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Supergirl
Arriving on Earth from her inner space home of Argo City, Supergirl, disguised as beautiful Linda Lee, must battle the evil witch, Selena, and recapture her planet's life-sustaining source, the Omegahedron
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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About the author
Norma Fox Mazer
58 books104 followersNorma Fox Mazer was an American author and teacher, best known for her books for children and young adults.
She was born in New York City but grew up in Glens Falls, New York, with parents Michael and Jean Garlan Fox. Mazer graduated from Glens Falls High School, then went to Antioch College, where she met Harry Mazer, whom she married in 1950; they have four children, one of whom, Anne Mazer, is also a writer. She also studied at Syracuse University.
New York Times Book Review contributor Ruth I. Gordon wrote that Mazer "has the skill to reveal the human qualities in both ordinary and extraordinary situations as young people mature....it would be a shame to limit their reading to young people, since they can show an adult reader much about the sometimes painful rite of adolescent passage into adulthood."
Among the honors Mazer earned for her writing were a National Book Award nomination in 1973, an American Library Association Notable Book citation in 1976, inclusion on the New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year list in 1976, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1978, an Edgar Award in 1982, German Children's Literature prizes in 1982 and 1989, and a Newbery Medal in 1988.
Mazer taught in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults Program at Vermont College.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/norma-fo...
She was born in New York City but grew up in Glens Falls, New York, with parents Michael and Jean Garlan Fox. Mazer graduated from Glens Falls High School, then went to Antioch College, where she met Harry Mazer, whom she married in 1950; they have four children, one of whom, Anne Mazer, is also a writer. She also studied at Syracuse University.
New York Times Book Review contributor Ruth I. Gordon wrote that Mazer "has the skill to reveal the human qualities in both ordinary and extraordinary situations as young people mature....it would be a shame to limit their reading to young people, since they can show an adult reader much about the sometimes painful rite of adolescent passage into adulthood."
Among the honors Mazer earned for her writing were a National Book Award nomination in 1973, an American Library Association Notable Book citation in 1976, inclusion on the New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year list in 1976, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1978, an Edgar Award in 1982, German Children's Literature prizes in 1982 and 1989, and a Newbery Medal in 1988.
Mazer taught in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults Program at Vermont College.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/norma-fo...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 14, 2015
Full disclosure: I am a fan of the 1984 “Supergirl” film starring Helen Slater. “Oh, a guilty pleasure?” you might ask. Well, yes, but it is much more than that. When viewed in its intended 124 minute European edition or 138 minute Director’s Cut (as opposed to the incoherent, butchered 105 minute American version), ‘Supergirl’ is a well-crafted, entertaining movie with a lot to offer. Yeah, you heard me.
Comic book movie adaptions are now standard blockbuster fare often accompanied by critical praise, prestige, and respect. This was not always the case, especially back in 1984 when “Supergirl” hit theaters after a long and troubled post production.
“Supergirl” was self-financed by “Superman" (1978) producers Alexander and Ilya Salkynd. D.C. Comic’s parent company Warner Bros. held the distribution rights. After releasing the movie in Europe, they decided to drop the film just before the targeted North American release date in the summer of 1984, citing the disappointing returns of the dreadful “Superman III” (1983) as the reason.
The rights were eventually purchased by TriStar who cut the film’s 124 minute running time down to an incoherent 105 minutes and dumped the movie into U.S. theaters in November of 1984 with little fanfare. The result was a choppy, disjointed origin story and a sloppy film that was savaged by critics and ignored by movie patrons.
Actually the film is not without merit. It plays beautifully as a guilty pleasure and works very well as a children’s film. The colorful movie has slowly attracted a loyal cult following since the release of Anchor Bay’s two disc limited edition DVD release in 2000, a fully loaded package that includes the 124 minute international version, a 138 minute director’s cut, and a boatload of enticing extras.
“Supergirl” has an enduring popularity for several reasons; the art direction, Faye Dunaway’s delightfully over-the-top campy and yet menacing portrayal as the film’s villain Selena the Sorceress, and the sensational musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. But it all starts with the presence of the luminous, fresh-faced Helen Slater who exudes an ethereal charm in the flying sequences. The captivating actress is wonderful in this role and perfectly cast as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl.
Working from a screenplay by David Odell, novelist Norma Fox Mazer does an effective job of capturing the essence of Helen Slater’s Supergirl and her alter ego Linda Lee. She manages to capture the wide-eyed innocence of the character and has fun with it. And yet, there are more serious passages where she makes us feel the character’s sense of loneliness.
