Very sorry for the lazy theme week. I'm having a pretty busy week. Maybe I should extend this to be Supergirl Month.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! Here's a clip of Supergirl kicking ass from the terrible-yet-adorable 1984 film. Fun fact! The skinny truckdriver is played by Matt Frewer, aka Max Headroom, aka The Guy on my T-shirt in my Profile Picture!
How to assist a child in getting adopted:
1. Assess situation and develop plan.
2. Call upon slave robot clone to take your place while you implement plan.
3. Use superpowers to fool potential parent(s) into believing child is worth their time and money.
4. Repeat until goal is achieved.
5. Return slave robot clone to hollow tree until next time.
Supergirl treats that robot as badly as Superman treats Supergirl. That robot probably has a rock or something inside that tree that it likes to boss around.
I'm taking a little break from Supergirl Week to let you all know about a fantastic book that was released today.
Emiko Superstar is the latest release from the soon-to-be-defunct Minx line from DC. The book is written by Mariko Tamaki (Skim) and drawn by Steve Rolston (The Escapists, Queen & Country). It's a Canadian double team of awesomeness!
The book is about Emi, a shy, somewhat nerdy teenage girl living in the suburbs. She is about to embark on a seemingly unadventerous summer, taking on a full-time baby-sitting job for her very normal-seeming neighbors. Her summer takes a major turn, however, when she discovers an underground performance art collective. She finds herself fascinated by the freakshow that is put on in an abandoned building (The Factory) every week, and by its free-spirited participants.
What I loved about Emiko Superstar is that every character in the book just seemed so familiar to me. Emi is a fantastic teenage female character, awkwardly straddling wanting to be responsible and grown-up, and wanting to drop out of her boring life altogether and do something truly unique and wild. The story promotes art and creativity, but doesn't shy away from showing the darker side of that world, and of some of the people in it. The older man, known as The Curator, who oversees The Factory is a particularly creepy figure.
The art is also fantastic. I always love Steve Rolston's art, and he does a great job with this story and its eclectic cast of characters.
Mariko Tamaki was kind enough to do a Q&A with me via email. The interview was done before the cancelation of Minx was announced.
Emiko Superstar is a story of freaks and geeks colliding. How much of yourself is in the character of Emiko, and do you feel you were more a freak or a geek at her age?
I was definitely a geek for a large portion of my teenage years - mostly because at the private school I went to there weren't a heck of a lot of freaks - and I was pretty good at Math and Chemistry (which makes you a card carrying geek in almost any high school). I suppose my experience was a lot like Emiko's in that I had to go outside of school to really connect with a freak identity, and finding that meant disconnecting with some geeky friends who were heading in a direction I wasn't too into (finance and law - ick). Unlike Emiko, I wasn't necessarily all by myself when I first discovered things like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I had a pretty cool black lipstick wearing friend to go with me. So Emiko is far braver that I ever was.
Is The Factory based on anything that you've actually experienced or heard about? It certainly was familiar to me, and I wonder if every city has these sort of underground performance gatherings.
I had a pretty good feeling that things like the Factory exist(ed) in almost every city. I first discovered the freak salon when I was living in Montreal going to McGill University . It was like, "Hey, where are all the Goths going?," "Hey, what's THIS?" Places like the Factory are not always easy to find but when you do, it's like this underground city of eyeliner and amazingness. The idea behind this comic was to combine my love of the whole Warhol Factory scene with my experience of beer and bizarre performance art in clubs/warehouses in Montreal and Toronto - and the people that rule and love them.
It always kind of amazed me, the age range at these kinds of places - which is not to say ALL performance art scenes are like this - but there's this trend of a populous that contains a lot of teenage girls and a ton of older dudes, who end up acting as these kind of wise leaders. It makes you wonder why these guys get to be in this position and why they end up with so much cred - which - you know - for a place that's touting a resistance to authority and the mainstream - why buy into this male leader type thing - even if he is wearing a t-shirt with the word "SUX" on it. I didn't want to create any kind of moral tale warning girls about people like the Curator, but from the inception of the story it seemed like something that shouldn't be left out.
Of course, I want to repeat here, because I don't want to scare anyone off, it's not always this way. As someone who performs regularly in all kinds of spaces - feminist spaces, queer spaces, straight spaces, theatre spaces, literary spaces (and on and on) - I can say for certain that there are some places where freakdom flows and there's no king, which is an awesome place to be.
Steve Rolston did an amazing job on the art. Did Minx put you guys together for this book, or did you choose him yourself?
Shelly Bond, who is the Minx editor, put Steve and I together, which I will be eternally grateful for. Steve is so cool and creative and funny. He's always totally gotten this project and the hearts of the characters within it.
I am a huge fan of YA books - of fiction of all kinds aimed at Young Adult audiences, especially girls. I think it's great to have books that are not only aimed at girls, but tell girls' stories, you know? Like how when I was in high school all the books we read were boys' stories: A Separate Peace, The Catcher in the Rye, now Harry Potter, that kind of thing. And I think it's important to have girl voices and girl stories out there for girls, for boys, and for adult readers when I think about it.
Being a teenager is generally a messed up thing to be. It's all emotions and complicated and fears and anxiety, you know? And it's also an amazing, kind of a ridiculously free (in this way that doesn't seem free) time in your life. I think I like writing about teens because I like thinking about this time period in a person's lifetime. That may chance though. I mean, maybe I'll get too jealous and start writing books about people who have three jobs to pay the rent. Who knows?
Here's a little story about a time where Supergirl gets tired of living in an orphanage and resorts to drastic measures in hopes that she can get the hell out of there. It's from Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #14 (1960).
Oh, calm down Lois. It's Superman. What's he going to do? Take all those waterskiiers back to his tour bus after the show?
How often does Supergirl spy on Lois?
Aaahh!! Those eyes! They will haunt me forever!
So this is how desperate and crazy poor Supergirl has gotten. And here's her plan:
Alright! Way to beat Superman at his own game! This is the sort of crap he would normally be pulling on Lois, because Superman loves nothing more than making Lois think she's crazy. Here's my favourite one:
Ahahahaha! A coffee pot! Nice one, Supergirl!
Also..."Severe Kitchen Ware."
So Superman decides that he might possibly be in love with Lois. Which I never thought was the issue. I thought he just didn't want to put her in danger so he never acted on his feelings. Right?
Well, anyway:
"Perry said I could borrow his pleasure schooner any time I want."
I'll bet he did.
Good lord! Look at the size of Perry's pleasure schooner! How much does the editor of the Daily Planet make?!
Back to the date...
Those are some unorthodox cooking classes they are teaching at the Midvale Orphanage.
Holy crap, Lois! Do you want to date Superman or not? Because sometimes Superman has to go save lives, alright?
And now it's time for Supergirl to make some romance happen:
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
What?! No! Ok, look Superman. It's one thing to suddenly decide not to propose to a lady, but you should NOT tell her that you were just about to propose but decided not to because she fell in the water. That's just cold. As is flying away suddenly, leaving Lois alone on a boat.
Superman feels kinda bad the next day, and decides to go apologize:
What?! That TRAMP!
"Love, Batman." I just melted. I know it's not really him writing that card, but still...
I have to say, this is bold for Supergirl. Especially since she hasn't actually met Batman yet. At least not that we've seen.
No! If anyone is going to be his Bat-Queen it's going to be me!!!
Ohhhhh dear. Now you've done it, Supergirl.
Oh, you Super-heel!
Well, it turns out that Superman was playing along the whole time:
"I'll never interfere with Cousin Superman's romantic life again!"
Well, at least not until your next appearance, when Superman makes you pretend to be his fiance. And it is just as creepy as it sounds. But I already talked about that story way back here.
I think the logical starting point for Supergirl Week is with her first appearance in Action Comics #252. I think Superman's initial treatment of Supergirl is one of the greatest (fictional) injustices of all time. Let's have a look:
Superman is just about to smash the missile to bits until he realizes that there's a person inside:
Ok, Superman in that third panel? Amazing. He goes from being totally shocked in the previous panel to being completely calm and thoughtful. And skeptical.
"I'm from Krypton!"
"Nope."
Man, Supergirl is just so cute in that last panel. Seriously. And I love Superman's off-panel babbling.
Supergirl cheerfully proceeds to tell the tragic tale of her family's short-lived escape from Krypton. And when she's done, Superman is shocked to learn something else:
How quickly he pulls his hand away.
So this is pretty great, right? Superman, who has been alone on this Earth for so long with no family and believing he is the last of his race learns he has a cousin! And she's here!
Yay! This will be perfect! She can live with Superman and they can bond and he'll help her adjust to life on Earth after the tragic and sudden loss of her family and equally-traumatizing solitary voyage through space!
Right?
"Yeaaaahhhhh...about that...see, I have a really small apartment, and y'know...I'm pretty busy. I can't really take care of a kid right now...I've got a lot on my plate...and the place is a mess, really..."
But don't worry! Superman has a "great idea" for her life on Earth! It's not like he's a douche or anything...
WHAT?! That is not a "great idea," Superman. That is actually the worst idea.
SERIOUSLY?! An ORPHANAGE?! After all she's been through?! What do you credit your heroism to, Superman? I'll tell you: your loving parents who adopted you when you crashed to Earth. So why do you think this is ok?
Superman gets some clothes to make his cousin less hot. He feels much better now.
Hey, you know what a good Earth girl name is? Kara.
Let's see what name she picks:
DC doesn't think much of its readers. They remind us that Linda Lee is Supergirl in the very next panel.
I also want to comment on Superman's story: wouldn't the guy at the orphanage want more information about that "big disaster that wiped out her whole community"? Wouldn't something like that have made the news?
Poor, poor Supergirl. She probably thinks this is how it goes on Earth. "Sure thing, Superman. Even though I am just as powerful as you, I will live in this godforsaken orphanage and remain unseen until you need me. Just let me know! I'll be right here...wearing this wig...alone..."
Her first Super Job? Cleaning her room!!!
Man that sucks.
No, Supergirl. No. You can't use your x-ray vision for spying on other kids. Also: you are disobeying Superman, actually, and I approve.
Proud of your cousin, eh? Maybe you should read some Superboy comics. He isn't the greatest friend in the world. You should talk to a guy named Mon-El.
Oh, Supergirl. Just you wait! I got two words for you: Flying Cat!
I feel bad that I didn't get a chance to post any reviews this week. Mostly because this week saw the release of Supergirl #34, which was the debut issue for the new creative team.
Sterling Gates takes on the writing, and Jamal Igle provides the art. I had very high hopes for this issue, and I was not disappointed.
Since the latest Supergirl title began, it has been struggling to say the least. The problem really starts with Jeph Loeb's hasty introduction of the new version of the character in Superman/Batman. She appeared in one storyline in that title, where her character basically had two defining traits:
1. Hot
2. Angry
I'm not going to waste precious blogspace recounting that story, but let me say for the record that it is pretty much my least favourite storyline in any comic ever.
So you may recall a somewhat desperate plea made by DC in January, 2007 in the form of a DC Nation column asking female readers to please, please, pretty please read Supergirl. And you may recall that it upset me. (Unfortunately, the original column is no longer available online).
I haven't read that post in a really long time. Man, I was really angry! Oh to be 26 again. So young and full of ideals.
Anyway, the jist of the post is that I would not ever read an issue of Supergirl because it's a bad comic and I don't care about the character because she sucks and she's just some gross male fantasy character with no personality.
I was speaking entirely of the current version of Supergirl only, not the one who gave her life for us during the first Crisis.
THE POINT is that I never, ever thought I would take an interest in the current Supergirl because I was certain that DC would never write her in a way that would make me happy.
Skip ahead to the present, and I have had Supergirl on my pull list for the past several months. I've been buying it for at least a year. While it is true that there was a definite attempt made by DC to improve the comic and the character, and her comics have been getting increasingly better, I wouldn't say that the mission had been accomplished until this week.
As of this week, Supergirl is not only being written by someone who has the skills to really flesh out a complicated character, she also has a book and a storyline that will be closely linked to both Action Comics and Superman. Her book and her character both truly matter now, and what's more important: Supergirl herself matters.
And she's no longer just Supergirl. She has FINALLY gotten around to adopting an alterego, which means we'll be able to see her develop more as a person. One of my biggest complaints about Supergirl is that she arrives on Earth as a young adult and immediately becomes a full-time superhero. The fact that she vividly remembers Krypton and her family there, or that she is struggling to adjust to life on Earth, is not addressed nearly enough. Except when we're told that her father actually sent her to Earth to kill Superman. Which I hate.
I see Supergirl as a Buffy-esque character. She lived most of her life without superpowers, then suddenly gained them and is immediately expected to know how to use them. She struggles to make friends and she always feels like an outside or a failure. She has to make important decisions, but isn't quite sure enough of herself yet to make them without someone else's approval. And she also doesn't quite understand her limitations. She doesn't understand why she can't fix everything, as we saw in the latest storyline that had her desperately trying to cure a boy's cancer.
In the past year, Supergirl has gone from being my least favourite character in the DCU, to being one of my very favourite. And I have high hopes that the Supergirl comic will become one of my favourite books as well.
I just want to share a few panels from the new issue. The set-up is that Cat Grant has written a trashy negative article about Supergirl and now the public have an even lower opinion of our hero:
Oh man. Poor Supergirl. She was so pleased with herself and then some jerk threw a soda in her face.
It's a good thing Superman shows up with some coffee and some kind words:
Awwww...I wish Superman would bring me coffee.
All these positive Supergirl vibes have inspired me to launch a theme week here at Living Between Wednesdays. From now until next Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving!) it will be...
And I encourage other bloggers to post Supergirl-themed posts as well! Supergirl Week is a celebration for all!
In summary, Supergirl #34 is awesome and I encourage you all to pick it up. Especially if you are enjoying Geoff Johns' run on Action Comics (and if you aren't then I cannot be friends with you).
Living Between Wednesdays is a place for people who love comic books and superheroes.
