The Supergirls

I wanted to love The Supergirls (Exterminating Angel Press, 2009). And I certainly feel like Mike Madrid has his heart in all the right places. I also want to give this book to any budding female fan of superheroines that needs some perspective.

But for me, it was just sort of a miss. I think I may have been expecting different things from it.

This isn’t really a history of the superheroine, although there’s a lot of history here. It’s more of a collection of essays chronicling the ups and downs of female characters in mainstream comics. Madrid sticks to Marvel and DC for the most part, and while he discusses girlfriends like Lois Lane, it deals mainly with the female characters with super powers (as the title would suggest). That’s a huge topic in and of itself, and while I didn’t really expect this to cover the portrayal of women in all comics everywhere, all the time, the subject does get repetitive.

While it is arranged in, more or less, chronological order, the chapters do sometimes overlap each other. Supergirl and Wonder Woman have chapters focused exclusively on them, but they also tend to pop up all over the place. This is understandable to a certain extent since they are two of the most significant female characters in comics, but it begins to feel repetitive.

I also think the book could be organized a little bit better. Some chapters focus on characters, others on time periods. I guess I wish it had focused on one or the other. I think as separate essays, each chapter works, but taken all together, I just felt like I got the point.

Having said that, though, it’s a light and intelligent book and Madrid isn’t afraid to pull some punches. I sometimes think he’s a little harsh about some things, like his discussion of celebrity debutantes like Paris Hilton (it’s relevant, really) but I think a lot of these issues are issues that need to be brought up with some aggressiveness.

I particularly loved his section on Betsy Braddock — who started out as a frilly girly-girl who was transformed into a scantily-clad ninja. I think in this part alone, Madrid most clearly illustrates the problem with the way superheroines are portrayed — they’re either harmless and sexless or overly sexy. Neither comes across as particularly powerful for women.

Still, I didn’t get as much out of the book in total as I got from that part. But yes, I’ve read plenty of books about comics and women in them (I do, after all, love Trina Robbins, as we all should). For someone new to comics, this book probably has more value.

So yes, I know that’s a pretty ambivalent recommendation of The Supergirls, but it’s still a recommendation. It’s a worthy read, sure, but don’t expect too much.

Supergirl: Cosmic
Adventures in the 8th Grade

I first wrote about Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade all the way back here, but I never picked it up for whatever reason.

But after a little stuffed bull said it was the most fun comic of 2009, I decided I needed to get it. Luckily, I have a very loving boyfriend who bought it for me for Valentine’s Day.

This is absolutely wonderful. I don’t know if I’d call it perfect … but I kind of want to call it perfect.

Eric Jones’ character design is beautiful — original and playful, cartoony and animated while still looking like a comic book (I love the appropriately strong, square jaw on Superman). The colors are bright and solid. I think we need more comics that look this delightful and fun.

Landry Q. Walker’s writing is surprisingly witty for an all-ages title. Sure, I read a bunch of kids’ comics and I like them, but I never once felt this was too young for me. The humor is dead-on — slapsticky in places, but also full of funny lines and silly plot twists.

I like how our Supergirl Linda Lee is awkward when she’s not trying to save the world (and sure, awkward when she is) but she’s always upbeat and willing to laugh at herself. Her “evil” clone Belinda Zee is everything she’s not — outgoing, popular, petty. I think that’s a nice touch, showing that usually our “enemies” are just like us. Linda’s nerdy best friend, Lena, has her own secret, but I like how that gets resolved too.

Bully mentioned how much he loved how Linda grew up throughout these issues and I think that’s the coolest thing about this comic, and very unexpected. I think the creators could’ve just gotten away with having this be a fun little comic, but they did something deeper. Sure, maybe the metaphor of “growing into superpowers” for adolescents is an obvious one, but here, it works. Linda finds out who she is and what she’s capable of, all in about 140 pages. And the message never bogs it down — it’s subtle and affecting. And still, always, fun.

I really want Cosmic Adventures in the 9th Grade now, but I absolutely adore this and I’m happy to have it. Why don’t you have it yet?

I don’t think a lot of these commenters actually know what young teenage girls look like.

I personally feel like the short hair suits this version of Supergirl. It’s a little tomboyish, sure, but it’s practical for fighting crime (do you really want to be worrying about your hair getting in your face when battling the bad guy?). She’s 13 — why does she need eyelashes to make her prettier or more girly? I think she’s cute and looks appropriate for her age.

Which is kind of my other point — these people complaining about how this Supergirl looks don’t seem to realize that maybe it’s not for them. I’m a big fan of a lot children’s entertainment, sure, but I can’t stand most of Nickelodeon’s TEENick shows or Disney Channel’s live action programming. But I understand they’re not trying to get me to watch. I understand that kids want to see other kids that kind of look like them (except maybe with better clothes). Kids — and yes, girls — should get their own comics. If I like them as an adult, that’s cool. But they weren’t made for me. I have no problem with that.

I think Rob (or rather, his daughter) says this more clearly than I ever could:

“I showed my nine year old daughter the pictures of Supergirl from the preview and asked her if she knew who the character was. She did. I asked her if she thought the character looked like a girl or a boy, and she said that she looked a little bit like a boy. The reason she cited was how messy her hair seems to be. She then pointed out something that should seem pretty obvious to most people, and that is that the character’s name is SuperGIRL… She’s a girl. I don’t think her sensibilities were offended by the character design at all, and she had no difficulty identifying the character or the character’s gender. She thinks the comic looks cool.”