KELLEY PUCKETT & DREW JOHNSON TAKE OVER DC's SUPERGIRL WITH #23

**MattBrady** · 08-13-2007, 03:49 PM

by Vaneta Rogers

Since the new Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, showed up on earth in Superman/Batman #8, the young hero has been confused about her place in the DCU.

She's not the only one. Since the character's solo series was launched in fall 2005, she's interacted with the Outsiders, battled with Teen Titans, fought alongside the Amazons, and spent time with the Legion of Super-Heroes -- but permanently joined none of those groups. And in the same time period, she's gone through several creative teams and variations, searching for an audience among the throngs of loyal DC readers who adore her Kryptonian cousin.

But DC is hoping to change all that, giving both the series and the character a clearer direction. According to the publisher, the Supergirl series will get an ongoing creative team of writer
Kelley Puckett (Batgirl, Green Arrow) and artist Drew Johnson (Wonder Woman) beginning with issue #23. And as Supergirl becomes a member of the Teen Titans within that ongoing team title, Puckett and Johnson hope to further define the character in her solo series, promising readers a "surprise" that will clarify her place in the DCU.

Newsarama talked to Puckett about Supergirl, what readers can expect of the character as he takes over her series, and why he's so often tapped to write young heroines.

Newsarama: First off Kelley, how did you get the Supergirl gig from DC Comics?

Kelley Puckett: I was working with Matt Idelson on an as-yet unannounced project when he took over the book from Eddie Berganza. Matt, who has a long history of poor judgment, decided to give me first crack at it.

NRAMA: It's not surprising to see you writing a female lead character book because you've written them in the past. What do you think it takes to write strong female leads? And why do you think you're good at it?

KP: I don't know that I am good at it, but I somehow seem to have become the (very) poor man's Joss Whedon in this industry. Honestly, I never know how to answer that question. I just write the character as I see her.

NRAMA: There's been some talk in the past about this comic being marketed toward female readers. Is that the idea behind the comic now? Or is it more directed at DC's core audience of men?

KP: In terms of marketing as in the Marketing Department, I have no idea how they see the book or what their plans are. Editorially speaking, we're all trying to do the same thing: good superhero comics. As the writer I can't think about what might appeal to this person or that person. I can only write what appeals to me.

That being said, if female readers end up hating the book en masse, I'm probably doing something wrong.

NRAMA: Have you read past incarnations of Supergirl? Are you influenced by them? Do you think the current Kara resembles or should resemble any of those?

KP: Well, I read those old school Supergirl stories when I was growing up, so I'm very much influenced by them. What I took away from them was that Supergirl was a character about Hope and Possibility, and that's something I intend to bring to my run on the book.

NRAMA: How would you describe Kara as a character? What's unique about her, her powers, and her personality?

KP: What's unique about Supergirl is that she's not unique. She's Superman. She's a Superman in a world that already has a Superman, and that's a problem for her (and me).

The big question for the character, and one that I think every story so far has been implicitly asking, is what exactly is she supposed to do? Where does she fit in? I have a very specific answer to that question, and it's one that's going to make her even more unique in the DCU.

NRAMA: Where is she right now in her life and how are you able to identify with that?

KP: Short answer... she's a teenager. So she has to deal with all the superficial teenage stuff, but more importantly, she's working through the deeper processes of adolescence. She's struggling with her self-identity and moving beyond her parent figure. Only her parent figure is the greatest hero in the history of the universe, so everything's a little amplified for her.

Fortunately I never matured much past adolescence (just ask my wife), so identifying with Kara is no problem at all.

NRAMA: Who are the key characters that will be a part of Supergirl's solo book?

KP: The key characters for the first storyline will be Superman, Batman and Vandal Savage.

NRAMA: Vandal Savage? Is he the villain in the storyline?

KP: Well, he is a villain, certainly. To Supergirl, however, he's more of...how should I put this? More of a resource.

NRAMA: You also mentioned Batman. He doesn't trust Kara very much, does he? Will that change?

KP: Batman doesn't trust anyone, but Kara's going to discover that he believes in her more than she realizes.

NRAMA: Will she be interacting with Superman more? What is her relationship with him?

KP: Her relationship with Superman underlies everything she does and everything she tries to do.

NRAMA: We've seen her dating, but never really settling down. Will she have a more steady love interest? Still "shopping around?" Or is that something you'll back away from?

KP: She's going to be dealing with far heavier issues for a while. She won't even be thinking in those terms.

Of course, isn't that usually when love hits?

NRAMA: Can you tell us what your first storyline will focus upon?

KP: I don't want to give anything away, because I think we're really doing something pretty unique, but I can say that if you've felt that the character's never really quite found her "place" in the DCU so far, you won't feel that way after our first storyline.

NRAMA: Now that Supergirl is in the Teen Titans, will you be working with writer Sean McKeever on the character's direction at all? And will the Teen Titans and her relationship with them play any part
in her solo series?

KP: I haven't spoken with Sean about what he's doing with her in Teen Titans. I'm a huge fan of his work and I think we have similar sensibilities, but a team book has a different dynamic than a solo series. You can't write Batman in Batman the way you can write him in JLA. Sean has to do what's best for his book and things can get needlessly complicated if you try to "synch up" too much.

NRAMA: How has it been working with Drew Johnson?

KP: Drew's been amazing. As good as his Wonder Woman stuff was, this stuff is in a different league. He's also helped me a lot with the character and the direction of the series. Everybody involved is really motivated and very excited to get our issues out, because we think people are really going to be surprised.

NRAMA: What else are you working on now?

KP: Right around now my last issue of Ninja Scroll (#11) from Wildstorm should be out, I think. It's a horrible, brutal story that nobody should read. But it looks very pretty, thanks to Jonboy Meyers, who everybody's going to be seeing a lot more of real soon.

NRAMA: Since you created the character, can we ask your opinion, while we have you, on what's been happening with Cassandra Cain?

KP: You know, I'm flattered that people ask me about that, but at the end of the day if the character's name starts with "Bat"...then it's not your character. She's not an easy character to write. She wasn't easy for me, and I created her. So my sympathies go out to everybody who has tried to make her work.

NRAMA: Getting back to Supergirl, do you know how long you're going to be on the comic?

KP: I think we're in for a nice, long run. We're really opening up the possibilities of the character and there's no end in sight.

NRAMA: OK, then, finally -- the sell. Why do you think people would want to check out your run on Supergirl?

KP: Supergirl's going to ask a question that no superhero has asked before. And then she's going to try to answer it. If you're looking for something different, something unlike any other book on the stands, check it out.

Johnny Triangles · 08-13-2007, 03:57 PM

How long til the next creative team change? It seems like this book can't hold on to anyone for very long.

amazingdavidman · 08-13-2007, 04:01 PM

Too bad, I had just picked up the series because I liked what Bedard and co were doing.

magik2381 · 08-13-2007, 04:01 PM

Very very interesting...

Kelley started on Batgirl I think so he can write females. I also LOVED Kinetic.

Johnson is a great choice.

jonnynyc · 08-13-2007, 04:04 PM

I hate to be so negative but
Dropped

Densus · 08-13-2007, 04:06 PM

*Looking at cover*
Supergirls looks hot!

theprimedreamer · 08-13-2007, 04:06 PM

This. I might. Look into.

BillReed · 08-13-2007, 04:10 PM

Yeah! Puckett!

durkadurka · 08-13-2007, 04:12 PM

Hopefully they can do something more lasting with the character. That "surprise" that has been promised is enticing.
I, for one, always enjoy the interactions between "Uncle Bruce" and Kara.

boem104 · 08-13-2007, 04:12 PM

Let's make it simple.

Supergirl should not be a ditz -
it truly bothers me that they can sell this character acting so dumb. C'mon! I remember the Supergirl from the first Crisis and she defined the Superhero. Brave, but also smart and selfless.
She should not harbor a need to kill Superman or the President or ANYONE
This violent story has to go. I still don't even understand what happened in the first arc with the "black" Supergirl!
She should not be in EVERY DC book each month!
Can you say overkill? Miss Martian, Wondergirl and Supergirl. Robin and Kid Devil might as well pack it up and go home.
She should not have any other powers than Superman's
So she can now grow crystals out of her back?
She should not have that uniform
This bothers me the most about superheroines in general. Everytime I see Wonderwoman or Powergirl's bust or the army of superheroines with "belly" shirts! Artist like Perez, Jimenez and Dodson seem to have the ability to make the heroines look attractive without putting them in uniforms that have zero combat sensability at all. I cringe at the thought of All Star Wonder Woman with Hughes.

If Kelley Puckett can fix these issues, I'm back on board!

Kevin T. Brown · 08-13-2007, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnynyc

I hate to be so negative but
Dropped

Ok, so don't be. No need to post anything.

As for me, definitely not dropped now. I was this/close to getting rid of this title. Though I may stop buying it until #23 hits.

chrishaley · 08-13-2007, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amazingdavidman

Too bad, I had just picked up the series because I liked what Bedard and co were doing.

Ditto.
What happened to all of the big plans they had for Bedard and Renato Guedes and their new and enjoyable/likeable take on the character?
You know, the one that female readers really seemed to be excited about.
I'll be departing this book along with Bedard and Guedes.

matchesmalone · 08-13-2007, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magik2381

Very very interesting...

Kelley started on Batgirl I think so he can write females. I also LOVED Kinetic.

Johnson is a great choice.

Naw, he started as a writer on Batman Adventures - the first series. He wrote some great stories, which worked for kids and also worked for adults. They were very simple, but in an elegant way - conveying a lot of information in the interplay between the words and the images.

I'm heartened to see that Drew Johnson will be drawing this book. He's capable of drawing attractive female characters without hypersexualizing them, which for me is distracting, and, I think, on a book about a teenage girl, inappropriate. Renato Guedes has done a good job of this too - drawing Supergirl as a female teen, not a waifish mannequin with diamond-hard nipples whose clothes just happen to fall off a lot. (There, I just summarized her appearances in Batman/Superman and the first dozen or so issues of the latest Supergirl series.)

Thephanboy · 08-13-2007, 04:18 PM

i really like this character and have been with the book since the beginning. but no matter who writes it........they just make here more and more confusing. this book has had no direction whats so ever. im so hopin that they get it right and these guys stay on the book for a nice looooooooong run. these creator jumps that has plagued this book hasnt helped either.

protege · 08-13-2007, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Triangles

How long til the next creative team change? It seems like this book can't hold on to anyone for very long.

i know- that's been the problem with me from the start. And since Jones is so vague on his plans for the character, i can't really get motivated to pick up the book again.

Groovie Mann · 08-13-2007, 04:20 PM

drew johnsons good. might look into it.

bcondray · 08-13-2007, 04:22 PM

Cool.

Now, someone go tell diana_fan.

Action Ace · 08-13-2007, 04:23 PM

I actually have some confidence in this creative team. I hope they have a nice long six issue "era" at least.

ORACofSEVEN · 08-13-2007, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by protege

i know- that's been the problem with me from the start. And since Jones is so vague on his plans for the character, i can't really get motivated to pick up the book again.

Who is Jones?
Maybe Jones is so vague on his plans because there is no Jones that was interviewed.
Kelley Puckett. Sometimes reading the article helps before commenting. He was actually pretty forthcoming in story elements and marketing without giving chapter and verse solicitations.

ORAC OUT

protege · 08-13-2007, 04:25 PM

Sorry- Kelley Puckett, then.

vbartilucci · 08-13-2007, 04:26 PM

It's weird, Bedard got put on a massive number of books all at once, and almost all of them were as fill-in writer. It shows he's got the range to write any number of characters, but once everything settles, one wonders what he'll be writing regularly.

Abstrakt · 08-13-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boem104

Let's make it simple.

Supergirl should not be a ditz -
it truly bothers me that they can sell this character acting so dumb. C'mon! I remember the Supergirl from the first Crisis and she defined the Superhero. Brave, but also smart and selfless.
She should not harbor a need to kill Superman or the President or ANYONE
This violent story has to go. I still don't even understand what happened in the first arc with the "black" Supergirl!
She should not be in EVERY DC book each month!
Can you say overkill? Miss Martian, Wondergirl and Supergirl. Robin and Kid Devil might as well pack it up and go home.
She should not have any other powers than Superman's
So she can now grow crystals out of her back?
She should not have that uniform
This bothers me the most about superheroines in general. Everytime I see Wonderwoman or Powergirl's bust or the army of superheroines with "belly" shirts! Artist like Perez, Jimenez and Dodson seem to have the ability to make the heroines look attractive without putting them in uniforms that have zero combat sensability at all. I cringe at the thought of All Star Wonder Woman with Hughes.

If Kelley Puckett can fix these issues, I'm back on board!

i don't think shes a ditz at all. i actually love the new version because i think thats how an alien teenage girl would act if she randomly popped up on earth with the most powerful symbol in the world on her chest

how could you expect her to pop out of nowhere and all of a sudden be a perfect superhero? i don't want to start up a whole fight over this I'm just saying the way they have bee portraying her seems more realistic to her landing on earth as the protector of truth and justice like superman spent a whole lifetime of growing up to become

they do need a direction with her though so im interested to see what they do with her

ORACofSEVEN · 08-13-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by protege

Sorry- Kelley Puckett, then.

So you can read then, nice to know.
Puckett - Jones yeah they look alike

ORAC OUT

genequagmire · 08-13-2007, 04:29 PM

Someone with my name in the business. Don't see that too often.

gogo Pucketts!

sexyjesus · 08-13-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

It's weird, Bedard got put on a massive number of books all at once, and almost all of them were as fill-in writer. It shows he's got the range to write any number of characters, but once everything settles, one wonders what he'll be writing regularly.

He's writing the Outsiders.