Supergirl: Being Super

by Mariko Tamaki, Joëlle Jones (Illustrator)

Overview

A Newsweek Best Graphic Novel of the Year!

New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Honor-winning writer Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer, Catwoman) combine forces for a coming-of-age tale of Supergirl, presented with new color in an all-new format.

Kara Danvers is super-strong. She can fly. She crash-landed on Earth in a rocket ship. But winning the next track meet, celebrating her sixteenth birthday, and surviving her latest mega-zit are her top concerns. And with the help of her best friends and her kinda-infuriating-but-totally-loving adoptive parents, she just might be able to put her troubling dreams—shattered glimpses of another world—behind her.

That is, until an earthquake shatters her small town of Midvale...and uncovers secrets about her past she thought would always stay buried. The time has come for her to choose: Will she find a way to save her town and be super, or will she crash and burn?

Collects the limited series Supergirl: Being Super #1-4.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781779503190
Publisher:	DC Comics
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	522,419
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Mariko Tamaki is a Canadian writer living in Oakland. Her works include New York Times bestseller This One Summer and Skim with Jillian Tamaki, Emiko Superstar with Steve Rolston and the YA novel (You) Set Me on Fire. This One Summer was the winner of Printz and Caldecott Honors in 2015 and received the Eisner for Best Graphic Album (New).

Joëlle Jones is an Eisner-nominated artist currently living and working in Los Angeles, CA. Since attending PNCA in Portland, OR, she has contributed to a wide range of projects and has most recently begun writing and drawing her own series, Lady Killer, published by Dark Horse comics. Jones has also provided the art for Supergirl: Being Super and Superman: American Alien (DC), Helheim, Brides of Helheim (Oni Press) and Mockingbird (Marvel). She's also done work for Boom! Studios, The New York Times, Vertigo and more! Joëlle will be taking on projects for DC and Marvel this year as well as continuing her series Lady Killer.

Editorial Reviews

An interesting choice for those looking for more than the usual hero fare.” —Kirkus

“An impressive standout.” —Booklist starred review

"A pretty perfect balance between what one might expect in a more realistic, 'literature'-style comic book and a superhero comic."—School Library Journal, Good Comics for Kids

“Gorgeously rendered.” —Nerdist
 
“A gateway for new readers.” —Hollywood Reporter
 
“This is the most grounded, authentic Supergirl I’ve ever read.” —The Mary Sue
 
“Supergirl: Being Super is a comic book that was long overdue. “ —SYFY Wire

"The best kind of origin story...outstanding." —A.V. Club/The Onion

"Award-winning author Mariko Tamaki delivers a heartfelt, modern take on Kara Danvers’ early years on Earth that’s heartbreaking and endearing all at once." —Paste Magazine

"Being Super explores the challenges of growing up and coming to terms with changing friendships…as well as those pesky superpowers." —Entertainment Weekly

From the Publisher

07/02/2018
In this reboot of Supergirl, Kara, cousin of Superman, lives a normal high school life with her best friends, sporty Jennifer and purple-haired, girl-crazy Dolly. After Kara fails to save Jennifer from dying in an earthquake, she challenges her adoptive father’s insistence that she hide her superpowers. Tan-on, another survivor of Krypton, offers her a connection to her past, but he also seeks revenge upon those who harm Kryptonians. Kara will have to decide what kind of person she wants to become and which moral lines she should cross. Tamaki and Jones have created a fun and sincere version of Supergirl whose relationships are realistic and poignant and who will attract a broad audience. Kara grows as a character as she faces increasingly complex and harrowing circumstances. This first volume gives direction to the protagonist, unpacks her origin story, and pulls her into the larger DC universe, all while delivering a grounded tale that shows Kara as both a person and a hero. Ages 10–up. (June)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2018
Gr 8 Up—Kara Danvers can't remember anything before she crash-landed on Earth eight years ago. As the teenager struggles to piece together her past, she begins to inexplicably and intermittently lose her powers, leaving her with more questions than answers. When an equally unexplainable earthquake hits Midvale, Kara's life forever changes as she loses someone close to her and starts to uncover dark secrets lurking in town. This four-chapter title works best for readers with little prior knowledge of or investment in the Superman mythos. Existing fans will find that Kara's origin bears a striking resemblance to Superman's, calling into question the time line of each character's arrival on Earth and Superman's awareness of Kara. This character-driven tale deemphasizes existing canon and explores Kara's identity without delving into her more famous cousin's baggage. In this regard, it excels; most of the story's focus is on characterization, even if Tamaki pulls this off by containing most of the action to a frantically paced final chapter. The characters are expressive and authentically flawed. Though some of the secondary characters are from underrepresented communities, the cast is mostly thin, white, and heterosexual. The creative and varied use of panel sizes, shapes, and layouts, as well as dynamic camera angles and character positioning, keeps the story moving even when focusing on internal dialogue. The work brings an elegance to the cool, muted graphics through the artistic use of silhouettes. VERDICT This beautifully depicted origin story is a recommended addition to libraries hoping to pull more teens into the fandom.—Alea Perez, Westmont Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

2018-04-03
Kara Danvers' bad day begins when she pops a zit. As origin stories go, Tamaki (The Moon Is Up, 2018, etc.) focuses on Kara the teenager over all else. Having arrived on Earth as a young child, she endures bad dreams and has no idea that she's an alien. Blonde, blue-eyed Kara has just turned 16, and her odd abilities are glitching. At a track meet, an earthquake takes the lives of several people, including one of Kara's best friends, who slips out of her grasp. Later, when responding to a mysterious cry for help, she discovers not only the reason for her malfunctioning strength and the quake, but a dark-haired, olive-skinned man strapped to a table who speaks a language that she has only heard in her head and who has the answers to her questions about where she is from. His escape from the facility, however, causes problems that Kara could have anticipated if she was not so busy giggling at his face and admiring his abs. Superpowers are sidelined by the drama of fitting in, keeping secrets, and dealing with grief. Of her small circle of friends, the brown-skinned lesbian Dolly has enough sass to power Kara through everyday interactions as well as the weightier theme of the death of a loved one.More "teen drama" than "super," this is an interesting choice for those looking for more than the usual hero fare. (Graphic novel. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews