All throughout November and December, guest writers will be weighing in on fandom, specifically guest writers who identify strongly with characters, teams, or franchises online. Each piece will feature a personal look at why a writer gravitates to a character, what keeps their interest, and — most importantly — a set of reading recommendations for folks looking to better understand that character.

Today Cori McCreery — who writes for WWAC, Xavier Files, and The Beat — has graciously volunteered to write about her favorite character, Supergirl, Kara Zor-El…

To tell you about my first Supergirl comic, I have to start with my first comics period, which were Superman #75 and Adventures of Superman #498, the death of Superman and the first issue after. Now, you might think that that Adventures issue would count as my first Supergirl issue, but I don’t count that. Why? Because it wasn’t Kara Zor-El. In that issue, “Supergirl” starts as a wrinkly, blobby, purple humanoid before transforming back into a traditional Supergirl look with some effort. As an 8-year-old I had no clue what was going on, but it still didn’t seem right. 

A couple years later, I’d read a lot more of the Superman family of books. Superman was my favorite character, followed closely by the clone Superboy. I even followed Steel off into his own series for a while. But I still never really clicked with that version of Supergirl. That’s when I got a two-pack of Mayfair Games DC Heroes RPG supplements at KB Toys (remember them?). The first was my introduction to the Suicide Squad, which was an awful lot for a ten-year-old, in the form of the Belle Reeve Sourcebook. That one was interesting, but the other one is the one I poured over. That one was my introduction to the Legion of Super-Heroes and as an extension Supergirl. The real Supergirl, I mean. Here, she was one of the antagonists of the module, a dead hero brought back and controlled by the nefarious Time Trapper, but even in an RPG module where she was one of the titular Pawns of Time, she just felt different.

But she was dead, and the Supergirl in the main continuity wasn’t so, huh. And nobody ever talked about this one either, which seemed weird for a dead hero. Another couple years, and I was immersing myself more fully into the broader DC Universe. One of the first things I did for this was picking up a copy of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is where I actually met Kara Zor-El and it’s where I fell in love with her. Our introduction to Kara in that story doesn’t come until issue four, but it immediately sets up the kind of character she is with her pep-talk to a frightened and overwhelmed Batgirl. Her courage and conviction are on full display, and that leads to a demonstration of the best thing about her, which is her ability to instill hope in others. And really her death in issue seven is also a demonstration of that, as even in death she gives the rest of the heroes hope to continue the fight. 

Once I discovered this version of Supergirl, I immediately hunted for everything I could find with her. I prowled dollar bins for issues of her solo series, I bought the Showcase editions when they came out, I resorted to torrents to find other impossible to hunt down out of print issues. But I devoured everything I could with Kara. She was everything I loved about Superman and more, just a ray of hope on a cloudy day. Eventually it was announced that the version of Supergirl that was Superman's cousin from Krypton was coming back, and I was stoked. And while she did come back, it was quite some time before she felt like the Kara I’d experienced in all those other issues. Under Jeph Loeb and Joe Kelly, Kara was brash and impulsive, and had several flirtations with a darker side of her personality, a thing that keeps happening in modern Supergirl stories that just continually perplexes me. It wasn’t until Sterling Gates took over writing duties that Kara really came into her own as a fleshed-out character in her own right. She still wasn’t the Kara of those days before the Crisis, but she was closer, and I could see the character I loved in her. 

In 2015, I’d been a fan of Kara Zor-El for about 20 years and had started to amass my own collection of important Supergirl things. I had a George Perez commission. I’d tracked down copies of Action Comics #252 and #285. My at the time boyfriend, now husband, had bought me a copy of Action Comics #253 at our first comic convention together. I was set to watch the new television show as it premiered. And those first episodes felt miraculous. This was a show that captured the things I loved about Kara in a way that only television could. And while some episodes and seasons are better than others, the show still remains a wonderful example of what the character represents to me and other fans, and has given me some of the most wonderful moments of my professional career. 

