Jamal Igle And Supergirl #34

A while back I mentioned that Jamal Igle is planning a retrospective look at his work on Supergirl over on his blog. I was pretty pumped to see what Jamal had in store. Well, he started that series and if this first entry is any indication of what is coming up, this is going to be fantastic.

Here is the link to the first entry, looking back at his (and Sterling Gates') first issue Supergirl #34:
http://jamalligle.blogspot.com/2011/12/from-vaults-supergirl-34.html It is well worth reading in its entirety, so please head there.

This was the beginning of a reworking of Supergirl's character and Igle starts out by discussing his initial approach to Supergirl and the other characters of the Superman universe. It is pretty interesting to hear his thoughts about how he planned to draw them and who he was trying to invoke.

But for a process nut like me, these things will be the real treasures of a series like this.

Here are the thumbnails of the first 8 pages of the issue. It's fascinating to see these quick sketches and how they match up to the real deal.

And, of course, the most 'controversial' aspect of the issue was the updating of Supergirl's outfit, lengthening the shirt a bit and adding the bike shorts that got the comic world twitterpated. We haven't had bike short talk here in a while!

Here is Igle's concept piece on his changes to the costume including the skort! Igle has always said that his initial plan was for the costume to be a skort and not separate bike shorts. It was a coloring error that implied the shorts! Wild! And there was almost a red skirt! Here are Jamal's thoughts:

I had also pitched an alternate costume design which would have incorporated elements of previous Supergirl costumes. Particularly a variation of the boots and red skirt from the 1980's/Matrix Supergirl. It was decided however that they didn't want to stray from the then current costume as designed by Michael Turner. I did however take some elements such as the new cape attachment and the ...well...

THE SHORTS

The Shorts, the shorts, the infamous shorts. Since there's no way to get around it, I'll tackle it head on. The first thing i need to say is they were never intended to appear as a separate pair of shorts. the whole idea was that they were supposed to be a skort, which is a popular item with female athletes. What happened is,Nei Ruffino had accidentally colored them red with a gold trim rather than the blue they were supposed to be. We went with it and most people didn't notice, until I did the interview with Newsarama that was picked up by NPR.

Hopefully I am not picking the scab of the bike shorts again. Maybe that discussion has scarred over.

Thanks to Jamal Igle for sharing these things with the Supergirl audience. I am looking forward to the rest of these posts (his post on #35 is already up on his site)!

Supergirl Preview Page In Superman #700

There is a lot of Supergirl and Superman news to cover here over the next couple of days. Between the release of the much-anticipated Superman #700 to the beginning of the 'Who is Supergirl?' arc in Supergirl #53, I will be scanning and reviewing through the weekend.

But I thought a good place to start would be with the Supergirl preview page in Superman #700. My guess is that with the nation-wide hype about JMS' 'Grounded' arc and the anniversary nature of the issue, that Superman #700 is going to sell extremely well. DC, in a savvy promotional move, decided to put preview pages of the other super-titles in the back of the issue discussing what will be happening in Action Comics, Superboy, and Supergirl. It is a brilliant way of marketing those titles to prospective readers.

Sterling Gates wrote the Supergirl page which includes a lot of information about the upcoming year. Some of it we knew; some of it we didn't. We knew Bizarro-Girl was coming to the book. We knew that Supergirl Annual #2 would be another Kara/Brainy story. And we knew that Jimmy Olsen and Natasha Irons were joining the supporting cast.

Little new nuggets were slipped into this piece though.

The annual includes a Supergirl and Legion battle against one of the scariest Legion villains of all time that includes a rip in the fabric of time. Since the Time Trapper was just used in Final Crisis:Legion of Three Worlds, I am going to guess it is the Infinite Man, another time based Legion villain. We also hear that Supergirl and Brainy are going to kiss!

As expected, it sounds as though Cat Grant and the Toyman will tussle and that Supergirl will come to Cat's rescue, despite Cat unleashing another anti-Supergirl campaign.

And we also hear hints about Superwoman's fate and Supergirl enrolling in college.

Perhaps most ominously, it sounds like just when Supergirl comes out of her post-New Krypton doldrums that 'her greatest enemy returns ... and brings along friends'. Her greatest enemy? Are we still all worried about the Anti-Monitor? Or is it just the 3rd bout with Superwoman?

Included on the page was this panel/splash page from Supergirl #54 by Jamal Igle. I thought this was a delicious little treat and really showed how much the creative team cares about the character.

It looks like Kara is looking at her Supergirl outfit pensively. But look at all the stuff around her in the room! It really shows the attention to detail that Gates and Igle have as these knick-knacks lay out Supergirl's history a bit. Going counter-clockwise from the top.

1. Belt rack with the variety of belts worn by Supergirl with this current costume (Michael Turner's, Ale Garza's, etc)

2. The 'Why The World Doesn't Need Supergirl' by Cat Grant Daily Planet from Supergirl #34

3. The Wonder Girl/Supergirl photo with them capturing a giant shark seen on her desk in Supergirl #43; I like how the frame seems partially destroyed - a given since it was on new Krypton when it exploded

4. An Eiffel Tower replica, probably from her apartment in France

5. The Blood Petal from her early age adventure with Thara in Superman Secret Files 2010

6. Zor-El's headband

7. The wig she wore when she tried to be Claire and go to high school in Supergirl #10

8. Amazon spear from her training on Paradise Island

9. Her Flamebird helmet from her mission on "Candor" in Supergirl #6-8

10. A Superman doll from fighting the Toyman in World's Finest (I think)

11. The piece of Alura's S-shield she recovered when New Krypton exploded from War of the Supermen #2

When that much of Kara's stories are captured in one panel, it just shows the love that Gates and Igle have for the character. This could have been just the uniform.

I think this is going to be a great upcoming year for Supergirl.

It's Official ... Middleton Off Supergirl

I figured that Josh Middleton was off cover duties on Supergirl after three straight issues were released/solicited without his art.

He recently made it official on his blog. Here is the link and some of the post:
http://joshuamiddleton.blogspot.com/2010/04/so-long-supergirl.html

Well, that's it. Supergirl issue 51 marks my final Supergirl cover, and my last bit of mainstream comic book work for the foreseeable future (even if I was just doing covers at this point). I have plenty of other stuff to keep me busy, and I want to dedicate every minute of my free time to personal work only, so the comic book covers had to go, bringing to an end, with a whimper, ten years of mainstream comic book work-for-hire.

My deepest gratitude to all of you who have supported my comic book work over the last decade. Your comments and kind words have always been an inspiration, and I feel a real obligation to do my best for all of you, which is one more reason it was time to move on.

I can only praise Middleton's work on the book and hope he has a great future. I am sort of bummed that he sounds like he is done with comics in general.

Middleton started doing covers with the landmark Supergirl #34, the first issue of the Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle run. At the time, it really felt like the title was starting fresh. Middleton's unique and stunning style was a perfect complement to the great work happening on the inside.

The purpose of a cover is to get the attention of a curious buyer scanning the racks. There is no doubt that Middleton's work was eye-catching.


I mean ... here is my favorite cover from his run, Supergirl #38. Supergirl is in the foreground, a look of fear or concern on her face. In the background ... ethereal, spectral ... is the looming Superwoman. Dazzling. All his covers had that attention-grabbing feel.

Another thing I appreciated from Middleton was his occasional breakdowns of his covers on his blog, showing the process from thumbnail to sketch to pencil to color. I love that behind-the-scenes stuff.

Anyways, best of luck to Josh Middleton on his future endeavors. And thanks for the great covers for the last year plus.

Now the big question is who will be the next cover artist? Whoever it is, they have big shoes to fill.

Jamal Igle On His One Year Anniversary on Supergirl

It’s hard to believe that it has been a year since the Supergirl renaissance in her title starting in Supergirl #34. Over on Jamal Igle’s blog, he posts about the one year anniversary of his time on Supergirl (http://jamaligle.blogspot.com/2009/10/supergirl-one-year-later.html). Here is his post:

Before I left for Jamaica, the day before I left I turned in the last seven pages of Supergirl #46. 12 issues ago I was announced as the artist of the series. In fact at the time I started working on it Catie was 4 months old, Karine had just returned to work a few weeks before and we were trying to figure out how to be parents.

I'm still trying to figure out the parenting thing however so much has happened. I came to the project with some preconceived notions and was happily disappointed, not just by Sterling's immense talent as a writer but the whole experience of working with the Superman characters.I want to say thanks to all of you who've supported our run. I want to say thanks to Nei Ruffino, Keith Champagne, Jon Sibal, Tom Chu, Pete Pantanzis and Jared Fletcher, I'm enjoying the work more than I have any project in a while and proud to have you guys as my partners. Thank you Matt Idelson, Nachie Castro, Wil Moss, Sean Ryan and Geoff Johns for giving me the shot. I was in Matt Idelson's office discussing what's going to be happening with issue 50 and it's gonna be nuts. It's just the beginning to Supergirl 2010 and I'm proud to be a part of it!


I was interested about Igle’s ‘preconceived notions’ about the title and was trying to think back that far. At this point last year, Kelley Puckett’s ‘Saving Thomas’ storyline had just ended with a thud. There were some high points to that arc (a suddenly caring Supergirl willing to bend the rules to help someone, some nicely timed humor, Drew Johnson’s art) but overall the Supergirl character felt lost.

She was still reeling from her characterization under Jeph Loeb and Joe Kelly. Their Supergirl was angry, angsty, apathetic to others, unheroic. She was, at least to me, unlikeable.

The uneven approach to Kara over the length of the series made the book almost unreadable. And sales showed that.

So I asked Igle what his preconceived notions were and got an eloquent response that pretty much mirrored my own thoughts.

Well the big one was, I didn't like what they had done with the character. I'm not a fan of Jeph Loeb's writing work, I just found her to be unappealing as a character. You have to like the characters you're working with or it's just not worth the effort. So when I was approached about doing it I asked who the writer was and find out it's some new guy I'd barely heard about named Sterling Gates. Not to sound egotistical but I've worked with some of the best writers in the business So Sterling had, at the time, a lot to prove to me. So when I read the script to issue #34 (which I can say now is the script that got him the job on the book in the first place) I was blown away by how good he was and how much love he had for Kara.

I'm old School, I've been reading the Superman books since I was 5 years old and while I don't have Mark Waid's encyclopedic knowledge I consider my self to be a huge Superman fan. I cried when kara died during Crisis, and as much fun as the Byrne relaunch was there were always things missing from the lore (Kandor, The Superpets, the connection to the Legion, The old school Lex Luthor because I hated the idea of Lex luthor having so much pull and being a corporate tycoon.) So when they brought her back as Clark's cousin I was thrilled until I read the first 5 issues of the regular series. It was a 40 year old man's concept of what an edgy teenage girl was supposed to be and it just didn't work for me as a fan.

All the things he says about the Kara that came before are exactly what I was thinking last year. I still think of that cover of a crystal gun wielding Supergirl standing over her dead classmates. Something was simply fundamentally wrong.

When the Gates and Igle team was announced, I thought to myself ‘it can’t get worse’ … damning with faint praise. I had never read anything that Sterling Gates had written. Would he try to bring back the Loeb version? Could a ‘rookie’ writer somehow save the book? I honestly thought the title was doomed for cancellation.

But the thing was, I can remember reading interviews with Gates when he was announced and he just said all the right things about Supergirl. He sounded liked he loved the character and wanted to bring her back to a semblance of the heroic Girl of Steel I grew up reading. After reading those interviews - many of which I covered here starting last June - I was suddenly, albeit cautiously, optimistic.

So here we are a year later … a year where Supergirl is suddenly a solid-selling title, a year where Supergirl as a character is suddenly a vital part of not only the Superman family but the DCU as a whole.

Funny how much can change in a year.

So, what were you guys thinking last year with Supergirl #34 just about to be released?

Supergirl Cover Art For Sale

Josh Middleton's website has been revamped and now includes a 'shop' section ( http://www.joshuamiddleton.com/shop.html ). That page includes sections for cover art, interiors, sketches, and prints.

In the cover art section ( http://www.joshuamiddleton.com/coverart.html ) you can drool over the line work for some Supergirl covers including the spectacular Supergirl #34. Sigh .... if only I had an extra $2200 lying around I would snap this up in a heartbeat.

Also listed is the line art for issues 36, 37, 38, 41, and 43. I really love the cover for Supergirl #38. This would be second on my wish list.

Anyways, here is hoping that the Supergirl cover art gets immortalized as prints to be purchased. Most if not all of Middleton's Supergirl covers are absolutely worthy of being made into a print or poster. I really think he is an important part of the title's creative team.

Supergirl #34 T-Shirt

Woo-hoo!

Looks like the fantastic Josh Middleton cover of Supergirl #34 is going to be immortalized on a T-shirt! I think we all recognized the dynamic nature of the cover when the book was released. Looks like it will be a great shirt too!

I have seen it advertised on a number of web sites as 'coming soon'! Here's one

http://www.graphittidesigns.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=63655&cat=

With a birthday coming up next month, I think I'm going to need to get one.

This seems like good publicity for the character, the title, and the creators. The more talk about the book the better!

Supergirl #34 Sales! Hooray!

ICv2 posted its usual breakdown of comics sales yesterday. Here is the link ( http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/13751.html).

You may recall that Supergirl was hovering around 28,ooo in sales, with a slight monthly decrease in a sales of about 1-2%. When the new team was announced and a clear emphasis on DC's part to promote the character was made, I hoped that we would see a modest increase in sales. I was hoping to break the 30,000 mark. Here are the numbers!

The title jumped in sales rank, going from the 86th selling title to the 75th. But more importantly sales hit 33,958 (#33 sold 27,609). That's 123% of what issue #33 did!

Most 'bold new direction' issues see a bump in sales. You might recall that Kelly Puckett's first issue saw a rise in sales as well. And, of course, things like variant covers (like this excellent one by Fernando Pasarin) will also help sales. DC and the creative team did their part by fueling interest. The title was featured on the DC homepage. The book was going to be integrated with the Superman titles. The creative team gave interviews just about everywhere talking about the path they were going to take with Kara. I think most people were pretty excited when they read about the changes that the team was planning.

But let us not forget post-release the absolute flood of great reviews this issue received both from professional sites as well as in the blogosphere. The creative team of Gates, Igle, and Middleton really need to pat themselves on the back for their efforts.

With issue #35 being part of the New Krypton storyline, I suspect we may even see another bump in sales. I hope we get within sniffing distance of 40,000.

The key issue to watch sales for is going to be #36. That should at least give DC an inkling of just how many people are sticking with the title and how many were around just for New Krypton.

Congratulations to Sterling, Jamal, and Josh again. Thanks for making Supergirl meaningful again!

Middleton Line Work

I have to say that so far I have been completely enamored of the Joshua Middleton Supergirl covers. They are very stylish, just the perfect tinge of japanese manga without being over the top.

So I was happy to see him share the pencil/ink work of the covers on issues 34 and 37 on his blog. Here is the link: http://joshuamiddleton.blogspot.com/2008/11/supergirl-lines.html

I enjoy any time an artist can share the creative process. From thumbnail to pencils to final cover, I enjoy watching the evolution of a particular piece. This was no different.

You can see how clean this pencil work is before the coloring and shading occurs. This is pretty fine line work here, but without much added to convey depth, texture, or dimension. That was added via the coloring process as we see the light source from the left casting shadows as the two burst from the printed page.

Compare that to the cover of Supergirl #37.

Much more shading has been added here, with pencils doing more of the work to detail Superwoman's musculature, the flow of her cape, etc. from the light source below.

This cover really works for me. For one, I think Middleton does a great job of giving her a feeling of movement and action despite this being a simple a figure drawing with no background or other reference points. When the 're-entry sparks' of her boots are added in the coloring process, you really have a dynamic piece.

I am impressed that Middleton is able to subtly change styles like this and pull of both covers so wonderfully. If the three Supergirl covers we have seen are an indication, I hope he has a long run with the title.

September Sales - Supergirl #33

Over on ICv2, September sales are once again broken down. Here is the link: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/13519.html

Interestingly enough, despite the downward trend in the US economy, comic sales were slightly up in the month of September.

As for Supergirl, she continued to do just about the same in sales, despite the 'lame duck' status of the 'Saving Thomas' storyline and the departure of both Kelley Puckett and Drew Johnson from the book.

Sales this month were down only 1.7%, with the book selling 27,609 units (in comparison to the 28,114 for Supergirl #32). Meanwhile, the overall rank of the book went slightly up from the 88th best selling title to the 86th.

A while back I feared that there might be a freefall in the title for sales and that we might see sales below 25,000 by this time. It seems that those reading the title have a love of the character and are in it for the long haul.

Perhaps most depressing from reviewing the sales is that Brave and the Bold #17 sold 29,857! So the 'kill Kal-El' Supergirl got read more than the heroic Supergirl seen in her own title.

I also am very very interested in seeing the sales for October's Supergirl #34, the first with the new creative team and after the major buzz/publicity/great reviews it garnered. I have to be honest, I was hoping to hear the issue had 'sold out' by now ... I guess that didn't happen. I still am hoping for the issue to have cleared 30,000 sold.

Reviews on Supergirl #34

Well the reviews around the web have all been very positive! It is great for there to be so much positive news about Kara in the comics world. Anyways, a simple search will bring you to all the rave reviews that I have not linked to. These were the ones that stuck out in my mind. Here are the links and some blurbs.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18308

The Buy Pile: It's a big surprise to see "Supergirl" #34 almost not suck (although it does echo the "get a secret identity" shtick from some issues back) with some diminished whining from the title character, a Peter Parker-esque turn in what she does with her time and some okay (if needlessly chatty) action scenes, all wonderfully drawn by the illustrious and praiseworthy Jamal Igle.

The thing that got me here is that the writer of The Buy Pile on CBR has routinely gone out of his way to really throw the Supergirl title under the bus. He really did not like this title and he let people know it. So for him to give it any praise is huge.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=387

4.5 out of 5. 5 I found the book entertaining. Gates, Igle and company are crafting a nice little niche into the Superverse for themselves and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this title.

4.5 out of 5 on CBR. I don't see many issues get that score. CBR! That is great press for a huge comic book audience.

http://comics.ign.com/articles/915/915390p1.html

7.6/ 10 For the first time in a long time, and maybe even ever, I was able to enjoy an issue of Supergirl. It looks like this book has finally found its direction thanks to a very competent creative team. Not only is it clear that Gates is up to the task of keeping stride for stride with Johns and Robinson, but he's found a talented brother in arms in artist Jamal Igle. Igle's work here is crisp and bold without ever trying to be too flashy, which is all you can ask for from an artist trying to get a title back on track.

Another wonderful review. And everyone is just gushing over Igle's art. He just seems so perfectly suited for the title.

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/122300357543494.htm

3.5/5 Sterling Gates has done a nice job with setting this series up for a potentially good future. If he can keep pace with Robinson and Johns then there is no telling how good this book could become. With enough work and retooling, Supergirl is likely to become one of my favorite characters.

Again, this is another reviewer who seems ready to jump on the Supergirl band wagon after not being too keen on the character.

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/100208tmqb3.html

Gates and Igle quickly proved themselves as a creative team more than ready to take Supergirl flying to new heights.

Even Wizard praised it. Even people on the Bendis boards praised it! I hope Gates and Igle give themselves a pat on the back for making Kara relevant again. In everything I have read by them I doubt they will rest on their laurels.

And not only have the reviews been great, there have been lots of people saying their store was sold out of the issue. That is great news! I am foreseeing a second printing ... maybe with that great Jamal Igle promo art work. I do recall Igle saying somewhere that DC had this piece colored for print 'sometime'.

Review: Supergirl #34 - The Wait Is Over!

Pardon the long post, but there is a lot to cover here.

It was back in late June that Kara fans first learned that Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle were taking over the Supergirl title. Since then there have been numerous interviews and panels in which the team described their approach to the character. They wanted to make Kara a likeable character again, a heroic character again; someone who will try and fail and grow and try again and succeed. We have seen glimpses of this ‘new Kara’ in Action Comics and Final Crisis. Even though I liked Kelley Puckett’s run on Supergirl, I have been looking forward to Supergirl #34, the new team’s first issue for some time. It finally was released yesterday and I can say succinctly it did not disappoint.


Before we get into the issue itself, I also have to commend the DC promotion for the title as they try to bring in new readers. We saw preview pages on Newsarama; we had interviews on CBR. Supergirl is currently prominently displayed on their home page. And we get this very nice Fernando Pasarin variant cover, enticing to collectors and dealers alike. I love the joy on Wonder Woman’s face as she and Supergirl take out this griffin. But on to the issue …


As hinted at all along, the issue starts with a shot of the front page of the Daily Planet showing Cat Grant’s ‘Why the world doesn’t need Supergirl’ opinion piece. Despite Clark and Lois’ attempts to persuade Perry White to scrap or bury the piece, the decision is made to run it on the front page.


Cat actually does a good job of defending the merit of the piece listing off all the things that haven’t gone well for Kara recently: taking down Air Force One, hurting people during the Reactron rescue, leaving the Atlas battle, and not saving Thomas’ life. Of course, all the good things that happened during those incidents are conveniently not discussed.

I am so glad that the current team is taking on this perception and not forgetting Supergirl’s recent past. I feel sometimes when new creative teams begin a ‘bold new direction’ they simply ignore recent history and start with a blank slate. It would have been easy to simply not mention the prior runs on this title, as out of synch they have felt with each other. That would be the easy way out. So kudos to the new team for taking on Kara’s confusing and conflicted history head on.


Oblivious of the smear campaign, Kara battles the Silver Banshee above Metropolis. Unfortunately the battle lands them in the middle of the Metropolis Monarchs baseball game.

Acting quickly, Supergirl saves a player and (in one of my favorite panels) swiftly decisively takes out the Banshee by dropping a garbage truck on her! What a great action shot!


While pleased with herself, the crowd is not so happy as seen above. First we get a Baywatch shot of Kara smiling about her victory. If this was TV, a slight breeze would be blowing out her hair. That happy moment ends as quickly as the battle with a soda to the face from the disgruntled crowd. Rather than thank Supergirl for saving them, the crowd brings up the mess she made, how she interrupted the game, and tell her ‘The Daily Planet’ was right.


Not knowing what they mean about The Planet, Kara flies off and reads the Cat Grant piece. In what is probably my favorite panel from the book, we see a despondent Kara sitting in a windstorm of the paper. It's like her life is metaphorically swirling out of control around her. Now some might complain that this shows a weak Kara, but for me it was a moment of realism. Supergirl has been on Earth for a short period of time and has mostly strived to do good. Despite that, she never seems to catch an even break. Why shouldn’t she feel sad when no one mentions the good she has done and only mentions the bad?


She broods through until morning when Superman shows up with a coffee and advice. Throughout the conversation, Superman is completely supportive of Kara and recognizes her heroism. This is not the chastising Superman we have occasionally seen in this title. He is shocked when Kara asks her if he agrees with Cat and tells her she is ‘more than worthy’ of carrying on his legacy.

He does give her one piece of advice … get a secret identity. He tells Kara she needs some space to decompress. He does not want her to stop being a hero … just stop heroing for 24 hours a day.

Supergirl agrees and begins to ask advice of her other friends. First she talks to the Titans. Robin gives her Connor’s glasses telling her that Connor would be proud to have someone in the family using them. Then she talks to Wonder Woman who tells her that the mask that is worn by a hero is sometimes their secret identity, changing to Diana to prove the point.

I was never a big Connor fan but I feel this is a nice homage to his character. Superboy died saving the universe from Prime so I also think the glasses will be a reminder to Kara about the price and power of heroism.


Lastly, she talks to the Kents and Lana Lang. Kara talks about how Clark wanted her to hide from her problems in a secret identity, not exactly what he said but maybe how she interpreted it. Supergirl and Lana hit it off, both realizing that they have been running away from their problems and need to face them instead. They decide to face them together.


Cut to the Daily Planet again, where Cat Grant finds this card on her desk. This was a perfect response by Kara. It shows that Supergirl is not going to shy away from the Cat Grant problem, not run from the city. It shows self-confidence in an understated but powerful manner. She didn’t write ‘stop writing about me or I’ll pulp you’ or 'F U' like the Joe Kelly Kara might have.


