The ordinary problems of an extraordinary teenager – a review of the comic book “Supergirl: How to be cool”

Superboy in a skirt

The original Superboy comic book slogan starring the young high school Clark Kent was “The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy!” In this case, we can get something like “Superman Adventures, if he were a girl!”. Most notable about the comic in question, aside from the creative team’s impressive resume, is the way the differences between Supergirl and Superman are highlighted.

This Supergirl in Mariko Tamaki’s story does not remember her life before landing on Earth, which means she does not remember Krypton or her cousin Superman; in fact, it seems that Superman just doesn’t exist in her world, otherwise she and her parents would at least be able to combine the symbol on the ship she came in with the famous cloaked guy. It’s an interesting tactic to separate Supergirl from the male protagonist, with to which it relates “,” from its male prototype, with which each Supergirl story in each medium seems to struggle to a varying degree. Mariko Tamaki has opted for a really good solution and has the luxury of telling Supergirl’s story from the beginning without any reference to Clark Kent. Thanks to this, this graphic novel, published in the USA as a series in several notebooks, it doesn’t have to fit in with the rest of the DC publishing line, and allows you to explore a bit more a really interesting, intelligent and beautiful character, both internally and externally, which is Supergirl. Of course we’ll find Superman at some point, but it’s not going to be a meaningful cameo.

Problems of adolescence

The main topic Mariko Tamaki touched on was how Supergirl would handle death. Supergirl, like anyone with a moral compass and skills beyond human nature, automatically has a sense of responsibility. The responsibility for caring seems to me to be secondary to the people you love, and when they are faced with danger, the pressure increases to protect them. Supergirl shows that it is necessary to get up, find strength, find justice not only for the dead, but also for the living, and protect all who need it.

Another theme that is highlighted in the book is that no one is born angry and Mariko Tamaki portrays it perfectly. Here we have clearly outlined the differences between Kara Zor’El and another Tan-On hero in terms of personality, manners, and other characteristics. The fundamental difference is that they were both brought up on Earth, but under completely different conditions. One of them had a loving family, caring friends and ultimately a great life, and the other was tortured, tested and, therefore, driven insane, filled with hate. This difference makes the two characters very attractive and drives the story. Noteworthy are the main character’s relationship with Dolly Granger and Jennifer Bard, Kara’s best friends. Their friendship seemed limited from laughing together,

Interestingly, each event is dressed in completely different colors. When we have very dramatic moments, everything is wrapped in blue, in the trivial matters of everyday life we ​​see shades of brown and yellow, while some flashbacks are kept in a gray tone. Sometimes the pictures are like taken frames from the manga for me, although this is a minor procedure, and the frames themselves are reminiscent of anime, where the characters have their eyes wide open.

A teen comic with a pretty good punch line

Comics from the DC Graphic Novel 13+ series are not originally published under this banner overseas, but it is good that such a series was introduced. It is true that the Supergirl comic that I am reviewing carries many universal messages, but it may be incomprehensible for younger readers, and too infantile for a more mature reader. If you don’t like series of the so-called teen drama , you’d better skip this volume, especially as it doesn’t bring anything new to the DC world . However, if you can be more than that, I recommend this title with full awareness, because the feast for the eye is really great here.