To me, Supergirl is still best summed up by Sterling Gates when he gave her her own motto to contrast with her cousin’s, “For truth, justice, and the American Way.” Kara fights for “hope, help, and compassion for all.” Her story is different from Clark’s, but she sees the importance of bringing hope to everyone, and that’s something I find incredibly important and something I strive every day to emulate. 

Pre-Crisis Supergirl, Kara Zor-El Reading Recommendations

Action Comics #285 – You’d think we’d start with Action Comics #252, but really this is the issue where she comes into her own. By this point Superman had been using her as a secret tool for a few years of our time, and an indiscriminate amount of time in-universe. This is the issue where he reveals her to the world, and she gets to start being her own hero. 

Legion of Super-Heroes #294 – Truly I recommend everything leading up to this issue too, but none of it has Supergirl, so it doesn’t belong on this list. But this issue does, as the climactic moment of the Great Darkness Saga. In this we get to see Supergirl go toe to toe with one of the biggest threats of the DC Universe, and it’s truly one of the great moments for the character.

Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #13-15, DC Comics Presents #86 – This takes us right to the other end of Kara’s Pre-Crisis career, just before Crisis on Infinite Earths. I honestly recommend all of Daring New Adventures of Supergirl but the Blackstarr arc has the strongest writing from Paul Kupperberg, and legendary penciller Carmine Infantino is at the top of his game. This arc tackles hate crimes and the holocaust, and does so with an amazing grace that was rather unique in the mid-‘80s. 

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #314-315 – After her own series ended, but before the Crisis started, Kara spent a bit of time in the future with her boyfriend Braniac 5. Sadly by now the writing was on the wall, and the character was denied her happy ending. By the end of this arc, she feels that she is out of place in the future, and heads back to the present, which leads right into… 

Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 – I mean this one had to be here right? As tragic as it is, this issue stands as probably the issue that is one of the most representative of who Kara is, and what the character means. I cry every time I read the issue, but it remains one that stands the test of time as one of my favorite single issues of all time. Plus, I’ve always been a sucker for heroic sacrifices (looking at you Sturm Brightblade).

Christmas With the Super-Heroes #2 – This one is a weird one, because it’s stuck in a gray area where Kara didn’t actually exist. This was a couple years after the Crisis, and the new continuity had completely erased Supergirl from existence. This is mostly a Deadman story about him trying to cope with the fact that nobody ever knows the good he does, when he’s reassured by a blonde woman that the recognition doesn’t matter, that it doesn’t matter if people don’t remember you, as long as you do your best to make the world better. She leaves him with just her first name, Kara. 

Post-Crisis Supergirl, Kara Zor-El Reading Recommendations

Supergirl v. 5 #34-59 – Yes, I know this is a HUGE chunk of issues. No, I don’t care. The Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle era of Supergirl remains the single greatest run on the character ever. I’ll say that a lot of this does tie-in to the New Krypton stuff that was going on in the main Superman books at the time, but it also does a good job of standing alone too. And the last couple arcs after that had all been resolved are two of the best arcs ever done with the character. 

Batgirl v. 3 #14 – A friendship I wish we’d gotten more of is Steph Brown and Kara. They only got to work together a couple times before Barry Allen screwed everything up in Flashpoint, but the times they did are great. Especially this issue of Bryan Q. Miller’s Batgirl. Kara and Steph have a sleepover that goes awry when silent film Draculas get on the loose and the World’s Finest team has to stake them all before the city is overrun. 

Supergirl v. 7 #19 – Steve Orlando and Vita Ayala tell us a wonderful tale of friendship and acceptance that focuses on the empathy and compassion of Kara rather than straight super-heroics. It’s also an issue that’s close to my heart because it’s about Supergirl showing kindness and acceptance to a nonbinary trans individual. While I’m not nonbinary, it still meant an awful lot to see Kara see someone like me and actively choose to be their friend. 

Bonus Watch List

Supergirl Season One Episode Seven – “Human for a Day” – Yeah, yeah, I know this is a reading list not a watching list but hear me out. This singular episode of Supergirl is the time that the show best captured everything I love about the character, and they did it in an episode where Kara doesn’t have her powers. Her heart shines through, and she remains a hero no matter what.

Check out the rest of the Fandom Files Reading List!