Supergirl

Supergirl (2005) (Old Editions) #1

by Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill (Illustrator), Norm Rapmund (Inker)

¡Emociónate con las nuevas aventuras de la prima de Superman venida de Krypton, Kara Zor-El! En Supergirl, la protagonista explora cuál es su lugar en el Universo DC al mismo tiempo al que se enfrenta a numerosas amenazas que llegan tanto de amigos como de enemigos. Este libro supone una primera toma de contacto tras los acontecimientos narrados en Superman/Batman para que la nueva Supergirl conozca a la JLA, la JSA, los Jóvenes Titanes y los Outsiders.

Corresponde a Edición USA: Supergirl #1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an Emmy and WGA nominated American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a Co-Executive Producer on the NBC hit show Heroes, and formerly a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost.

A four-time Eisner Award winner and five-time Wizard Fan Awards winner (see below), Loeb's comic book career includes work on many major characters, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hulk, Captain America, Cable, Iron Man, Daredevil, Supergirl, the Avengers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much of which he has produced in collaboration with artist Tim Sale, who provides the comic art seen on Heroes.

Reviews

[Jere Pilapil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. I like the story it told but the art style was gross, both aesthetically and in the way it posed women (specifically Supergirl, whose age (16) comes up a lot)

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about Supergirl and her struggle with life on Earth.

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling tested at every turn by both friends and enemies, Supergirl is determined to find/create her identity. I love Kara's fiery confidence. She's not intimidated by Batman or willing to be coddled by her cousin Kal.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allá por fines de la decada del 2000, Jeph Loeb escribia una serie regular de Batman/Superman que recuerdo tenía un estilo interesante de narrar, en el que se mostraban globitos que decían lo que pensaban Batman y Superman sobre las situaciones que ocurrían en la historia. En esas páginas se presentó a esta Supergirl, la Supergirl definitiva de esta versión del universo DC, la Supergirl que esta vez si es la prima de Krypton de Kal-El. Obviamente Batman siendo como es de desconfiado y Superman siendo como es de tratar de proteger a las personas que le importan (y a todas en general, bah), y luego de algunos eventos locos con Darkseid en el medio, se ponen manos a la obra y deciden... controlar a la chica hasta el ultimo movimiento...

Esta historia empieza justo después de eso, y en ella Kara intenta conocerse a si misma y descubrir quien es en realidad, además de enfrentar a una cierta oscuridad que tiene dentro suyo. La historia está bastante bien, pero hay dos cosas que me resultaron un poco chotas: por un lado, Jeph Loeb no encuentra una forma de tratar el viaje de descubrimiento de Supergirl de otra forma que no sea con toneladas de cameos de otros héroes de DC, así es como vemos a la JSA, la JLA, los Titanes, los Outsiders y otros tantos... son tantos que el tiempo de Supergirl para ser realmente ella es bastante limitado. En segundo lugar, Ian Churchill y Jeph Loeb están obsesionados con mostrar a Kara como una adolescente sexy, y se vuelve un poco molesto... ¿Cuantas veces se puede mostrar a una adolescente de 15 años desnuda antes de que parezca algo gratuito? En fin... supongo que eran otros tiempos, péro no deja de ser un poco molesto.

[William Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Female characters in solo titles present a problem for most writers. They just don't know how to sell the characters on their own merit. Although that has changed (mainly due to Marjorie Liu and Bryan Q Miller), Jeph Loeb suffers from this affliction more than any other writer to date. Having guest appearances by the entire Teen Titans, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the JLA and even Lex Luthor as the villain, made the book weaker for not being able to focus solely on this incarnation of Supergirl. Using these cameo gimmicks as a selling point sold the entire arc short.

Writing Grade: D
Art Grade: A

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edición para Argentina impresa en España que aparentemente sólo se diferencia en el ISBN.
Tomo 64 de la Colección Novelas gráficas DC que además de los primeros números de la nueva/vieja Supergirl también trae una historia corta clásica (de Action Comics #286).

