Superman Through the Ages! Forum

OK, we've finally added a new online Supergirl tale - see the announcements section (http://superman.nu/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=7698#7698) for details! (and be sure not to miss the Supergirl's Boyfriends (http://superman.nu/tales3/brideofthestars/?page=19) page after the story (http://superman.nu/tales3/brideofthestars/)!)

Also, the hardcover collection of the Jeph Loeb/Michael Turner Supergirl saga from Superman/Batman #8-13 is now available for pre-order in our Supergirl gift-shop (http://superman.nu/a/BookShop/supergirl/)[/url]!

:s:

Added some scans (http://superman.nu/supergirl/costumes/2004/) to the costumes section (http://superman.nu/supergirl/costumes/).

(http://superman.nu/supergirl/costumes/2004.jpg) (http://superman.nu/supergirl/costumes/2004/)

:s:

Beautiful scans, Rao!  Just a little clarification for those who didn't get Solo #1:

The top illustration at http://superman.nu/supergirl/costumes/2004/ isn't the new Kara Zor-El that debuted in Superman/Batman #8 (though it IS a 2004 picture), nor is it REALLY the Silver Age Supergirl.  Solo #1 (featured artist Tim Sales) had a Diana Schutz' tale, "Young Love", that explored what happened after the suddenly-cancelled (The Daring New Adventures of) Supergirl #23 left a tantalizing cliffhanger with Linda Lee Danvers and the suddenly-resurfaced Dick Malverne.  

It was nice to see that dangling plotline finally resolved after twenty years, but that presented a stylistic problem.  While this definitely was a pre-Crisis Supergirl story, it might have been too confusing to cram all the appropriate appearance changes into just eight pages.  (This tale is told in retrospect, so Kara would have been seen in at least three different Supergirl costumes.)  Tim Sales decided to keep Kara "fixed" in one look -- a "traditional" Supergirl costume with a red skirt (unlike her original all-blue dress) and a short hairstyle.  So yes, this Kara is technically inaccurate, but she's a perfectly acceptable compromise given the situation.  

I'm absolutely delighted that this tale was published AT ALL (considering DC had long insisted that Kara NEVER existed, but at the same time Solo #1 was published they were loudly proclaiming the debut of the NEW Kara), and I'll accept this as "canon" regardless of the artwork descrepancy.

The "Solo" story is a great, if emotional, read - canon bawl or not. :roll:

I don't know if Tim Sales actually created this compromise costume.   I was browsing the stories here on the site, and noticed that she also wore it in the Silver Age Weisinger tribute story from 1998:

http://superman.nu/tales3/typical/?page=4

So it seems to be a generic post-Crisis version of the pre-Crisis Supergirl.  Although Kara never actually wore this costume back when she was alive, it it now seems to retroactively be the only one she ever wore.  (Except for the original all-blue one that she had in the Peter David appearance.)

I prefer the all-blue to the red skirt version.  I think the new Kara's costume is a perfect design, partly for that reason - it's a good update of the original.

Starchild, it appears that "Kara" has pointed sleeves, which were only worn by the Matrix/early Linda Danvers Supergirl.  This story was actually a Dominus-inspired "dream sequence", so a jumbled combination of "Cousin Kara", Matrix/Linda and even a hairstyle more akin to Power Girl's shouldn't be surprising.

As for this becoming the "Post-Crisis" interpretation of the "Pre-Crisis" Kara Zor-El, you might want to check the final volume of the recent "DC: The New Frontier".  Supergirl is seen in two panels near the end.  First she's wearing an all-blue outfit, then she's in a red skirt.  (It's assumed that some time has passed between these two appearances.)  I suspect this wasn't a colorist's error, but a means to accommodate both "original" and "traditional" looks.

Speaking of skirts, I love the look on Mxy's face in the Supergirl's Boyfriends page!  :wink:

This discussion reminds me of how little I actually know about the various styles of the older comics --hard to keep track of relatively minor variations of costumes.