''Supergirl'' is the name of seven

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, featuring various characters of the same name. The majority of the titles feature

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

's cousin

Kara Zor-El Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) also known by her adoptive names of Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Kent, Linda Lang, and Kara Danvers, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Otto Binder and designed ...

Publication history

Volume 1 (1972-1974)

The first series featured the original Supergirl,

's cousin

. It began publication in 1972 following a 44-issue run of Supergirl stories in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'', ending with issue #424 (October 1972). The series lasted for 10 issues until 1974, after which the character began appearing regularly in ''

The Superman Family ''The Superman Family'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1974 to 1982 featuring supporting characters in the ''Superman'' comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters o ...

'' commencing with issue #165. The release of the last issue of ''Supergirl'' was delayed for several months due to a nationwide paper shortage.

Volume 2 (1982-1984)

During its first year of publication, the second Kara Zor-El series was titled ''The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl''. With issue #13, the name was shortened to ''Supergirl'', and the title continued monthly publication for a total of 23 issues.

Volume 3 (1994)

In 1994, DC Comics published a four-issue limited series featuring a new Supergirl who was introduced early in the Post-''

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

'' era. Sometimes referred to as the

Matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

, this new character was a protoplasmic duplicate of an alternate universe

Lana Lang Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has appeared in other media adaptations of Superman, typically as a teenager. These portrayals include the '' Adventures of Superboy'' t ...

, granted superpowers by an alternate

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...

. Having been brought to the mainstream DC Universe by Superman, she became romantically involved with the mainstream Luthor, who was posing as his own fictitious son Lex Luthor II. This limited series resolved many of the threads remaining from that storyline.

Volume 4 (1996-2003)

The fourth series featured a third Supergirl. This character was a fusion of the Matrix Supergirl and Linda Danvers (a Post-Crisis version of Linda Lee Danvers, Kara Zor-El's Pre-''Crisis'' secret identity). The series ran for 80 issues, ending with the main character journeying to an alternate universe following the re-emergence of the original version of Kara Zor-El.

Volume 5 (2005-2011)

In 2004, DC Comics introduced an updated version of Kara Zor-El in the pages of ''

Superman/Batman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ''World's ...

''. The following year, she began appearing in her own ongoing series, with ''Superman/Batman'' #19 being republished as issue #0 of ''Supergirl''.

Sterling Gates Sterling Gates (born March 1, 1981 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American comic book and television writer. Early life Gates, whose father owned a used book store with a large selection of comics, became a comic book fan at a young age, describing ...

took over the title in late 2008 with issue #34. Amy Reeder Hadley was announced as the new cover artist for the series in May 2010.

Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade (2008-2009)

It is a 6-part mini-series featuring the Linda Lee version of Supergirl, written by

Landry Walker Landry Q. Walker (born September 1, 1971), is an American comic book writer living in El Sobrante, California. Biography Landry Walker is the co-creator (with artist Eric Jones) of a number of comic book series, and was a regular contributor t ...

Volume 6 (2011–2015)

DC Comics relaunched ''Supergirl'' with issue #1 in September 2011 as part of ''

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

'' reboot.

Supergirl: Being Super (2016-2017)

It is a 4-part mini-series written by

Mariko Tamaki Mariko Tamaki (born 1975) is a Canadian artist and writer. She is known for her graphic novels '' Skim'', ''Emiko Superstar,'' and ''This One Summer'', and for several prose works of fiction and non-fiction."Mariko Tamaki". CBC Radio, '' The Next ...

Volume 7 (2016–2020)

A new ''Supergirl'' series written by Steve Orlando and incorporating elements of the ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' television series began in September 2016 (November 2016

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

) as part of the ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the D ...

'' relaunch. The series took a three-month hiatus in April 2018 and resumed publication in August 2018 with the release of #21. The new creative team was writer

Marc Andreyko Marc Andreyko (born 20 June 1970) is a comic book writer and screenwriter, best known for the true crime series ''Torso (Image Comics), Torso'' he co-wrote with Brian Michael Bendis and for co-creating the character Manhunter (Kate Spencer), Kate ...

and artist Kevin Maguire. Starting with issue #37 in December 2019, writer

Jody Houser Jody Houser is an American professional comics writer known for her work on licensed properties. She was nominated for the Eisner Award in 2017 for her writing in the comic series ''Faith'' (2016). She was also the writer on the second volume ...

and artist Rachael Stott helmed the series until cancellation in June 2020; issue #42 was the last in the volume. The final arc dealt with the fallout from ''

Batman/Superman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ''World's ...

'''s "

The Infected The Infected (or simply, Infected) is one of the longest standing punk rock bands from Lexington, Kentucky, formed in 1993 and having released twelve albums and EPs. The band, signed on the Eugene Records label, went through many iterations, ...

" event where Supergirl was "infected by a tainted Batarang that was meant for Superman"; as a result, Supergirl turned "into something of an unstoppable villain".

Miniseries (2021–2022)

Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is an eight-issue miniseries by writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely which started in June 2021. It focuses on Kara Zor-El's quest in space and is told from the perspective of Ruthye, a new character. Ruthye, an alien girl Kara meets, is looking for justice for her father's death. The last issue in the series was released in February 2022. Susana Polo, for ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

'', commented that "with the final issue of ''Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow'' I can definitively say this book slaps front to back, applying ''Sandman'' vibes to space adventure starring Supergirl and a plucky young space child. The best thing Tom King’s done since ''Mister Miracle'' and Bilquis Evely just dropping mics on every dang page". ''Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow'' was nominated for the 2022 "Best Limited Series"

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

References

External links

*DC page
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* * * * * * {{GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book 1972 comics debuts 1982 comics debuts 1983 comics debuts 1994 comics debuts 1998 comics debuts 2005 comics debuts 2011 comics debuts 2016 comics debuts Comics about women Comics by Arnold Drake Comics by Greg Rucka Comics by Jeph Loeb Comics by Joe Kelly (comics writer) Comics by Marc Andreyko Comics by Paul Kupperberg Comics by Peter David Comics spin-offs Female characters in comics GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book winners Supergirl