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I anxiously await the news that we will be seeing Mandy in future graphic novels. This is the graphic novel that so many young people needed decades ago, when they struggled with being accepted for who they are and not judged for who they were not. Not only do we get to see a teen grow into her own as an individual, but we see that you don’t have to possess classic beauty, a perfect figure, or the most gracious personality to see yourself in a graphic novel. Tamaki and Yoshitani have created something really special with this graphic novel. Ignore what you may have heard on the internet about I Am Not Starfire. But all of these quibbles with life get set aside when someone from her mother’s past arrives to turn Mandy’s life upside down. She contemplates running away to France and running away from her mother. She dyes her hair black to hide the hair that matches her mother’s, she skips school and walks out of S.A.Ts, and decides college isn’t for her. Mandy is exactly what you expect from a goth teen who is rebelling against the system. Alright, Mandy doesn’t possess any of her mother’s grace, superpowers, or tenacity, but she had plenty of merits on her own.
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But she does face her burgeoning crush on her classmate Claire with… copious amounts of nerves and a little skepticism. Mandy may not fight crime like her mother, but she does face impending adulthood and S.AT.s… Okay, well, she doesn’t exactly tackle these things head-on. Young adult readers will quickly learn that you don’t have to be half-alien to know what it feels like to be out of place among your peers. I Am Not Starfire is from New York Times bestselling author Mariko Tamaki, and artist Yoshi Yoshitani, whose combined efforts have created a world that is relatable to readers who are years removed from the trials of high school and those of us who don’t have a Titan for a mother. She’s goth, she’s queer, and she’s trying to find her place in the world beyond the glamour of her upbringing. She’s brutally honest about who she is and unabashedly proud of it too. But Mandy is precisely what we need more of in comics. A certain subset of comic readers took offense to the idea that the scantily clad K’oriander could have a daughter who was the complete opposite of her. When DC Comics first announced their young adult graphic novel I Am Not Starfire, it was met with outrage and vitriol, which has, unfortunately, become the standard for comics that break the historically straight, white, male hero stereotype. I Am Not Starfire is an Important Lesson in Being Yourself The popular kids would buddy up to you because who doesn’t want to get in with the Titans? It’s already brutal out there, but Starfire’s daughter Mandy shows us exactly how hard it is to live in the shadow of her mother. Things would probably be pretty rough, right? School bullies would taunt you for your lacking heroics. Now imagine that you are the child of this Tamaran-born hero, but you’re nearly seventeen and you have never been shown to have any special powers. Most kids dream of being superheroes when they grow up, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the child of a superhero? More specifically, the daughter of one of the most beloved Teen Titans - Starfire. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest