Soooooooopergirl
December 5th, 2008 by Esther Inglis-Arkell | Tags: DC comics, reviews, supergirl, supergirl cosmic adventures in the eighth gradeSupergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade, is sweet, funny and almost egregiously cute.
The heroine, heavy on moxie and light on foresight, falls to earth in a rocket and displays the boundless good cheer we expect of the Super family. It seems she’s stuck, and in true Super tradition, Clark decides that the best way to deal with this is to slap a pair of glasses on her, give her an alliterative name, and send her to school.
There things go as well for her as you’d expect them to go for someone with no understanding of any culture on earth. You’d think her question about when machines will rebel would at least get her a Terminator fan or two as a friend.
Although there was only one cosmic adventures and lots of eighth grade, I really liked this comic. I liked that the Superfamily came together across several dimensions to help Supergirl out. I liked the art. And I loved the fantastic Silver Age monologues:
“I bet I just need to calculate the relative orbits of Argo and Earth. Then, if I can fly high enough to make it into orbit, I can probably use the gravitational forces of this planet to slingshot me back into quasi-space! It’s foolproof! . . . . AIIEE! I have no powers under my native red sun! Why was I so foolish?! Now I crash to the ground!”
Worth checking out for adults. Worth buying for kids.
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Almost got it, but wound up with X-Men: Noir instead.
I wish this book had come out over the summer. Because that would mean there would have been enough issues already to do one of those pocket Johnny DC trades. Which I could then buy several of as Christmas presents. Way to market as always Big Two…
Hey wait, that title isn’t an Iron Giant reference is it?
[…] Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures In the Eighth Grade was reviewed on this site a few months ago when the fist issue came out. Conclusion: funny, sly, and cute as a button. Since then I’ve been reading the book and it has managed to keep all those descriptors accurate, despite having to pull off several difficult balancing acts. The book has to fold in enough ancient continuity to make the long-term superfans happy while making sure the story is accessible to new readers. It has to keep the language simple enough for young children without being dull for an adult reader. And it has to make us laugh at the miseries of junior high while reminding us why we wouldn’t be dragged back there kicking, screaming, weeping, thrashing and begging for mercy. […]