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too many tie-ins with other superheroes/groups in the middle, but the narrative of Supergirl trying to find her place and fighting against inner darkness was great.

[Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

great way to introduce kara (in this iteration) and her internal conflicts as well as show her mentorship under diana, bruce, and clark. also a fun way to introduce supergirl to a bunch of teams she refuses to join - and the one she finally does (not in this volume though!)

there were bits that were out of place and confusing, and while i know this is the same era of 80s costume starfire being brought back, the overall hypersexualization of two sixteen year olds (and all the femmes in general) was uncalled for (i do NOT want lex luthor remarking on young kara’s chest, dude). also the power girl/superboy stuff is never fully resolved and i really don’t want to have to read more to find the answers there after eyeballing the art in future issues.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

im glad they included that recap issue from S/B.
Churchill is doing great art here and norm's colours are great.
loeb is the big let down here. I can't imagine how bad this must have been to read month to month. supergirl meets JSA, TT and the oitsiders in each subsequent issue. fights them all then becomes friends. the JSA fight is the only one that works narratively as kara and power girl cant be too close because they are the same being from different unjverses (however given this is a DC comic this has happened with multiple characters multiple times).
at the end kara fights lex, is halved with a black suited aupergirl. they also fight then she accepts herself the same as the superhero community does. let's move on to hopefully greener pastures.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I haven't read any comic books about just Supergirl, so my knowledge of her is pretty much from the Supergirl movie and Smallville. The costumes, particularly for the women superheroes are just so ridiculously over-sexualized it was totally distracting and offensive to me. The format of having Supergirl narrate the story as she went made it a little more interesting, and I am interested in this idea that Supergirl is stronger than Superman but actually younger, and that she has this like "evil" side to her instilled from her father. So many interesting plot points in here, but I didn't feel like the story as a whole delivered. Overall kind of meh.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Varying in quality from issue to issue, but ultimately tying up some loose ends nicely from the Superman/Batman arc and establishing Kara as her own character. Loeb's run with Supergirl is awkward and weirdly sexual. Not sure if that's just him or the mid-2000s superhero comic. Hopefully, the next writer will be less weird about it. Also the focus on a Dark version seems like something Loeb was really into around that time, as the same thing happened in the Absolute Power run of Superman/Batman.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume of the Loeb Supergirl series reprinting the first five issues. Spun off from the Superman/Batman series. Really, really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Loeb writes exciting stories and there are a TON of super hero appearances in this. I also got Volume 2 at Chamblin, so I'm looking forward to reading that.

[Glen Pettifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

I just finished writing a long feedback and my kindle deleted it. Shorter version: ok so the artwork was brilliant, storyline was good too. Full of various super heroes and villains and girl fights and supergirl kissing Poison ivy! What more could you ask. Added to my to buy pile!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supergirl

Whoa, Supergirl is hot! Not to sound like a pig but, WOW, this version of the girl of steel is the best so far. Anyways the book is great, art is awesome, the storylines flows gracefully. Can't wait to read the next book.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, just one too many gratuitous naked drawings of a teenager. Also terrible boob physics

[Dominique Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love supergirl as a character. It shows why she never join any group and stay to herself. The are was really good. If you like supergirl you will enjoy this read.

[Al Capwned · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off pretty well but it became too much from some point on. Some typical silly cosmic superhero stuff.

[persephone (hades’ version) ³³ ᵈᵘ ᵈᵘ ᵈᵘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

don't mind me.. just reminding myself why i fell in love with supergirl in the first place.

[✨Genessa✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some good things weaved throughout, but some of the writing and *all* of the art was absolutely atrocious and extremely problematic...

[Matthew Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was part of a mini-re-read of my Supergirl comics when I happened to be at home where they were. I first read the story around 2007, and I really wish I could remember why I decided to start reading Supergirl over other superheroes - nontheless, it was good to begin with a character who had only recently been relaunched.

