Cartoonist Dean Trippe, who draws a wonderful Supergirl, joins the blogosphere discussion about the Maid of Might:
It’s easy to argue back and forth as to whether or not Supergirl has been portrayed as a ‘typical teen,’ because it’s a false model. Some say yes, some say no. But we’re not talking about a typical teenager, we’re talking about one of the most recognizable superheroines in comics. She even had a movie (well, not a very good one, but still). The recent internet uproar over the portrayal of Supergirl (and Batgirl!) demonstrate how strongly she strikes a chord with both male and female readers. And yet in Supergirl’s comics she has been portrayed as anything but heroic. It’s been incredibly disheartening for those of us who want to see a Supergirl we can admire. It’s also easy to blame ALL of the problems on the art, which, with the notable exception of Amanda Conner’s excellent fill-in issue, has shown her to look too old, too tall, too skinny, too slutty, and seriously unfashionable by anyone who knows teenagers. The writing and art often come off as a rant about how dumb teenagers are, rather than offering teenagers a model (even an imperfect one) to aspire to.
The ‘nutshell’ epiphany I had was this: Imagine young Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, Bruce Wayne or any of the incredibly selfless, awesome HEROES we know and love, and run them through the ringer of degrading stories Kara Zor-El has been put through since her reintegration into the DCU. …
He goes on to address some of the more easily fixable issues with Supergirl, including her costume, her setting and her interaction with the rest of the DC Universe.
Related: When Fangirls Attack has been tracking a lot of the discussion
January 30th, 2007 at 9:54 am
That Trippe art has Supergirl as a bit too FAT for me, almost preggers. Slim her down some; I need to see some ARM HAIR on that girl!
January 30th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Preggers? In that pic above? Are you nucking futs???
January 30th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Some great points from Trippe (and a great illustration as well).
The new Kara is an incredibly messed-up concept, as it has been from Day One. The character seems to have been put together by an advisory group pooled from “Cosmo Girl” and “Details” magazines, with its skewed MTV filter of “real teens”. Funny, my daughter is a teenager with lots of teenage friends, and none of them look, sound or act like the current guttersnipe wearing Superman’s colors.
January 30th, 2007 at 11:13 am
She’s a piggie in that pic. Needs to slim down, eat less.
She needs to have a complex, if you know what I mean. I want to see cheekbones as WELL as hipbones!
January 30th, 2007 at 11:36 am
That is, without a doubt, the most realistic looking Supergirl I have ever seen. If DC wants to reach out to the teenage girl market, then start having superheroines who at least reflect the target audience in terms of image. Trippe’s Supergirl looks like a normal fifteen-year-old, not a Playboy Playmate wearing a cape.
January 30th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I’m a total fan of Dean Trippe! I think he has captured the essence of Supergirl in that picture. Sadly, more than ever, I think the media is trying to shape teens into a parody of themselves. I’m not saying that media hasn’t always played a part in the trends and behaviors of teens, but, even MTV, which is supposed to target teens, has become more and more a marketer of this parodied or false image. Shows like Made and the earlier seasons of The Real World (where it wasn’t all about partying all the time) have been replaced with “let’s see how dumb teenagers can be” shows like Exposed and (although, I have to admit its a guilty pleasure) My Super Sweet Sixteen.
January 30th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Loren, have you seen the teaser for Channel 4′s (UK) Skins (starring Nicholas Hoult from About A Boy?)?
January 30th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
I’m all for continuing to lament the premature loss of one Earth Angel.
But that’s just me. And I’ll note again that Kara’s real sweet in Supergirl and the LSH.
But Loeb sure did his best to create a stinker.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I would INSTANTLY buy a Supergirl comic that looked like that Trippe drawing.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:44 am
I too, would buy a comic that looked like that. That Supergirl is angelic.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:46 am
I just realized I’m “Might.” Woohoo! I’m “Might!” But in all normality, Dean Trippe should be writing and drawing “Supergirl.” I’m willing to give Mark Sable the benefit of the doubt due to his thoughtful responses to various blog entries about Supergirl… although I won’t be reading it due to logistical problems.
But if Dean Trippe were on the job, I’d fix those problems and get me an issue or two licketsplit.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:47 am
Dammit… left out the Y in “licketysplit.”
February 4th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Hey Kevin! Thanks for all the kind words!