And then the unveiling of the secret identity …. Linda Lang!!! Okay, so I like the use of Linda here, an obvious tip of the hat to prior Supergirls. Nice touch! Nice ending! This issue is what 'bold new direction' issues should be ... a recap of the character and a bunch of hooks to grab the readers and keep them coming back for more.

I am sure there will be people out there who did not like the issue because Kara seems weak, tearful, and too subservient to Superman. For me it didn’t feel that way at all. This felt like the natural ending to 3 difficult years of stories. Kara is bowed but not broken. In fact, she seems to have emerged stronger.

On top of this big thematic change, there were other nice touches throughout the issue, like Supergirl dropping Kryptonian words into her conversations. That just makes sense giving her background.

And the art by Jamal Igle was absolutely stunning. The battle scenes are crisp. Kara looks lovely and healthy. But what really impressed me were the facial expressions throughout the book, perfectly capturing the character’s feelings. I could post a dozen more panels of facial expressions that were spot on. I think Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates were right when they said Jamal hit this issue out of the park.

I wish there was one or two more issues before the new Krypton storyline so we could have the team really solidify their direction before a big cross-over event. But really I have nothing but praise for this issue.

Overall grade: A+

Grass Roots Support for Supergirl #34

The cover of Sleeper #1, the masterful super-hero noir by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips seems a strange sight on a Supergirl blog. But Supergirl #34 is coming out tomorrow and I am asking people to talk it up if it lives up to expectations, if it is as great as Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle promise it will be.

DC is doing there part with a lot of buzz including a nice interview from Gates and Igle discussing all the things we have heard about this issue (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090830-Supergirl34.html) as well as preview pages of the issue on Newsarama later today! Hooray to DC for plugging the book so much!

I put Sleeper up today to remind everyone that fans talking about the book and plugging it is as valid as a media push.

I almost didn't get Sleeper. I almost missed out on one of my absolute favorite titles from the last 5 years. The only reason I bought it was because I was lucky enough to be in my comic book store and overheard a couple of guys talking about how great it was. I knew and enjoyed Phillips from his Hellblazer run, but I had never really heard of Ed Brubaker before.

Anyways, these guys talked so highly of the series that I went out and bought the issues and then Sleeper: Season Two. If I hadn't heard them, I may not have. And then I would not have learned that Brubaker is so phenomenal and might not have bought his stellar runs of Captain America and Daredevil (2 characters I have never purchased regularly before). It led to Iron Fist and Criminal and other books of his.

Word of mouth is powerful.



In much the same way, I almost missed Matt Fraction's trippy and innovative Casanova. I was in my comic store when a store worker who I had befriended in that customer/cashier sort of way strongly recommended I buy the issue. He was so enamored of the book that he said if I read it and didn't like it, I could return it. That's how sure he was about the greatness of the book. And he was right.

This also tipped me off to Matt Fraction, which led me to Iron Fist and now Iron Man, 2 characters I also never read before.




As for me, I did my part talking up Atomic Robo (wittily written by Brian Clevinger and distinctly drawn by Soctt Wegener) at my store and spreading the word about how great and fun that series is. It is well worth reading!

Anyways ... word of mouth is powerful.

So if we Kara fans read Supergirl #34 and think that it is great (something I think is going to be true based on everything I have read about it and what Gates and Igle have leaked), we should talk it up. Whether it be grass roots in a brick and mortar comic store, or on the web ... spread the word!

It is a good time to be a Supergirl fan!

Jamal Igle on The Pulse

Well, we are a mere 11 days away from the much anticipated Supergirl #34, the first issue for the new creative team of Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle! 11 days!

For those craving to hear more about what the new team has in mind, there is a great interview with Jamal Igle over on The Pulse. Here is the link: http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=007480


Now Mr. Igle talks about a lot of things in the interview including Tangent:Superman's Reign and Marvel comics and it is worth reading the piece in its entirety. What is interesting is that he spends a lot of time on Supergirl and touches on one of the persistent hot topics about Kara, her costume.

About every 2 months or so, the topic of her costume rears its ugly head on the various Supergirl boards out there. Some people absolutely loathe the belly shirt. Some feel it is too 'slutty' and 'sexy'. Some love it. Others are indifferent. Here is what Mr. Igle had to say.