Kara's own adventures begin after one last Superman/Batman strip in which she tries to shake off the obsessive stalking of her that Superman has been doing. Superman compares the relationship he and Kara have to that which Batman has to Robin, which is an unfair comparison: the Robins have largely been young, orphan boys Bruce Wayne has taken in to look after, which is a strange enough relationship, but Clark's assertion that he has a right to be involved with the teenaged and largely capable Kara's life simply because they are related is intrusive and uncomfortable. Batman highlights the weirdness on the first page when he comments on Clark's hovering over Themyscria - he doesn't seem capable to see how wrong his actions are. And yet, he wonders why Kara tries to outrun him, to escape him.

This is important because it essentially establishes the relationship between Clark and Kara as she begins her own series. Clark thinks he has a right to be involved in Kara's life; Kara wants to establish her own identity and personhood and doesn't think she can do that with Clark around. It doesn't help that everyone on Earth (or at least in the superhero community) knows that she's Superman's cousin, and that she's stuck wearing an imitation of his costume.

Supergirl #1 begins with a recap of her origins - naturally - and a conversation with Stargirl which highlights a persistent problem with Ian Churchill's art: his women's faces all look largely the same. With Stargirl also being a long blonde-haired red, yellow and blue wearing, midriff-bearing superhero, Kara's story opens by making her look like an identikit female superhero, whose one distinguishing feature is the "S" on her chest (leading to an obsession in the story with her chest, most aptly and unfortunately mentioned by Lex Luthor). As she mentions at the start of #3, all of her powers have already been named by her cousin.

The storyline focuses on Kara trying to find her place in a DCU where she can't look after her little baby cousin, who's all grown up, where the family of S-wearing superheros into which she has been thrust doesn't want her, and where everyone from Superman to Lex Luthor wants to exploit her for their own purposes. Superman and Batman have been watching her, but so has Lex Luthor, and to be fair, so has much of the DCU including the Outsiders and the JLA. She makes it pretty damn clear that she's more powerful than all of them, too. But ultimately, Superman makes his weaknesses - the fact that he holds back and doesn't unleash his full power - look like strengths. Perhaps they are, but it comes across as sounding like an excuse for the fact that he's afraid of Kara, and afraid of her power. How can a little girl be more powerful than Superman?!

There's great moments here, especially for those of us who were watching Smallville before this comic came out and knew exactly what the black Kryptonite would do; most of the actions of the heroes, though impulsive and controlling, ring true. Kara ultimately (for now at least) accepts the identity of Supergirl, although part of her has rejected it. It opens up the idea that superpowered characters shouldn't be polarised, good-or-bad figures, but even heroes can have some darkness in them - and should.

There's a lot to be critical of in the art, story, obsession with other characters (although this does allow Kara to be placed in the wider DCU) and the fact that Kara is largely pressured into accepting her identity as "Superman's cousin" rather than a fully realised individual, but I enjoyed this introduction to a complex character with much development to go.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternate Title: Supergirl: Everyone in the DC Universe is a Dick to Supergirl (except Nightwing, ironically, and others)

This' a fun book which looks at a new introduction of Supergirl to the DC Universe. The art work is pretty good, (I'm not a big fan of Supergirl's costume in this story, it's too revealing for my taste) and the story is also pretty good.

[Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was easily the best of the three Supergirl books I have read so far this week, but geez, someone wanted to make her suffer as she is beaten upon over and over again.

I have my issues with this book, but lets start with the positives. If you like DC, you get about every hero in the universe thrown at you here at some point and a number of the major villains as well.

It was cool to see Supergirl interact with them, even if they weren't always who or what they appeared to be.

Another thing I really liked was how powerful she was. Sometimes Kara is made to be a bit of a B-lister. For someone who has powers comparable to Superman, this has never made sense to me.

She pretty much eventually wipes the floor with everyone she comes across.

The art is a very big reason that this book got four stars. The overall quality is very high and some of the images in it are fantastic. Some of my favorites are the Kara holding up the burning plane (wonder why this one seems familiar), stony faced Batman on his throne, Batgirl intro and uppercut, Stargirl/Supergirl split panel, Solomon Grundy splash fight, Supergirl/Power Girl splash fight, and so many more that I had to stop here.

