Loeb's Supergirl

Primal · Aug 10, 2005

Read the entire interview here.

JEPH LOEB TALKS SCRIPTING SUPERGIRL

BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO
After the fan response to the appearance of an all new Supergirl in the pages of Superman/Batman, DC Comics has decided to give the new teen of steel her own ongoing series. Supergirl makes its debut this month from the publisher and creative team of Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund. For those curious about how this Supergirl relates to the classic Silver Age figure, Loeb said, "This young lady is NOT the girl who died in Crisis. This is not your grandfather's Supergirl."

THE PULSE: When you were introducing this new version of Supergirl, did you think then that she'd be getting her own solo series or did that opportunity present itself after the reaction to her first few appearances?

LOEB: DC, and Dan Didio in particular, asked if I would tell the story that would bring Supergirl -- more specifically Kara Zor-El -- back into the DCU. For the first time. Continuity buffs' brains must be exploding right about now.

Eddie Berganza and I had a story that dated back when I was doing the monthly Superman comic about the meteor and together we had hatched this mad scheme to bring back "someone" inside that hunk of rock. The moment presented itself and we took it.

We had always talked about doing an ongoing monthly series, but those things depend on three very important, and very realistic considerations: Sales, The Team, and Schedule. Thanks in no small part to Mike Turner and Peter Steigerwald and Richard Starkings, Superman/Batman #8-13 were blockbuster stories and the DCU found out about Supergirl. So, that handled the sales department. I was asked to write the book and when I found out we could get Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund, Richard Starkings and The Aspen Color team, it only became about scheduling. I knew I was leaving S/B at Issue #25, and the last piece fell into place.

THE PULSE: Why do you think comic fans * want * a Supergirl?

LOEB: Um... If I knew the recipe for success, I'd only do books that blow the roof off the comic book industry. I happen to adore the character and feel like the idea of a young, headstrong, funny, and extremely powerful female in the ANY situation is good thing. Supergirl has been around in one form or another since 1958. A good idea is a good idea and she's a GREAT idea. So despite the effort to "retcon" her out of existence in 1986, she has continued to come back in one form or another. All I can do now is write the best stories I can hope folks like 'em.

This time, she is the one true Supergirl. She hopes.

THE PULSE: What were some of the most important attributes or ideals you wanted to evoke in this particular hero when you were first creating her?

LOEB: I can't really take solo credit for creating her without acknowledging the works of so many artists and writers from the last almost 50 years. They laid the groundwork. They did the heavy lifting. And this time around Mike Turner and Peter Stiegerwald had a HUGE participation in her development and the costume design.

However, THIS Kara Zor-El is much more the rebelious teenager, lost in the world, determined to make her own way -- like any other teenage girl. She has great passion and great fear since much of her past is "muddy" at best. Why that is will be part of what drives the first story arc. And as readers who've been following the story know, Batman believes that her "memory lapses" are cause for mistrust. Batman is rarely wrong -- and also very paranoid. You have decide which one is correct.

THE PULSE: Why do you think comic fans have embraced this version of the girl of steel?

LOEB: I'm not sure. Again, if I knew that, I'd be running the most successful psychic hotline I can find! I choose to believe that like Krypto, like Bizarro #1 these were very, very successful ideas that became part of pop culture for 50 years. Once they are embedded, if they are handled correctly, they will return -- provided they have a modern twist to them. The dog is not he same dog. Bizarro am the same, him am perfect.

Well, that and Kara's awfully cute.

THE PULSE: What were some of the toughest aspects to making her go from idea to fully realized character who is more than just a cardboard cutout image on the paper?

LOEB: Like any character, giving her life is the fun of writing. And with both Turner and Churchill I have extremely talented partners who bring the images in my head to the page. The toughest aspect is hoping the reader will have patience to realize it's going to take a while to meet and greet her. Everyone who is a Supergirl fan has their own notions of who she SHOULD be. Everyone who has never heard of her -- other than she is apparently a female younger version of Superman -- has to learn about her from scratch. And at the same time, she has to be compelling enough that people WANT to get to know her. Some of those folks I can't ever please because they want what they want and that's okay with me. They have their back issues and their trades and I'm not doing anything to have those taken away. But, this is the next generation's Supergirl -- at least that's my hope -- and with any luck -- she'll make it to for another fifty years when DC decides to have an even bigger Crisis and she dies then too! (laughs)

THE PULSE: Who or what were some of the things - real or fictional - that influenced how you created Supergirl?

