Five Comics You Should Read If You Love Supergirl
The season is over for Supergirl, leaving fans wondering what to do with their Monday [...]
The season is over for Supergirl, leaving fans wondering what to do with their Monday nights.
...Well, okay, not all fans, since DC Entertainment still has Gotham airing in that same time slot. Nevertheless, for the Supergirl fans who don't easily transition to the darker world of the Batman universe, they're likely feeling the pinch of their favorite series being off the air.
We've got about another three weeks before CBS announces their fall schedule and is expected to renew Supergirl for a second season officially. But between now and then -- and more to the point, between now and when the show returns in September or October -- what should fans do to keep busy?
Well, you could read comics!
(For the sake of this particular article, "comics" are magazine or installment-style stories that are currently ongoing.)
We've put together a list of titles you'd probably enjoy if you're a fan of Supergirl. Check it out...!
SUPERGIRL COMICS
We'll start with the obvious (and this doesn't count as one of the five, since it's not so much a recommendation as an acknowledgment): you should be reading Supergirl comics.
During the last five years or so, the Girl fo Steel may have been a bit more sullen than the version we see on TV...but that's about to change.
Besides The Adventures of Supergirl, a digital-first series by fan-favorite Supergirl writer Sterling Gates that takes place in the world of the TV show and is finally coming to print this month, DC has recently announced a Supergirl: Rebirth one shot and an ongoing series spinning out of it that sounds and looks suspiciously like the TV show, including National City and the DEO.
prevnextAMELIA COLE
Amelia Cole isn't just a comic that you should be reading if you love Supergirl: Amelia Cole is a comic you should be reading, period. Writers Adam P. Knave and D.J. Kirkbride team with artist Nick Brokenshire to deliver one of the most consistently excellent adventure titles on the (digital-first) stands, and while the series is nearing its conclusion as of this writing, there will be five trade paperbacks if you want to catch up in print...or an evergreen digital presence since the comic comes from Monkeybrain.
With the same kind of pop-feminist spirit that infuses much of Supergirl, Amelia Cole also revolves on a sometimes-clumsy/sometimes-uncertain young woman who uses her physical powers to discover her inner strength and make the world around her better.
prevnextMS MARVEL
Kamala Khan has gained a lot of fame for being Marvel's first Muslim character to headline her own comic book, but sometimes lost in the "cultural significance" of the series and the character is that there's some damn good storytelling going on in Ms Marvel.
G. Willow Wilson has always been a talented writer, but with Kamala Khan she seems to have found that character that can bring her to the next level by allowing her a forum to say a lot of what she wants to say without it feeling too out of place or preachy.
And, again, it's a similar female hero archetype to Supergirl -- she's sympathetic and modest and kind, rather than the brooding and violent model most popular with male superheroes.
prevnextFAITH
Valiant Entertainment and writer Jody Hauser just announced that Faith, a Harbinger spinoff about a cheery, body-positive female superhero, will become an ongoing series, spinning out of a four-issue miniseries that just concluded.
Aside from being one of the most remarkable and unexpected success stories since Valiant's recent relaunch of their publishing line, Faith is possibly the most fun you'll have in a mainstream superhero comic. It's a terrific book, and much of the credit that Ms Marvel gets for managing to bring a positive social message into the book without hijacking the adventure-girl narrative ABSOLUTELY belongs in any discussion about Faith as well.
And even more than Ms Marvel, Faith manages to be welcoming to new readers inexperienced with superhero storytelling. Anecdotally, I both personally know non-comics readers who have found their way to the stores monthly just for Faith, and have heard many stories about other readers I don't personally know who have done the same.
prevnextPRINCELESS
From Action Lab Entertainment, the publisher behind other great female-led books like Molly Danger (from longtime Supergirl artist Jamal Igle) and Tomboy (which is way too dark for this list but still a fantastic read), Princeless is the story of seven princesses, most notably one who breaks the royal mold.
Princess Adrienne, whose adventures are generally at the center of Princeless, is a strong-minded, brave, and intelligent black princess who constantly questions and challenges expectations and stereotypes associated with princesses.
The biggest thing she's not thrilled about? It's typical for princesses to be tricked and trapped in a tower. Adrienne and her guardian dragon escape her own tower and, rather than resuming royal life, set out to rescue her sisters.
prevnextTHE WOODS
Invading aliens, a diverse group of young heroes, and a lot of heart and humor? That's James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas's The Woods, out from BOOM! Studios, all over.
Tynion is currently working in the Batman office, where books like Detective Comics and Batgirl might be good choices for this list in their post-Rebirth incarnations as well, but The Woods is criminally underrated, delivering some of the most interesting and likable characters in mainstream comics.
Check it out!
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