Best of 2009 #2 - The Creators' Thoughts

Knowing I was going to be putting together *my* 'Best of 2009' list, I thought I would ask some of the professionals on the Supergirl creative teams if any particular moments stood out for them over the past year.

I want to wholeheartedly thank Jamal Igle and Landry Walker for responding. Here are their thoughts on 2009.

First up, here are Jamal Igle's thoughts:


Jamal Igle: The best moment of 2009 for Supergirl? Probably Supergirl #43(Guilding Day) I think it's probably as perfect a moment as she's had, when she finally confronts Alura about how she'd been treating her. One of my favorite issues to draw.

The Alura/Kara relationship has been tumultuous over the last year and therefore has made for some great reading. Alura has to be one of the most complicated and compelling characters in comics these days. She really is a roiling tempest of emotions ... from depression to rage ... confidence to self-loathing. And she really hasn't been the most loving and supportive mother to Supergirl.

In Guilding Day, Kara finally talks to Alura about their relationship and comes to the conclusion that she simply doesn't understand her mother. In the end, Kara picks the Science Guild to try to bridge that gap.

I do wonder what the fallout will be when Kara discovers her mother's plans with Reactron.

And now Landry Walker:


Landry Walker: Pinning down a specific "best of" moment in comics right now is difficult. We mostly see characters develop slowly over sweeping arcs. As a reader, I have really enjoyed what 2009 as a whole brought to mainstream Kara. A sense of maturity. In turn, I think that has cast some of the previous material on the mainstream title in a better light. You can't really have a sense of accomplishment for a character achieving said degree of maturity if it weren't for the previous struggle. Even with the art, how could anyone look at the current costume as a symbol of Kara maturing if her previous look had not been so controversial? This was underscored nicely in the flashback in issue #40 (as I recall) that showed Kara in a skimpier uniform. So 2009 was a good year for Supergirl, in part because Sterling has properly used the earlier creative direction as a stepping stone to get Kara to where he wants her to be. That's good comics writing.

I have to completely agree that one of the high points of the year has been the maturation of Supergirl's character to the more heroic and responsible character we have had throughout 2009.

And it was hammered home nicely in this flashback from Supergirl #40 where Kara is seen in the micro-costume she sported early in the title, an aggravated look on her face, her hands on her hips angrily ... all while Batman is trying to train her. We haven't seen that Supergirl in a while.

From the beginning I was happy that the Gates/Igle team completely acknowledged the early Supergirl adventures rather than just sweep them under the rug. I called it a 'soft reboot' back then. And Landry is right that as readers we can only see growth when comparing the character to her earlier history.

I'll again thank Jamal Igle and Landry Walker for commenting. As fans, we really appreciate hearing your thoughts on the characters you write.

Any other 'Supergirl best of moments' for 2009 we should revisit?