Back Issue #84 October 2015 (magazine review).
As should be obvious from this 84th edition of ‘Back Issue’s cover, the subject is the pre-Crisis Supergirl, specifically from the mid-60s to the 80s when DC Comics killed her off. Writer John Wells gives her history, not to mention examples of her different costumes. I vaguely remember a young David Cockrum contributing one, but it’s not mentioned here. Rather than comment on the lengthy article itself, I’m going to express some reactions I felt looking at her history. She never had a female writer. Given the variety of jobs she was given and the numerous boyfriends she had, Supergirl often found herself in a difficult position when trying to find a female readership. I’m not sure if being a soap opera actress was the worst, though, mostly because the hours wouldn’t have given her much time off to go into action. When you compare the costume designs, I think it was a lot harder to get her out of the shadow of Superman. The alternatives improved, but they did so only by exposing more flesh. Imagine if Batgirl made such changes.
One article that caught my attention was written by writer Chris Franklin, which focused on Supergirl merchandise, particularly the various dolls depicting her and her various costumes. To be fair, DC Comics has not had much success with merchandise featuring female characters, primarily due to the lack of a significant female readership and the perception among boys that they were foolish for purchasing such items. Things have changed a lot since the early days.
Writer Jim Ford looks at Kristin Wells, a lady from the future who becomes Superwoman in the present. Similar to Supergirl, Kristin Wells’ identity was primarily protected by copyright. All of that ended with a crisis.
Writer Andy Mangels looks at the 1984 ‘Supergirl’ movie. I must admit that I only watched the movie once and found the villains to be excessively campy, which is a common definition of “believable”. It was unexpected to hear producer Ilya Salkind reveal the number of rejected scripts, but this is a common occurrence in Hollywood. Chris Reeves’ announcement of relinquishing the cape led to the immediate dismissal of certain scenes.
Clearly, in Franck Martini’s Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, Supergirl met her demise, a stark contrast to Barry Allen Flash, whose disappearance remained a mystery to everyone else. Dick Giordano’s remark that Supergirl was ‘Superman with boobs’ may be accurate, but it didn’t prevent Power Girl, who was equally powerful, from achieving success beyond her physical appearance. The same is true for other characters who are equal to Superman, such as the Daxamite Mon-el/Choose his current name. I agree with the conclusion that it was all down to treatment. The Superman mythos heavily influenced Supergirl. I’m surprised she never had a corner of the Fortress of Solitude.
Although the previous article referenced Alan Brennert’s role in bringing back Supergirl’s ghost in a Christmas story, I had to pause for some thought about his identity. Rob Kelly interviewed him about his 13 comic book stories. At the time, he was the only TV scriptwriter who occasionally wrote the odd comic book for fun. These days, Joe Straczynski is probably the only other significant scriptwriter who made the transition. Reading Brennert’s insight is worthwhile, and the people he knew and met greatly contributed to it.
Writer Jame Heath Lantz looks at the post-Crisis Supergirl as first detailed in John Byrne’s version of the Superman mythology. People viewed this more as a way to protect the copyright of the ‘Supergirl’ name than as a way to bring back Kara Zor-el. I missed a lot of this in the early 90s, including Peter David making her a Fire Angel, which frankly looks like a twist on Marvel’s Phoenix. I still find it problematic when comic books mix science fiction elements with magic.
Finally, writer Shaun Clancy has unearthed the winner of the 1979 Wonder Woman Contest, Orlando Watkins. The original prize was to appear in an episode of the ‘Wonder Woman’ TV series, but by the time the contest was over, so was the show. Instead, Watkins, parents, and sibling take an all-expenses trip to New York and the DC Comics company offices.
Don’t underestimate these early ‘Back Issues.’ I find them a lot harder to come across than ‘Alter Ego’, yet this one is still available as a paper copy from TwoMorrows themselves. Does this indicate Supergirl’s shortcomings or a lack of interest in buying copies? I agree with the sentiment that the editors and writers were unsure of how to handle Supergirl. Lessons learned since then.
GF Willmetts
July 2024
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6904. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 8.95 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1210