With the encouragement of DC Editorial, he and Gates are toning down her stripper-inspired costume and making her personality more realistic as an actual teen-aged girl: "I'm trying to [take a different approach to her] than the previous artists. Catching up on older issues, the shirt got smaller… and she's supposed to be a teen-aged girl."

He verbalized the uncomfortable feeling many readers of the title have felt for several years: "I don't feel comfortable sexualizing what's supposed to be a teen-aged girl." The first thing he did, "was look at the costume, and make her less like a hooker than she's been looking."

The picture at the top of the post was a preview piece Igle drew when he was announced as the artist. Sort of a different vibe than the Cinemax-like panels from Ian Churchill above.

As for me, I like the Matrix version of the costume. And no, that statement isn't a lame excuse to show my Igle commission again, although clearly he would draw a wonderful Kara in this outfit. That said, while I don't prefer it, I don't hate the belly shirt in and of itself. There are plenty of other young super-heroes sporting the look including Stargirl, Ultimate Jean Grey, and X-23.

What I don't like is when the belly shirt is drawn more the size of a sports bra, usually accompanied with a skirt the size of a napkin rather than a skirt. There is *no way* Ma Kent designed that take on the costume. And this is not the 20-something Linda Danvers, this is a 16 year old Kara. When drawn tiny, it is a bit cringe-worthy.

And of course, throughout the series, she was drawn sensually not only in terms of her ever-shrinking skirt, but in her positioning. For example, the above coquette-ish look by Joe Benitez.

While I don't think anyone should judge a real person's sexual proclivity by the clothes they wear, there is no doubt I would not let my daughter dress like that. It looks too provocative. But let's hear more from Mr. Igle.

"I think I've figured out of a way to draw the costume." He used as reference the uniforms of the University of North Carolina cheerleaders. "The point with her costume and character is to like her as a character. You should want to be empathetic with what's going on with her." He pulled out a splash (which unfortunately must stay secret for now, since the first issue of the "new look" has not been released) which was extremely attractive – without any hint of slutty. A much-improved "look".

First things first ... I am a 'Big East' guy, not an 'ACC' guy. UNC? Ah well, those basketball cheerleaders usually have more to cheer for than those of my alma mater, Providence College.

But one can easily imagine an S-shield over the UNC on the above shirt. And yes, there is a hint of mid-riff, but with a more athletic feel to it, a sense of mobility. And little sense of tittilation.

More Igle:

When he was brought on the book, he was asked to make her "more presentable" than she was previously. They "went out of their way to make the character more presentable." He noted: "There's a difference between cheesecake…" and what is supposed to be a book about a teen-aged girl who is trying to find her place in her new environment.

The saddest thing for me is that there is this sense that the belly shirt in any form is slutty and terrible. And I don't believe that. Only when it is under-done, does it convey that. Only then can it cross over to cheesecake. Take for example the micro-micro-micro mini on the evil Kara above, again from Ian Churchill. I mean how does that stay up? It is barely covers her pelvis! I mean there is a place for cheesecake, but not in a book about a 16 year old girl.

It is almost as if Supergirl is held to a higher standard than other characters, as no one is gnashing their teeth over Star Girl. But now people are looking at this costume and seeing 'slutty' where I simply don't. It was hard for me to believe that the cover for Final Crisis#3 was labelled by many people on blogs and boards as showing an orally-fixated tramp rather than a scared young hero.

More Igle:

Igle and Gates are on the same page with making Supergirl less trashy while still appealing to adult readers. "Previous writers wanted to make her edgier, but there's a way to make her edgy, and still be likable. The way Sterling writes her, you want her to win; You can tell she's trying. She's a teenager – and she'll still make mistakes" like any teenager.

He noted that the more realistic characterization, "is easier once you break down the character and think about her motivations. She's finally decided that she wants to live up to the expectations of her" based on previous stories and her role in the DC Universe. Now wants to help people, but "monkey wrenches keep getting thrown at her."

That sounds so perfect right now. A Supergirl that wants to help people ... and that readers want to see win. I am looking forward to Mr. Igle's new design and I am counting down the days to October 1.