Some of the things that I don't like are the surveillance aspects, the fact that it seems reasonable for everyone and their brothers to attack Kara without provocation, and most of all the Superman speech about why he is better than she is, which rang completely false to the character for me and fully undermined the title character of the book.

There is really only one story here, with the gratuitous, but fun figh-eractions that happen around it. This is the black kryptonite story where Kara is split in two. This was never significantly explored for me as they introduced the fact that this could either be a legitimate part of Kara or just a manifestation of the evil side of her nurtured by Darkseid in the Batman/Superman series.

Either way, the Superman smackdown and Wonder Woman lasso scene, just stopped the story in its tracks and wiped the slate so they could move on. This, unfortunately, made the conclusion unfulfilling.

Despite the drawbacks, this was still an interesting continuation of what began in Superman/Batman volume 2. Luckily I had read this, even though it was a decade ago, so I wasn't fully lost. I hope to read through it again in the near future as I remember it being pretty darn good.

I would fully advise reading that one first if you are interested in this story.

In this one, I would say, come for the art, stay for the royal rumble.

[Ricky Ganci · Rating 3 out of 5]

So what we have here is a decent volume that does a few things well, but comes off as an uneven collection, and ultimately is far less enjoyable than the origin story that we find in Loeb's work with Turner in Batman/Superman. While it would be easy to lampoon this collection on the artwork alone, there are some storytelling beats that also drive down the quality in this follow-up of the origin of the Maid of Might.

But it is the artwork that hampers this collection the most, on the basis that Churchill's model and study of Kara is rather irresponsible for the character at the center of this story, especially considering the background they're developing for this new direction. While it's clear that he is working to follow up the distinct work of Michael Turner, Churchill does so less comfortably than does Turner, relying on an immodest uniform and an embarrassingly impossible likeness for Kara throughout the collection. These artistic choices really diminished my enjoyment of the collection on the whole.

The story wasn't half bad, but neither did it advance or develop Kara's new role in the DCU. Power is ultimately the same sort of story as is the origin this is spinning out of, with Kara trying to find her own identity as others try to manipulate or control here. The internal conflict gets a different look--because in this collection, Kara literally battles herself--but there's not a lot of development to her character, nothing but one hurried conflict after another.

We'll see where this goes as Joe Kelly and Amanda Conner take over in the next collection (Candor!), but I hope to see a better, more conservative effort on the part of the artists, and a better, more progressive effort on the part of the writers. Like most Superman-family books, balance remains the most elusive aspect, and it is the key thing missing from Power.

[Dan Prestwich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not selling me on the idea that the new Supergirl is worth paying attention to.

D+

[The Sapphic Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Supergirl comic and I must say, I really like it! The mystery around Kara's origin keeps your attention and it's interesting following her as she gets her bearings and tries to find her place in our world and figure out who she is.

One of my favourite parts is Supergirl meeting up with the JSA. As much as I'd love Supergirl and Power Girl to be friends, it can't happen, and the book explains why. The situation's lonely and confusing for both of them, which makes it even more sad.

I have mixed feelings about the art. On one hand, I enjoy the art style, the colours are good, the faces are gorgeous, and the men's bodies look appropriately "super". On the other hand, the females' bodies are disturbingly thin around the waist, jutting out of oversized hips. Their bodies are eerily skinny. They literally look like you could break them in half, and it makes me cringe. No, I feel sick - disgusted. It's gross. This is made even more upsetting juxtaposed against the men who look strong and are fully clothed, while the women are scantily clad and are unhealthily thin. Even the muscular women like Power Girl and Grace seem breakable at the waist. There's so much wrong with portraying women this way, and no, drawing her with a pretty face doesn't make it okay.

That said, the writing is really good and I like Kara/Supergirl. She isn't as cocky or feisty as Power Girl, but she's cool. I'd like to see her interact more with other women so she doesn't feel as lonely, because right now she still feels like she could use some of her own age group.

Overall, despite the mixed feelings on the art, I do enjoy the story and character enough that I'd like to continue this series.

[Adam Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supergirl: Power stars the (sort of) solo adventures of Kara Zor-El in Superman as colled in Superman/Batman #19 and Supergirl #1-5. The story in Superman/Batman #19 is truly epic and hints of great things. Issues 4 and 5 are very good as Supergirl battles an evil version of herself and the mysteries of her origin deepen.

The problems in this book come in the middle with issues 1-3 of Supergirl's title. My feeling was that the book tosses readers to the deep end of the DC continuity pool. In 3 issues we have three different super teams show up with their different cast of characters: the JSA, the Teen Titans, and the Outsiders. We get tossed into the middle of something that was going on in Superboy's career. We gather that Supergirl is a bit unsure of herself, but it's hard to get to know her because each is so crowded, it's hard to keep track. In addition, while she's given action scenes, she's never really given a chance to show any heroics or desire to help others which makes her harder to relate to.

Still, the book isn't bad. It's just not good either. I could definitely pick up another volume and try it.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it all begins.

After her epic debut/return for Kara Zor-El of Krypton aka the real Supergirl. This starts off slowly as Supergirl attempts to make her place as a superhero as well as an immigrant to her now new home. Its awkward as she deals with living on Themiscyra and later attempting to work with various teams like the Justice Society, Teen Titans, Outsiders and the Justice League.

Interesting how this is set just prior to the events of Infinite Crisis. Dealing with supervillains and of course attempting to find her niche elsewhere. She tries to keep things as distant with her cousin and but attempts to get to know her cousin’s clone for a bit, despite getting a terrible response from his angry friends from the Teen Titans and later from the Outsiders.

Then things become even more unfortunate as she ends up fighting Lex Luthor using black Kryptonite and learning of the possibility that there are a host of terrible things hidden in her past that have come to do harm for those she gets close to.

Interesting start. Nice art. B

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very enjoyable read.
Jeph Loeb's writing didn't falter as the story picks up where B/S: Supergirl left off.
The art work was quite top-notch; this is the way that I like for my comics to look, detailed faces and costumes with actual backgrounds and not just color splotches.
I liked how so many of the the characters, both villains and heroes, from the DC universe wound up in the story-line, every if it was just for a panel or two or a fake out done by a shape-shifter. (HARLEY!!, Batgirl!) It all tied together nicely, in my opinion.
The covers done by Michael Turner that were sprinkled throughout the graphic were a nice added bonus. Normally my reviews are longer but this graphic just doesn't need that long of a review to cover what needs to be said. I highly recommend it to fans of not just the "super" family but DC in general.

[Beth Younge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time i’ve picked up a comic with a connection to Superman, minus Injustice: Gods Amongst Us which was awesome!

I picked this up from a charity shop as it was only £2.50 and i try to read a diverse array of comics. I thought that the story was really entertaining and i loved the idea of one superhero having a dual personality that is hidden from them.

A wide array of characters from the DC world showed up or were mentioned and i really liked the cameo style roles that some of them played with Batman, Superman, and Wonder woman leading the main story behind Supergirl. Reading this comic makes me want to find out more about Supergirl and it convinced me i should give the Superman comics a go as he was not that bad of a character as i first thought. My girl Harley even appeared for a short while which made me insanely happy!

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very awesome first Supergirl graphic novel for me. I was introduced to her by my brother and this was the first interesting edition of her adventures that I chose to read.

One of the best things about this novel is the appearance of many big name superheroes. Superboy, Batman, Harley Quinn (my favorite), Batgirl, Clayface, and Superman himself. They refer to a lot of pretty accurate story lines regarding this characters also.

The one thing I felt myself trying to reckon with the entire novel was Supergirl's body. She's fifteen! If only all of us women could have had C cup breasts, tiny waists, long lean abs, and overly-toned muscles. Of course she IS a superhero, so oddly fit and curvaceous bodies are to be expected.

All in all, a nice intro to Supergirl.