Supergirl is a classic character in the DC Universe who has been around since the early Silver Age, and one of the oldest, most enduring and most famous female super-heroes. Since her first appearance in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959), her adventures have been published in different books and magazines. Although there have been different Supergirls, the primary and most famous version is Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin and hero in training. The existence of several hundreds of Supergirl comics and several incarnations of the character owing to DC's mandate to kill her in 1985 and subsequent and ill-fated attempts to replace her can be daunting to casual readers who desire to learn about Supergirl.
This page is meant to act as a helpful guide for both new readers getting into her mythos for the first time, and veteran readers looking for something new.
New readers[]
- Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton is the updated origin of the Post-Crisis Kara Zor-El by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner, re-establishing her place in the DC Universe.
- Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton by Michael Green, Mike Johnson and Mahmud Asrar redefined Supergirl's backstory after the universe-changing Flashpoint event.
- Adventures of Supergirl is a limited series set in the TV-show universe, written by Sterling Gates.
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade is an all-ages, hilarious homage to the original Supergirl, written by Landry Q. Walker.
- Supergirl: Being Super is an out-of-continuity alternate origin on the Girl of Steel and her beginnings, crafted by acclaimed authors Mariko Tamaki and Joëlle Jones.
- Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is an epic space odyssey which sees Kara accompany a heartbroken Ruthye on a journey of vengeance, written by Tom King with art by Bilquis Evely.
- Paul Kupperberg's run: With art by Carmine Infantino, this influential run is the highlight of the Pre-Crisis Supergirl, being one of the bases of her television show.
- Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle's run is widely acclaimed and widely considered the best era of the character.
- Tony Bedard's run features great character development and one of the most famous stories of the character.
- Peter David's work with the character of Linda Danvers is simultaneously renowned and infamous by his use of spiritual themes.
Further reading[]
- Adult Education
- Argo
- The Attack of the Annihilator
- Bizarrogirl
- Blackstarr
- Brainiac
- Crucible
- Day of the Dollmaker
- Death and the Family
- The Dominator War
- Escape from the Phantom Zone
- The Girl of No Tomorrow
- Good-Looking Corpse
- The Hunt for Reactron
- The Lords of Luck
- Maelstrom
- Many Happy Returns
- New Krypton
- Plain Sight
- Red Daughter of Krypton
- Reign of the Cyborg Supermen
- Strange Visitor From Another Century
- This Is Not My Life
- The Unknown Supergirl
- The Untold Story of Argo City
- Warworld
- Way of the World
- Who Is Superwoman?
Single issues[]
- Action Comics #252 -- "The Supergirl from Krypton!"
- Action Comics #276 -- "Supergirl's Three Super Girl-Friends"
- Action Comics #286 -- "The Death of Luthor"
- Action Comics #287 -- "Supergirl's Greatest Challenge"
- Action Comics #291 -- "The Bride of Mr. Mxyzptlk"
- Adventure Comics #313 -- "The Condemned Legionnaires", "The Secret of Satan Girl"
- Adventure Comics #388 -- "The Kindergarten Criminal"
- Adventure Comics #411 -- "The Alien Among Us"
- Adventure Comics #421 -- "Demon Spawn", "Enter the Demon World", "The Demon Fire"
- Adventure Comics #424 -- "Crypt of the Frozen Graves"
- Batgirl (Volume 3) #14 -- "Terror in the Third Dimension"
- Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2 -- "Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot"
- Convergence: Adventures of Superman #1 -- "Adventure Comics"
- Convergence: Adventures of Superman #2
- Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 -- "And Thus Shall the World Die"
- Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 -- "Beyond the Silent Night"
- DC Comics Presents #86 -- "Into the Valley of the Shadow"
- Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl #1 -- "Supergirl & Batgirl"
- Solo #1 -- "Young Love"
- Supergirl (Volume 2) #1 -- "A Very Strange and Special Girl!"
- Supergirl (Volume 2) #19 -- "Who Stole Supergirl's Life?"
- Supergirl (Volume 4) #9 -- "Tempus Fugit"
- Supergirl (Volume 4) #55 -- "Day of the Mule"
- Supergirl Annual (Volume 5) #2 -- "Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes"
- Supergirl (Volume 5) #34 -- "Why the World Doesn't Need a Supergirl"
- Supergirl (Volume 5) #50 -- "A Hero's Journey"
- Supergirl (Volume 6) #19 -- "Super Power"
- Supergirl (Volume 6) #20 -- "Home Invasion"
- Supergirl (Volume 7) #8 -- "Superman Reborn Aftermath: Family of Tomorrow"
- Supergirl (Volume 7) #19 -- "One Life"
- Supergirl: Rebirth #1 -- "Supergirl: Rebirth"
- Supergirl Special #1 -- "Two Steps"
- Supergirl: Wings -- "Wings"
- Superman Family #188 -- "Kandor vs. Supergirl"
- Superman Family #189 -- "Memories of Menace"
- Superman Family #214 -- " The Strange Revenge of Lena Luthor"
- Superman Family #222 -- "Stop My Life--I Want To Get Out"
- Superman #338 -- "Let My People Grow"
- Superman #376 -- "In Transit"
- World's Finest #169 -- "The Supergirl-Batgirl Plot", "Clash of the Super-Teams"