Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Supergirl Book One by Peter David the Four Color Media Monitor
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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Supergirl Book One by Peter David The Four Color Media Monitor. Because if we're going to try and stop the misuse of our favorite comics and their protagonists by the companies that write and publish them, we've got to see what both the printed and online comics news is doing wrong. This blog focuses on both the good and the bad, the newspaper media and the online websites. Unabashedly. Unapologetically. Scanning the media for what's being done right and what's being done wrong. Sunday, April 05, 2020. One of the reasons Peter David's Supergirl was cancelled. Nrama: One of the most remembered stories from your run was “Many Happy Returns” - issues #75 through #80. What went into developing that story? Did you know it would be your last of that run? David: I wanted to bring back the original Supergirl. It was as simple as that. Sales were dropping, I wanted to do something dramatic, and I felt that was the best way to go. I actually had something longer-term in mind. I was hoping they would let me keep her around and that we'd transform the book into an "S" version of Birds of Prey teaming up my Supergirl, Kara, and Power Girl, and call it 'Blonde Justice.' Unfortunately, the editor brought in some utterly incompetent artist to do the first couple of covers, and that was all the art DC chose to show. Sales tanked. By the time people picked it up in the store, opened it and saw the fantastic art inside, it was too late . It's a shame, but, it's certainly a stark contrast to some comics today - great looking cover art (and variants), but truly mediocre art inside, if not truly awful. Not mentioned, however, is that shortly after, DC gave Jeph Loeb, a pretty overrated writer who's almost all style and no substance, the task of bringing back Kara Zor-El as the Kryptonian Supergirl, and that could've played a part in the dreadful cover art for David's last issues. In other words, they threw David under the bus, just so they could give a writer of their choice the assignment for restoring Kara to the spotlight, in the combined Superman/Batman title Loeb was writing at the time. While I'm favorable to the idea itself of reviving Kara, the way they went about it was galling for at least 2 reasons in retrospect: Lyla Michaels, the girl known as Harbinger during the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, showed up in this story on Themyscira just so she could be killed by Darkseid's minions who were out to kidnap Kara, leading to the second issue - she was turned briefly evil by Darkseid's brainwashing, just so Superman would have more frustration to go through before he could set things right again. I've argued before it's become aggravatingly cliched whenever a story comes about where Superman's turned evil as a plot device, and this was obviously no better. And here's the funny part: Nrama: Did editorial tell you that you needed to introduce that version of Kara or was that your idea? David: Mine. I actually had to fight with them to allow me to do it . Judging from this, you could justifiably assume the editors - not the least being Dan DiDio - stole David's pitch from him and never thanked him for it. After his Supergirl series concluded, Linda Danvers quickly vanished, almost as though she'd never been. Bring back the original Kara, that's fine, but considering David's take was auspicuously brought about, that's why the circumstances leading to Kara's return were insulting, and the solo book launched from Loeb's take the following year went nowhere fast. Kara - at least initially - had no secret identity, the book relied on too many guest stars, and they even did some early social justice pandering, like giving Kara large underpants to conceal the underside of her skirt, all because of absurd complaints about the fanservice, and at one point even tried drawing her with a "realistic" waistline. Sure, some of that fanservice did go overboard in their attempts to compensate for weak stories, and the fact that Eddie Berganza was the main Superman group editor is exactly why it's not bound to age well. But complaining about sexiness in itself does nothing to improve the overall storytelling when here, David dabbled in the same and provided more satisfying writing than what came after. I guess that's why it's a shame he won't elaborate on whether he feels betrayed by the higher echelons who basically took his proposal and gave it to somebody else whose artistic record wasn't as satisfying. Given that DiDio's now gone from their employ, and David's star power faded by the end of the 2000s, I don't see why he can't be clearer on what he thinks. I own some of his Supergirl work in my Superman collection, and think it was worthy of the Superman family legacy, and it's a pity they didn't pass on the mantle as respectably as they could. Of course, given that DiDio ruined continuity at the time, chances are, even if David could continue, it would've been spoiled anyway. Especially by all those company wide crossovers. Supergirl: Book One. From writer Peter David (THE INCREDIBLE HULK, X-FACTOR) and artist Gary Frank (ACTION COMICS, JUSTICE LEAGUE) comes the start of the classic series that created a revolutionary new identity for the Maid of Might! WHO IS LINDA DANVERS? To her parents, Linda is a former good girl who now dabbles on the wrong side of the law. To her friends, she’s a struggling artist and the ultimate Supergirl fan. To her boyfriend, Buzz, she’s an eager accomplice as they try to harness dark forces more powerful than either of them can control. And after Buzz tries to use her to summon a demon, Linda Danvers is. dead? To save Linda’s life, Matrix, a protoplasmic version of Supergirl, uses her powers to fuse the two of them together. Now, sharing memories, sharing superpowers, the entity formerly known as Linda Danvers is something else entirely. Is Linda still a human with the same damaged soul? Or has Supergirl done the unthinkable and stolen a new life for herself? There are no easy answers, but Linda knows she must use her new powers to atone for her past sins. Because whatever else she may be, for now, she’s. SUPERGIRL BOOK ONE collects SUPERGIRL #1-9, SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #1, SUPERGIRL PLUS #1 and a story from SHOWCASE ’96 #8. The History of Supergirl. It’s probably the most oft-repeated (if I were cynical or in a bad mood, I’d say “tired”) refrain that I hear as the current writer of the Character Currently Known as Supergirl (and Formerly Known as Kara Zor-El.) Even those people who like the character’s current incarnation have their first loyalty to Superman’s cousin, who was wiped out of existence during Crisis on Infinite Earths . I’d say “unceremoniously wiped out,” but there was more ceremony, pomp and circumstance around her demise than one usually sees at the average college graduation. There are some fans who would happily see Matrix/Supergirl vanish from the DC universe in a burst of flame if it meant Kara’s return. There are others who sufficiently like her current incarnation, plus supporting cast, to want to keep her around even if Kara came back, but simply call her something else other than “Supergirl” so that the name could be returned to the previous owner. Yes, yes, I know, Kara wasn’t the “original” Supergirl. There was another one in an earlier story who was a one-shot appearance. And yes, I also know there’s a “Kara” who showed up in a DC/Dark Horse crossover whose presence remains a constant source of interest to fans. But for the purpose of this little dissertation, I’ll be confining all my references to that Silver Age pixie who popped out of a fallen space ship and announced her (fairly obvious) presence to a somewhat startled Superman. No longer unique . The advent of Supergirl was one of the first steps in the de-uniquing (there’s a new word) of Superman. When something is successful (as Superman unquestionably was) there is a compulsion to try and imitate that success by imitating the originator of it. That’s where spin-offs and sequels come from. It’s not so much a creative impulse as it is a corporate one. Thou Shalt Create New Books and Characters Who Will Sell—and the way to improve the chances of their selling is by creating parallels or tie-ins to established, proven properties. By the time the 1960s rolled around, Superman had gone from being the last survivor of the doomed planet Krypton (“That’s what we get for naming the place after an element!” said an annoyed Jor-El in a Mad spoof) to being one of a crowd of refugees on par with the Boat People. There was Superman, Supergirl, the Superdog, the entire bottled city of Kandor, even the Phantom Zone villains. But, as Superman’s popularity diminished over the years, sales dropping precipitously so that the Superman family was among the lower selling of the Big Two’s titles, the feeling seemed to be that the imitation—rather than being the sincerest form of flattery—had cost the Big Blue guy.