LOEB: First off, as much as I respected and admired and really thought it was fun reading about a Supergirl who actually an ectoplasmic being from another dimension who bonded with an Angel... it made my head hurt and it made Dan Didio's head hurt and when that happens, stuff happens. Supergirl, for me, and for the current administration at DC, is Superman's cousin from Krypton. Simple. Straight to the point. How she reacts to the world, to Superman and to the DCU is my job and we've chosen to make some radical approaches that differ greatly from the fresh faced idealistic kid from 1958.

In the real world, I'm very, very lucky to have a daughter who is 14 going on 35, who travels with a pack of teenage girls that use our house as a dorm. My daughter's spunk and optimism in the face of some of the darkest times is a total inspiration.

THE PULSE: What's coming up for Supergirl in her first arc?

LOEB: There is a mystery about who Kara is -- not just who she is -- but what her role will be. And there are other people out there who have similar roles. Power Girl. Superboy. And some that are surprising. So... What's it all about, Kara? The first arc is called "Girl Power" as Kara learns about the DCU and they learn about her. Along the way, we'll see the J.S.A., The Teen Titans, The Outsiders, and eventually The JLA. But, there's no good comic book story without a good villain and we have one of the best. It's fairly obvious if you've been following her story from the beginning and if not, pick up Supergirl #0, which reprints the sold out S/B #19. It brings the reader up to speed with what she's been up to since S/B #13.

THE PULSE: Are you going to establish a rogues gallery for her?

LOEB: Eventually, yes. Right now, she's got her hands full with the folks we've mentioned.

THE PULSE: How is this Supergirl different from Superman? They both are from Krypton, but, since she basically grew up there, how does that affect the way she views things as opposed to Superman who grew up on Earth?

LOEB: Superman came to Earth as a baby. He was raised by The Kents who loved him (or helped mold him) into the greatest hero the Universe has ever known. He also, for an alien, may be the most human of all us humans. At least that's the way I see him.

Kara, however, grew up on Krypton. She got to be a teenager -- with all the good and bad that brings -- before she was uprooted and brought here INTENDING to find Kal-El as a baby. But, it took years and years to get here and that's altered her life plan.

Her personality is pretty well established from being a Kryptonian teenager -- and that's not all that different from being a human teenager -- or maybe it IS -- that's part of the journey. A good Superman or Supergirl story is the ultimate immigrant story -- someone from a foreign land who comes to America and learns the good and the bad of living here -- living among us.

However, if you've ever moved with your family at this age -- as I did when my parents got divorced -- that first year in a new town is both exciting and tumultuous. Your both on your best behavior and reinventing yourself for this new environment. Eventually your true self comes forward. All these are elements of her personality.

All these things come into play as we get to know her and she gets to know us.

THE PULSE: How tough for her is it to remember Superman as a baby, but now be younger than him and kind of under his watch?

LOEB: Very. It's a big part of why she is different from the 1958 Supergirl who thought the sun rose and set because of her cousin. This young lady would rather hang with Wonder Woman than with this person she expected to be protecting who is, well, Superman. It might not be the best choice, but it's HER choice.

THE PULSE: Why did you want to have a Supergirl like this instead of using some of what had "already" existed - why the blank slate so to speak?

LOEB: There was no one who already existed. The original Supergirl from Krypton is gone. Crisis! She doesn't exist. Poof. Welcome to comics! (laughs). We had to start from Page 1.

THE PULSE: How did her time with the Amazons help her adjust?

LOEB: That's what the series is about. Her time on Paradise Island is the equivalent of Clark's time growing up with the Kents. Only Kara's is much shorter and much more violent. (laughs)

THE PULSE: Flip side, how did her time with the Amazons maybe confuse her just a little more since their homeland and any busy city is like apples and oranges?

LOEB: Good question. We'll see.

THE PULSE: Being a teen hero and being tons of teams available in the DCU for not just teen heroes but heavy hitters like Supergirl, what plans, if any, do you have for her to join up with any of the groups?

LOEB: She is certainly going to encounter them. We'll see how they interact. There's a home for her on one of the teams -- it may not be apparent at first.

THE PULSE: Some longtime fans would probably like to see her team more than a few times with the current Batgirl. What, if any plans, do you have on having them meet up?