The author also does a bang up job of nailing all of the supporting characters, with spot-on, creative phrases. Norma Fox Odell never forgets this is above all, a fun movie and she does a good job of creating natural character driven humor. I actually laughed out loud several times while reading this book, especially when it came to the scenes involving Lucy Lane. But where this book really takes off is in the characterization of Selena. Every scene written from her point of view is an absolute blast.
Bottom line: This is a skillfully written novelization and like the 1984 film itself, is an entertaining, colorful, comic book adventure with great humor and a sense of wonder.
Comic book movie adaptions are now standard blockbuster fare often accompanied by critical praise, prestige, and respect. This was not always the case, especially back in 1984 when “Supergirl” hit theaters after a long and troubled post production.
“Supergirl” was self-financed by “Superman" (1978) producers Alexander and Ilya Salkynd. D.C. Comic’s parent company Warner Bros. held the distribution rights. After releasing the movie in Europe, they decided to drop the film just before the targeted North American release date in the summer of 1984, citing the disappointing returns of the dreadful “Superman III” (1983) as the reason.
The rights were eventually purchased by TriStar who cut the film’s 124 minute running time down to an incoherent 105 minutes and dumped the movie into U.S. theaters in November of 1984 with little fanfare. The result was a choppy, disjointed origin story and a sloppy film that was savaged by critics and ignored by movie patrons.
Actually the film is not without merit. It plays beautifully as a guilty pleasure and works very well as a children’s film. The colorful movie has slowly attracted a loyal cult following since the release of Anchor Bay’s two disc limited edition DVD release in 2000, a fully loaded package that includes the 124 minute international version, a 138 minute director’s cut, and a boatload of enticing extras.
“Supergirl” has an enduring popularity for several reasons; the art direction, Faye Dunaway’s delightfully over-the-top campy and yet menacing portrayal as the film’s villain Selena the Sorceress, and the sensational musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. But it all starts with the presence of the luminous, fresh-faced Helen Slater who exudes an ethereal charm in the flying sequences. The captivating actress is wonderful in this role and perfectly cast as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl.
Working from a screenplay by David Odell, novelist Norma Fox Mazer does an effective job of capturing the essence of Helen Slater’s Supergirl and her alter ego Linda Lee. She manages to capture the wide-eyed innocence of the character and has fun with it. And yet, there are more serious passages where she makes us feel the character’s sense of loneliness.
The author also does a bang up job of nailing all of the supporting characters, with spot-on, creative phrases. Norma Fox Odell never forgets this is above all, a fun movie and she does a good job of creating natural character driven humor. I actually laughed out loud several times while reading this book, especially when it came to the scenes involving Lucy Lane. But where this book really takes off is in the characterization of Selena. Every scene written from her point of view is an absolute blast.
Bottom line: This is a skillfully written novelization and like the 1984 film itself, is an entertaining, colorful, comic book adventure with great humor and a sense of wonder.
March 22, 2012
Unless you're a fan of the movie, you probably won't find the book to be much better. I am giving this a low rating because no matter what, the story of "Supergirl" sucks. The movie is a good-bad flick at best, something to watch with some friends and alcohol. It's a silly spin-off of the "Superman" movies that fails to be a good movie despite a huge budget and a cast that is led by the beautiful Helen Slater (Supergirl and Linda Lee).
This book does what it can with the horrendous story that the filmmakers chose to produce, and it also adds some cool things not present in the theatrical version- including more about this story's connections to the "Superman" saga (Jimmy Olsen has a bit more to do here, and the absent Clark Kent and Superman are referred to a lot more). But in the end, you can only polish a bad story so much.
This book does what it can with the horrendous story that the filmmakers chose to produce, and it also adds some cool things not present in the theatrical version- including more about this story's connections to the "Superman" saga (Jimmy Olsen has a bit more to do here, and the absent Clark Kent and Superman are referred to a lot more). But in the end, you can only polish a bad story so much.
August 3, 2024
Supergirl was one of the few movies I would watch repeatedly as a child which means I know it beat by beat. So for a friend to buy this 1984 novelisation as I reach my 40 was wonderful. It’s basically the film, with very little extra, but I’m astounded there’s no mention of “squirt” by Peter O’Toole in the Phantom Zone - improv??
September 6, 2019
Eh. Another case in which the book is better than the movie in some ways, while being worse and losing charm in other ways. The writing stumbles quite often but the story is stronger here overall than it plays out on screen.
June 2, 2024
Libro del film omonimo: molto prevedibile e anche un po' banalotto.
June 9, 2013
Very good. Nicely detailed with much more information than that told in the movie. Years later I would find out that this was adapted almost word for word in the super rare Director's Cut. I love and miss this version of Supergirl and am so glad for this story. B+
January 22, 2015
87 - 2015
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews