Make sure to click read all the way to the bottom, to be able to enter to win one of 2 copies of Supergirl: Being Super!
My love of comics and graphic novels is no secret around these parts, but many of you may have noticed (and have noticed. And have pointed out) that there seems to be something missing in the comics I choose to share: superheroes. Sure, there are those, like Zita the Spacegirl or Aurora West, that would fit the bill, but for the most part, I generally steer clear of characters in capes. There are two reasons for this:
- The series' are so vast! We're talking about stories that have been going on for the better part of a century, in some cases, and I'm the type of person that feels like I need to start at the beginning and work my way through, and that's daunting. And not at all appealing, frankly. There have been times I've thought about jumping into a long-running series (they do have their arcs, after all, and the very characters themselves change so frequently that it could easily be done), but a little voice inside me always says, 'But, Easter eggs! Backstory! YOU COULD BE MISSING SO MUCH!'
So I don't.
- The other reason is actually sort of the opposite? When I was a kid, I did read superhero comics. I didn't care about arcs and eggs and any kind of plot coherency. I cared about reading — everything, all the time — so when someone gave me a BIG box of comics, I read them. Again and again and again. At some point, my mom decided I didn't need them anymore (or a rock collection, or a cactus. She must have been going through a face, which resulted in the desolation of my prized, curated collections of things, but that's a story for another day), and once they were gone, it was a long, loooong time before I picked up another one. And when I did, it wasn't superheroes — I'd been there. I'd done that.
All this is to say, I've been avoiding them for so long, while also not wanting to avoid them and feeling a little at sea trying to figure out where to start, and I think maybe, just maybe? Supergirl: Being Super was the perfect place to start.
Though it's probably impossible to not know anything about the world of Superman — like, literally. I'm sure there's someone in an undiscovered village in the Amazon saying "It's a bird, it's a plane" in a language only 35 people know... — I don't think you'd need to have any familiarity with Supergirl, the character of Kara, and her story as has been told for the last 50-odd years. Being Super reboots the story and eases the reader in, placing Kara with adoptive parents and close friends and no clue of why she is the way she is. This is ground that most readers and movie-goers will be familiar with; it's a standard in to most fantasy and sci-fi stories (for example, Smallville gave us exactly this).
Kara narrates her own story in asides to the reader, making her seem personable and relatable — she may be super powerful and full of fantastical powers, but she's also a typical teenage girl who gets zits and has to navigate high school. She's an Everywoman, waiting to burst forth into her full Kryptonian glory. [My god, that was one of the most ridiculous sentences I've written lately. Enjoy.]
I found myself immensely enjoying her story, and Mariko Tamaki's handling of her character, which was only enhanced by the gorgeously expressive art of Joëlle Jones. (Seriously. Just let Joëlle Jones illustrate everything, forever. It's classic and modern, understated and yet perfectly expressive. I loved it a whole, whole lot.) I found myself wanting to flip through faster but also linger over things; I kept glancing down to see how much story I had left, and the closer it got, the less I wanted it to end. I'm already looking forward to more (please say there's a volume 2 coming, DC!), while also reconsidering some other superhero comics I could maaaybe dip my toes into.
I'm sold.
(And I'll take your recommendations, please and thanks.)
Turns out, Supergirl is . . . wait for it . . . pretty super.
See what I did there?
Okay, I'm gonna go. But before YOU go, make sure to enter to win a copy of Supergirl: Being Super for yourself!
about Supergirl: Being Super
written by Mariko Tamaki
art by Joëlle Jones
Kara narrates her own story in asides to the reader, making her seem personable and relatable — she may be super powerful and full of fantastical powers, but she's also a typical teenage girl who gets zits and has to navigate high school. She's an Everywoman, waiting to burst forth into her full Kryptonian glory. [My god, that was one of the most ridiculous sentences I've written lately. Enjoy.]
I found myself immensely enjoying her story, and Mariko Tamaki's handling of her character, which was only enhanced by the gorgeously expressive art of Joëlle Jones. (Seriously. Just let Joëlle Jones illustrate everything, forever. It's classic and modern, understated and yet perfectly expressive. I loved it a whole, whole lot.) I found myself wanting to flip through faster but also linger over things; I kept glancing down to see how much story I had left, and the closer it got, the less I wanted it to end. I'm already looking forward to more (please say there's a volume 2 coming, DC!), while also reconsidering some other superhero comics I could maaaybe dip my toes into.
I'm sold.
(And I'll take your recommendations, please and thanks.)
Turns out, Supergirl is . . . wait for it . . . pretty super.
See what I did there?
Okay, I'm gonna go. But before YOU go, make sure to enter to win a copy of Supergirl: Being Super for yourself!
*art & story copyright Joëlle Jones, Mariko Tamaki and DC Comics*
written by Mariko Tamaki
art by Joëlle Jones
  Caldecott Honor and Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer) combine forces for this incredible coming-of-age tale! This is the Girl of Steel as you’ve never seen her before. She’s super-strong. She can fly. She crash-landed on Earth in a rocket ship. But for Kara Danvers, winning the next track meet, celebrating her 16th birthday and surviving her latest mega-zit are her top concerns. And with the help of her best friends and her kinda-infuriating-but-totally-loving adoptive parents, she just might be able to put her troubling dreams-shattered glimpses of another world-behind her. Until an earthquake shatters her small town of Midvale…and uncovers secrets about her past she thought would always stay buried. Now Kara’s incredible powers are kicking into high gear, and people she trusted are revealing creepy ulterior motives. The time has come for her to choose between the world where she was born and the only world she’s ever known. Will she find a way to save her town and be super, or will she crash and burn? Collects the limited series Supergirl: Being Super #1-4. |
**** GIVEAWAY ****
The awesome folks at DC Comics have offered up two copies of Supergirl: Being Super to two lucky winners!
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Ends Friday, June 15th at 11:59 pm EST
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Disclosure: a copy of Supergirl: Being Super was provided to me for review purposes by DC Comics. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own, and are not influenced by the fact that I read this book for free. Affiliate links are used in this post.
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