This Summer Belongs To Supergirl, According to DC

Summer of Supergirl Special #1 main cover art by Belén Ortega

Ahead of the release of the upcoming Supergirl movie, a 48-page comic, the Summer of Supergirl Special, is due to hit stores on June 24.

According to the publisher:

This celebratory anthology brings together an all-star roster of writers and artists for a trio of stories honouring Kara Zor-El’s legacy across the DC Universe.

The creators involved include writers Sophie Campbell, Mark Waid, and Gail Simone, and artists Belén Ortega, Cian Tormey, and Emma Kubert.

The main cover is illustrated by Ortega, with variant covers by Tula Lotay and Pablo Villalobos, plus a Supergirl movie variant cover by Mahmud Asrar.

The book's lead story is by the current ongoing Supergirl writer Sophie Campbell, with artist Belén Ortega. It sees the quiet town of Midvale shaken when Supergirl comes face-to-face with the galactic bounty hunter Lobo. Can the Maiden of Might stand up to the Main Man?

Clearly this is to echo the movie where Lobo and Supergirl cross paths in live-action, but I suspect in Campbell's hands the story will be more light-hearted and Silver Age. The movie trailer looks like it's positioning her halfway between Guardians of The Galaxy and the Snyderverse. I could be wrong... I often am.

I have to admit I've also never been a fan of Lobo (although, surprisingly, I enjoyed his appearance in the 2019 Krypton TV series, where he was portrayed by the excellent Emmett J Scanlan). The character was always seemed too much of a one joke/one note creation who outstayed his welcome.

But then again I felt the same about Deadpool and Venom when they were first "breaking out" and I've subsequently changed my mind on both of those characters (although comic book Deadpool will never be as funny as cinematic Deadpool).

The Summer of Supergirl Special also includes two other stories - one by Mark Waid and Cian Tormey, and another by Gail Simone and Emma Kubert - each celebrating Supergirl as she resumes her rightful place as the Heir to El.

Supergirl movie variant cover art by Mahmud Asrar

Variant cover art by Tula Lotay

Variant cover art by Pablo Villalobos

Six Degrees of Separation

The movie Hombre is one of my favourite Westerns. It was recommended to me by a tutor on my scriptwriting degree course (as inspiration for the Western I was writing as part of my finale project).

The movie is based upon a novel by the late and lauded Elmore Leonard.

The other day, randomly, I picked up my copy of Hombre and read the first chapter. This got me wondering what stories were included in the chunky hardback, The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard, which I'd purchased last year.

The book flopped open to a title page I hadn't seen before... revealing that it was signed by Leonard himself.

This made me grin like a loon, as I'm a sucker for such dedications in books. Remember my excitement when I found the signed book in a sale at our local second hand book store.

Being a homebody generally, it's very unlikely that I'll get to pose for selfies with my favourite authors, actors etc

So I prefer "signed items" instead. I have a collection of signed Philip Reeve books (my favourite author) and head shots of stars of Classic era Doctor Who - from Carole Ann Ford and William Russell to Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy. These latter pictures are proudly framed and displayed on the office wall, while my Philip Reeve library has its own shelf in one of the lounge cupboards.   

Back in February, I acquired from an online store (not Amazon) a limited edition (#365 of 750), first edition (with red page edges) of Red Sonja: Consumed by Gail Simone (which was signed by the author).

I was most delighted by this, and then when I shared it on BlueSky, Gail herself replied, hoping I'd enjoy the book.

The other week, a postcard winged its way across The Atlantic, signed by Dungeons & Dragons YouTube "influencer" Ginny Di.

This was a reward for supporting her Patreon (which I've been a member of since 2020).

It wasn't just Ginny's signature - and the details of an enchanted weapon to be used in a RPG - that made this magical though. It was the fact that a postcard had managed to find its way over here to the UK without getting mangled or lost. 

A signature is a sign of caring (I know many things get signed in a production line-like setting, but the fact is the creator is still doing it).

I may spend 90 per cent of my life within the four walls of our house, but receiving a signed item from someone whose work I admire (even it's purely by chance, such as the Elmore Leonard book) is a connection.

At one end of the process, the artist has signed their work and at the other end I get to hold it in my hands and appreciate the time spent both creating their art and signing my book, picture, postcard etc