Supergirl: DC and Child Exploitation

Supergirl (Kelly & Churchill).

After her fun (if somewhat disconcerting) appearance in The Brave & the Bold 2, I figured I'd give Supergirl's solo title a shot to see how she was handled in her own book. While I am fully aware that Kara Zor-El is, in fact, a fictional character, it's hard for me to not see DC's treatment of her as borderline child exploitation. This appears to be a book designed to be read and enjoyed by dirty old men and few others.

I'm not some kind of right wing prude, either. I don't need my heroes to be role models. I don't need them to always win. I don't mind sexuality in comics, and I don't even mind cheesecake comics.

But when that cheesecake is a 15-17 year old girl, it's really kinda disturbing.

It's not just that Kara runs around half-naked - that's not atypical in comics - it's the way sex is used through the book. In one issue, Kara has a doe-eyed, little school girl crush on Nightwing. Fine, and age appropriate. A few issues later, however, she's rubbing herself up on Boomer (the Outsiders' Captain Boomering, son of the original) and telling him she's his hot little sister he has confused feelings towards. Every other panel she's in seems to sexualize her, as well, either through the writing, the art, or both.

And she's 16. Or 15. Or 17. They don't seem to be sure exactly how old she is, given her travel across the galaxy in suspended animation from Krypton to Earth, but it's always between 15 and 17.

Now, 16-year olds are going to wear skimpy clothes and they're going to obsess over sex, but DC doesn't seem interested in actually exploring the mind of a kid and their sexuality. They seem interested in having a hot piece of "jailbait" (as she refers to herself at one point) flying around for people to drool over.

Ian Churchill's art plays up her sexuality. Of course, it's not uncommon for characters in comics to have idealized bodies, but again, this is a 16-year old kid. I'm not bagging on Churchill's overall work, either. I think he's a talented artist who lays out his pages solidly, makes excellent use of perspective, handles action and static scenes equally well, etc. But his style on this character feels more dirty than fun in most places, and DC editorial is as much at fault for that as he is. They know what kind of artist Churchill is and he's been on the book since the beginning (with the occasional off-issue) so they obviously approve of what he's giving them.

Kara is an interesting character, or rather, an interesting idea - her backstory of being sent to Earth to kill Kal-El and her inability to come to grips with that mission makes for a fertile wellspring for stories, but this title is all over the place. Not only is it disturbing for all of the above reasons, it's also a disjointed book.

It's also disturbing that no adult really attempts to help her; Superman and Batman spy on her, but they don't actively try to parent her, apparently content that Wonder Woman gave her every bit of nurturing she'd need back during her time on Themyscira. It just adds to the creepiness. There's something to be said for giving a kid some space, but that space shouldn't be as large as the gulf between Krypton and Earth.

There's only been one issue of this series - Supergirl 12, by Gray, Palmiotti, and Conner - where she really feels and looks like a kid. If DC really wants this to be a cheesecake comic, make Kara 19 or 20 where it's less creepy for her and DC to exploit her sexually. If DC wants a comic about a 16-year old, Joe Kelly and Ian Churchill (both fine creators) are the wrong duo to chart Kara's adventures because what they've produced feels like child exploitation more than anything else.