Supergirl Power, by Martha Thomases

Martha Thomases

Martha Thomases brought more comics to the attention of more people than anyone else in the industry. Her work promoting The Death of Superman made an entire nation share in the tragedy of one of our most iconic American heroes. As a freelance journalist, she has been published in the Village Voice, High Times, Spy, the National Lampoon, Metropolitan Home, and more. For Marvel comics she created the series Dakota North. Martha worked as a researcher and assistant for the author Norman Mailer on several of his books, including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Executioner's Song, On Women and Their Elegance, Ancient Evenings, and Harlot's Ghost.

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13 Responses

  1. John Tebbel says:

    This will have to do until Wear Your Supergirl Costume To Work Day is organized by the National Comics Foundation. And, by the way, the Supergirls in the illustration are shiny enough to be "sculpted" by Jeff Koons and his helpers.

  2. Russ Rogers says:

    Part of the fun of Supergirl has always been that her costume was never finalized. Her look would change, sometimes from issue to issue. The costumes always played about with just a general theme, The "S" and usually Blue, Red and Yellow. That was a major selling point of the 70s incarnation of Supergirl. It was part hero comic, part fashion comic! The only other female character that redesigned her costume more often was "The Wasp."The more recent incarnations of Supergirl have taken than "fashion show" element of the comic and turn it more into a "Peep Show." The costumes are more revealing. The poses are more salacious. This is true of all super-heroines, not just Supergirl."Their moms had questions for the panel, including a plea for more strong super-heroines. “But with their clothes on,” they specified."I guess that leaves out "The White Viper." ;)Seriously, I think the White Viper should be as naked as she (or her writers) wants to be. GrimJack should be able to say, "Fuck!" But, with the popularity of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," it's obvious that kid-friendly web comics can not only be popular, but also profitable and have artistic merit. Does a separate"ComicMix FOR KIDS" web site make sense? I think it's a no-brainer. All the content would be kid-friendly and kid-safe, even the ad links. Would "ComicKids" dilute the ComicMix brand? Would "ComicMix FOR KIDS" overtax an already busy ComicMix staff?Obviously you could wait, put this idea on the back burner until ComicMix is better established. After all, there are the HUGE revelations coming later this year about new Creators and a new web design here. ComicMix staff have a full plate. The risk is in letting somebody else getting a foothold as the GO TO web site for On-line Kids Comics.

  3. mike weber says:

    About twenty years ago, i was at the former big atlanta con, whose name i just discovered i can't recall, and i met a young woman in a Suergirl costume – the more-or-less "classic" one.She was about five-ten with straight long naturally blonde (she assured me) hair, early tewenties (i think) … and her real name was Kara.She assured me that she had had no problem deciding what costume to wear to the con.

  4. MellissaLynn says:

    There were a few adults who were wearing the classic costume also…I was one of them! (.^_^.)

  5. Rick Taylor says:

    Although I will forever love the Jim Mooney days, I LOVED the Oskner Adventure days where Linda had the 'Mary Richards' career in San Francisco.Loved the costumes the readers came up with, the hot pants being a fave. They dated real quickly but the were wacky looking.

  6. Vinnie Bartilucci says:

    Coming soon we'll be seeing not only another new interpretation of Supergirl by Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle, we'll be treated to a Johnny DC title "Supergirl, Adventures in the Eighth Grade" by the folks that did Kid Gravity and Little Gloomy for Disney Adventures.DC knows Supergirl is one of their most recognizable characters, and they will continue to find a way to make the comic live up to its potential.

  7. Chad Anderson says:

    Hi Martha,My name is Chad Anderson and I work with Marvel. I wanted to ask you a question about your past work. Is there an Email address I can reach you at? Please let me know at hellochadman@yahoo.com. Thanks :)

  8. SuperYenta says:

    SuperYenta (who wears a nylon sweatsuit and rhinestone-encrusted glasses) sends a shout out to you Martha! Check me out at http://www.superyenta.com. Hello Rick Taylor!

    • Martha Thomases says:

      It's a cute idea, Ms. SuperYenta, and I'm sure you are great at what you do. But I'm spoken for (and at, and from).

    • Rick Taylor says:

      Aunt Meg?Is that you?

      • Rick Taylor says:

        Yo, Aunt Meg.From the sounds of the sweatsuit you've shopping with Renee Taylor in southeastern Florida!Yeesh!

    • Russ Rogers says:

      I checked out the "SuperYenta.com" It's a cute idea. But, so far, SuperYenta has fixed up THREE couples. Yenta, maybe. Super? Not so much. And if SuperYenta is going to run with the caprice of calling herself "SuperYenta," she needs a better way of making herself look SUPER than VERY amateurishly altering photos with a Bic Pen and 5 minutes in front of a Paint Program. Especially if she is going to try to shamelessly self promote through a comics website. I suggest SuperYenta invest at least $25 in an airbrushed T-shirt with her logo. I suggest she be more original and do more than spoof the Superman logo, if she wants to take her professional SuperYenta career beyond the hobby stage. Seriously, she needs to get a PROFESSIONAL to make her a SUPER costume with a mask, cape and completely ORIGINAL logo. This might cost several hundred dollars, maybe more. Then she should pose with all three of her Super Success Story Couples in the full Super Costume! If you are going to pretend you're a superhero, you can't be Half-Assed about it. You have to be prepared to make yourself look fully like an Ass! Then SuperYenta can look into the expenses of Trade Marking the name and logo! That might take more than a few hundred bucks.Yours truly– The SuperKibitzer