking”. I thought he drew a really pretty Kara in issue #42 though.
“The only things I really miss from the Loeb/Churchill run is her absurdly long cape (I may have mentioned this before, but I looove the ridiculously unrealistic fluttering it does) and her face, which I’ve typecast in my mind as “Kara.â€
Gary Frank’s 9 issues on the PAD Supergirl series set my impression of that character the same way. I never liked Leonard Kirk’s version as much, even though he gave us many wonderful moments and expressions. In my mind Frank’s version will always *be* Linda. (Even though he sometimes drew her like this (!)
“That doesn’t necessarily mean I want to see her going to high school and trying to fit in with human teenagers, etc. I want her to be larger than life and having adventures that are really beyond her years. She *is* a superhero.”
Oh, alright. Yeah, that’s exactly what I want as well. I just get confused sometimes, because people *do* say they want females to relate to her–but they never explain what they mean. I can relate to her by empathizing, if never exactly sympathizing because I’m not a superheroine–in fact, my favorite issues (Super/Bat 62 and Maelstrom) are good at just that. But I just seem to get the impression that some people think she should actually act like what people think females would like (hence the “bad girl” stuff in the beginning).
But you’re right, that’s just an identity imposed by men based on what THEY think girls do/should like.
“Like Renato Guedes draws her? I like that every once in a while, but I do think she looks too real there – too much like a normal person wearing a Supergirl costume than a superhero (I feel the same way about how he draws Superman and all the other characters – a little too imperfect and realistic). ”
Precisely! I don’t pay super close attention to artistic details, but something like that tends to stand out a lot. I’ve heard a lot of praise for his portrayal of her, but I think it took the far opposite extreme from Churchill/Turner. Something in the middle would be great.
“I really, really missed Drew Johnston’s interpretation at first. I thought she looked gorgeous and striking (just needed some help with that skirt falling off). ”
Yes, he had a perfect interpretation. Though I still prefer the face Churchill gave her, Johnson gave her a really noble looking visage and countenence. If I had to settle for any single interpretation, I might choose his even though I have tremendous nostalgia for the Churchill version (being the first one I ever saw).
I’m not sure what you mean about the skirt, though–I seem to remember the length being quite ample, *especially* in comparison to the one Kara was sporting in the latter Churchill issues. I think Johnson had the ideal length there–short enough to seem like she could move around, yet long enough to be decent while doing so.
“Gary Frank’s 9 issues on the PAD Supergirl series set my impression of that character the same way. I never liked Leonard Kirk’s version as much, even though he gave us many wonderful moments and expressions. In my mind Frank’s version will always *be* Linda. (Even though he sometimes drew her like this (!)”
Yeah, all that is lost on me. The current run of Supergirl is my first–and my first ever comics outside of Star Wars stuff. I take it you refer to Linda Danvers (I only know about her through your site here)?
It’s interesting how things get ingrained in our minds like that. I’m the same way about actors–once I see someone in an iconic role, he/she is that character forever. Christopher Lloyd is always Doc Brown to me.
EDIT: Goodness, that’s a frightening looking cover. Why do they always turn characters evil?
“I just get confused sometimes, because people *do* say they want females to relate to her–but they never explain what they mean….But I just seem to get the impression that some people think she should actually act like what people think females would like.”
Yeah, I noticed they never explain it, like we’re all supposed to know. There’s no one “way” that teenage girls are, and I kind of resent the suggestion that there should be.
“I’m not sure what you mean about the skirt, though”
It was so low on the hips, I always imagined her having to tug it back down into place :) I liked the length.
“The current run of Supergirl is my first–and my first ever comics outside of Star Wars stuff.”
Now I feel really bad for being so hard on her! I didn’t realize that. Yes, the previous Supergirl series starring Linda Danvers was *my* first exposure to the character (in comics), and I loved it so much. It would have really sucked to have people picking on every little thing about her the way this version’s been subjected to. I’m sorry to have been one of those people. I forget what it would be like to be reading the character for the first time. I didn’t notice any of this kind of stuff when I first started reading the previous Supergirl series, and there was lots that could be criticized. (The first storyarc of that series was REALLY dark, I didn’t let my 11-year-old sister read it past the first couple issues.) I just loved it for what I saw in it and ignored the stuff I didn’t like.
So please don’t let my complaints ruin your enjoyment of this series! I’m just coming from a different place, and forget that this is all new to some people :)
“There’s no one “way†that teenage girls are, and I kind of resent the suggestion that there should be.”
Yeah, it’s like replacing one confining stereotype with another. It would be better if we avoided pigeonholing people in general.
”
It was so low on the hips, I always imagined her having to tug it back down into place :) I liked the length.
”
Oh! I don’t know, that seems to be the fashion ’round these parts. I have to confess indulging in it from time to time as well. It didn’t strike me as being too terribly low, but I guess as I’ve demonstrated, I haven’t paid much attention. Do you have an example of something that particularly stood out?
“So please don’t let my complaints ruin your enjoyment of this series! I’m just coming from a different place, and forget that this is all new to some people :)”
Heh, yeah, it’s a bit jarring to see her compared so unfavorably to previous incarnations of Supergirl. For all her faults, I like Kara, and I think it’s generally a good series. I like having a female “Super” to root after. Other comic heroines haven’t caught my imagination like she has, so it’s strange to see all these criticisms everywhere.
My deepest worry is that they’ll either get rid of her, or bow in to all the pressure and completely redo her costume as they have her personality. The latter was a change for the better, but I really love this current costume design.
Thanks, Michelle! *g* I’m glad I came off basically coherent, because I’m not sure I did in the actual interview. Supergirl just gets me so *excited*.
There’s no one “way†that teenage girls are, and I kind of resent the suggestion that there should be.
Ugh, this drives me *crazy*. Supergirl doesn’t have to be *every* teenage girl, and there’s no such thing as the *average* teenage girl. She should just be *a* teenage girl, albeit one having grand adventures and being larger than life.
My deepest worry is that they’ll either get rid of her…
I would worry about this too much, Victoria. They may change the incarnation a bit, but Supergirl always comes back.