The Girl from Krypton: 5 Graphic Novels to Read after Watching Supergirl

The newest, much anticipated super-show debuted on CBS last night. It’s maybe not for everyone, but for me, Supergirl may well be the antidote to superhero fatigue. Whenever it seems like everything possible has been done with costumed heroes on the screen, a show like this comes along as a reminder of the genre’s flexibility. I’m going to get into it, but if you want to avoid spoilers, you can skip down a few paragraphs to find a list of Supergirl comics you’ll want to pick up now that you’ve fallen in love with the Girl from Krypton (right?).
Kara Zor-El is the cousin of Superman. Her origin has many of the same elements as her original comic backstory: older than Kal-El, she’s sent to Earth to be his companion and protector. The destruction of Krypton sends her craft into the Phantom Zone, an interdimensional prison where time stands still. By the time she breaks free and arrives on Earth, she’s still a kid, but Superman is in his twenties. Instead of being his guardian, she grows up in the shadow of the mightiest hero of all. Encouraged to lead a normal life, she winds up as a lowly assistant, fetching files and lettuce wraps at a media company.
There’s lots of romantic comedy DNA in evidence. Kara (Melissa Benoist) goes on awkward dates while never noticing the awkward overtures from her friend and co-worker, Winn. Meanwhile, she shares definite chemistry with the show’s older, hotter, way less dorky version of Jimmy Olsen (Mehcad Brooks). She’s got a boss straight out of The Devil Wears Prada: Cat Grant, the media mogul played by Ally McBeal herself, Calista Flockhart. That all will work for you or it won’t, but it’s unlike any other comic book show on TV (and there are plenty). The Flash, from the same team, is the closest in tone, but the Supergirl pilot goes a step further in balancing moments of superheroism with the awkward daily life of a dorky woman with a kinda crappy job.
Superhero stories are frequently tales of powerful individuals who would very much like to lead normal lives. Kara’s is just the opposite. She’s long been afraid to be everything she can be, discouraged from embracing the hero inside. She’s been raised to be quiet and normal, and that’s all she knows how to do. Who can’t relate? We all have those moments where it feels as though we could be so much more if only we could put aside our fears and bad habits. Having all but forgotten how to fly, Kara’s called upon to rescue a plane carrying her adoptive sister. The moment when she decides that she’s more than the girl who fetches lattes is thrilling, for us and for her. There’s angst, absolutely, but there’s no brooding. Superman always has it together, but Supergirl is more like us: she learns and stumbles. And it looks like she’ll need to learn fast—aside from the shadowy government agency watching her every move, she also discovers that she wasn’t the only one to escape from that phantom prison.
The first episode stumbles here and there—the cutesier bits could wear thin over time, and it seems to be setting up a villain-of-the-week format that has produced mixed results on other shows (Smallville found its groove only after ditching the format)—but hits all the right notes, with a blend of superheroics and girl-in-the-city elements that shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does.
While you’re waiting to see if the show’s next episode lives up to the promise of the pilot, here are some great books from Supergirl’s long history. They’re all very different in tone and style, but each gets to the heart of the character: