Jamal Igle Interview at Newsrama

After a great interview from new Supergirl writer Sterling Gates in Newsarama, we got to hear from the new artist Jamal Igle on the site as well. Here is the link.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080630-JamalSupergirl.html

Gates interview was so phenomenal; he just said all the right things and really made me eager to read his run. Igle's interview is just as good. Here some excerpts and comments.

NRAMA: I know that you're a huuuge Superman fan. I think we talked three or four years ago in Pittsburgh about your dream project being to work on Superman.
JI: Absolutely. I'm probably -- no, I can't say I'm the biggest Superman fan in the world because Mark Waid probably beats me by a couple of inches, but I'm up there.

So, much like Gates, Igle is a huge fan of the Superman mythos. That respect for the material should translate well.


NRAMA: So what did you think when you got presented the possibility of drawing Supergirl?
JI: It's just like everything else I've ever done. The challenge for me is I'm not particularly known for drawing women and female characters. I obviously do draw women. I've been drawing a wide variety of female superheroes and women characters my entire career.

Just some examples to show that Igle draws females just fine.

NRAMA: What do you want to do with this character visually? There have been several different looks over the first 30 issues of her title.

JI: I want to make her cute, but I want to pull back a little from the more extreme versions that have done of her. She's still a 16-year-old girl, and I don't want to over-sexualize her. I'm leaning more toward the way George Perez drew her in Brave and the Bold. The whole thing is we want to make her cute and fun.

This is great. It must be hard not to fall into the trap of making Supergirl over-the-top sexy. But she is supposed to be 17! I would rather have the cute and fun Kara then the jail-bait Kara.

Some examples of that titillating look from recent years, from Benes, Benitez, and Churchill.

And something more subtly sexy from the 70's. Just a little bit of symbolism here, hee hee ...

And now the Perez look from Brave and Bold.

NRAMA: We've talked to him a little bit too. But what kind of direction do you think you're hoping to support with your visual storyteling?

JI: I think stylistically, it's going to be more like what I was doing toward the end of my run on Firestorm. It's bright and he's alive. Supergirl will lend itself toward being just a little more cartoony and high energy. I want to make it visually more fun.

This Supergirl ... bright, alive, and fun?? I sure hope so because that is miles away from this.

NRAMA: How has it been working with Sterling?

JI: He's a lot of fun to talk with about the character because he's so excited about Supergirl. One of the big things for me, talking to Sterling, is that our individual ideas of where we want the book to go just immediately lined up. So I'm looking forward to what's coming, and I think fans are going to love it.

Both Gates and Igle sound excited about being on this title. My guess is some of the energy is going to spill over into the stories and that we are in for a great run.

Ame-Comi Supergirl statue

Here is the Ame-Comi Supergirl vinyl statue released last month from DCDirect.

It is rare for there to be a piece of Supergirl memorabilia that I don't want to buy. I have a nice little collection of Supergirl action figures, statues, and toys in my corner of the basement.

Some are great; this Action #252 cover statue comes to mind.

Some aren't so great; this is a pretty lousy action figure.

Well, when DC announced the Ame-Comi line of statues which included Supergirl, I was pumped. After all, I am an Anime fan too.

Then the pictures of the statue were released.

I understand that these statues are Anime based. That they are not supposed to be direct interpretations of the current characters ... but a re-imagining of them.

But this Kara just seems too far off the mark. That is one teeny-tiny skirt. Too small. More like a hankie. Those opera length gloves. Unheard of. Thigh-high high heel boots?

Hey, I don't mind a sexy Supergirl, but this looks more like a stripper than Kara. I mean take another look.

And it is not as if I am against the line as a whole. I actually think the Wonder Woman and Batgirl ones are clever re-thinkings, a little Final Fantasy and a little Battle of the Planets respectively.

Anyways, despite being a completist, I am not going to buy this statue. Instead, I look forward to the Justice:Supergirl figure in the 70s uniform. And I continue to search for an affordable full-size Bruckner Supergirl statue ... affordable being the key word.