LOEB: There are no plans for that right now. That can change. I think most folks know of my love for the Barbara Gordon Batgirl -- that's certainly why she "dropped by" in S/B #19. There'll be a ripple from that story as well.
<hr>This interview was conducted before the Marvel Exclusive with Loeb was announced. THE PULSE asked some follow up questions about the exclusive, its terms, and what it means for Supergirl, but Loeb and Marvel did not have a comment. The first issue of Supergirl is due in stores soon.
Click to expand...

View:
Supergirl #1, Churchill Cover
Supergirl #1, Page 4
Supergirl #1, Page 5-6
Supergirl #1, Page 7
Supergirl #1, Page 8-9
Supergirl #2, Cover
Supergirl #3, Cover

Source: The Pulse

Chrono Grimlock · Aug 10, 2005

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /pulse/images_05/1loebsg1.jpg on this server.

She looks the same in every pic!

Primal · Aug 10, 2005

Links fixed, sorry about that.

Wreckgar · Aug 10, 2005

I am not disinterested. I picked up issue 1 and will read it later but my longterm relation to the title has crashed now that Loeb is exclusive to marvel.

Gears · Aug 10, 2005

I saw this News quote on the pulse:

"Marvel Comics has just announced that writer Jeph Loeb is exclusive to the House of Ideas. The writer is working on an unnamed project with Joe Maduriera. He told attendants at the Cup of Joe panel that his contract allows him to continue his work on the DC series, Supergirl."

http://www.comicon.com/pulse/

Chrono Grimlock · Aug 10, 2005

Awesome, after reading the Batman\Superman arc with her; the character grew on me. Can't wait to pick up my number 1 this weekend now that Leob is staying.

Primal · Aug 10, 2005

I read it, pretty cool so far.

Spoiler (highlight): <font color=#020028>Sueprgirl and Power Girl are the same? Power Girl's powers go out of whack when she's around Supergirl, they're two postives and instead of repelling, they ignite. Supergirl is able to handle it fine, but Power Girl's powers increase and she goes into a rampage.</font>

Switchblade · Aug 11, 2005

I'm not a regular DC reader, but on a whim I decided to pick this up and give it a read. I actually really enjoyed it. It's interesting seeing her try to find her place in the DC Universe.

The writing is solid. I've never been that fond of Jeph Loeb (entirely because of his run on X-Force), but this really helps change my opinion of him.

Ian Churchill has been a favorite of mine for years, and his artwork is great. His Power Girl makes me feel things a man probably shouldn't feel for a two-dimensional drawing.

ArmadaJetfire · Aug 11, 2005

Notice how, the close up of her in the space ship as its leaving Krypton, looks exactly like Power Girl later in the book. Just his art style or intentional? Over all I was "meh" on this issue, mostly becuase she beats up on my Power Peach. Bad Supergirl, bad!

Switchblade · Aug 11, 2005

ArmadaJetfire said:

Notice how, the close up of her in the space ship as its leaving Krypton, looks exactly like Power Girl later in the book. Just his art style or intentional?
Click to expand...

Well, in all fairness, there's a reason why Supergirl and Power Girl would look the same.

Liokaiser_bf · Aug 11, 2005

I do hope the comci guy put this back for me, going after it next week. I was set to get this awhile back when I first heard about it. I was a lucky one who got Superman/Batman #19 too but hunting down the issues with her first tale is a bit hard right now. (yeah I know the trade is out, wish it was a paperback and not a hardback)

ArmadaJetfire · Aug 12, 2005

Switchblade said:

Well, in all fairness, there's a reason why Supergirl and Power Girl would look the same.
Click to expand...

true, but with some artist styles, everyone looks related. But yeah, I figure it is intentional.

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Loeb's Supergirl

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Gears buh-buh-body ya Veteran

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Switchblade One Flesh, One End

ArmadaJetfire Yamato is go! ;D

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ArmadaJetfire Yamato is go! ;D

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Loeb's Supergirl

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Chrono Grimlock Buttstuff Werewolf

Primal Veteran

Wreckgar Anthony Stark Moderator

Gears buh-buh-body ya Veteran

Chrono Grimlock Buttstuff Werewolf

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Switchblade One Flesh, One End

ArmadaJetfire Yamato is go! ;D

Switchblade One Flesh, One End

Liokaiser_bf Kaiju-bot

ArmadaJetfire Yamato is go! ;D

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