Synopsis
Meet the Meta Legion, the world’s foremost faction of crime-fighting capes. But what happens when the masks come off and the heroes are faced with the sordid problems of everyday life in the suburbs? The members of the Meta Legion decided to protect their families and loved ones from their enemies by sequestering them in one quiet suburban neighborhood. But just because they’ve banded together, doesn’t mean they like each other…
From: BOOM! Studios
Notes on This Title
Supurbia follows an ensemble cast, including two men who are romantically/sexually involved. The series was cancelled after its fourth volume.
Awards
None.
Reviews
“Randolph’s idea is lots of fun, focusing on the “women behind the supermen.” If they were less interesting women it could have been a disaster, but Randolph chooses her cast well, which helps to offset the idea that these women (and one man) are not the actual superheroes of the story, even if they are the stars. The archetypal Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are all present, as are their supportive (and not so supportive) spouses, which range from ex-villains to powerful CEOs. Randolph’s Wonder Woman knockoff is kind of an ultra feminist jerk who ignores her son in favor of her daughter; her Superman is so powerful, he gets whatever he wants — for good or ill; and her Batman is having an affair with her Robin. Randolph reinforces tropes while also subverting them and all to good effect.
Russell Dauterman’s art helps make this book actually work. An artist more interested in cheesecake would have undermined everything Randolph seems to be doing with this story. Instead, the art and writing come together nicely to simultaneously celebrate and subvert the superhero cliches we’re presented with. Dauterman has a slightly cartoonish style perfectly capturing the light, subversive tone Randolph is going for. As a result, the book just works. Gabriel Cassata’s work provides the perfect bright colors of superhero comics and feels very appropriately California suburbs. Unfortunately, the cover is a bit of a misstep and might throw off potential readers from what is actually a much more cartoony and appropriate style inside.” (Source: CBR)
“A couple days ago someone described this book to me as “The Real Super-wives of Atlanta.” I’ve seen only one episode of The Real Housewives of Fill In The Blank, and I wasn’t impressed, so with that in my head, I fully expected to fiercely hate this comic.
But I did not hate this comic. In fact, I liked Superbia quite a bit.
Before yesterday, I had no idea who Grace Randolph was. When I first saw the cover, I honestly thought it was the name of one of the characters in the book. Like, Superbia was a community founded by Lady Grace Randolph or something. I guess I wasn’t 100% wrong, as technically, it was created by her, so there’s that, but yeah, she’s totally a real person. She’s also someone with a relatively large and loyal following thanks to her various YouTube channels and a variety of other geek related goings-on. And more importantly, as it turns out, she’s a pretty damn good writer, too. Honestly, it’s hard to believe she’s new to comics, because this certainly doesn’t feel like the work of a newbie.
Artist Russell Dauterman compliments Randolph’s script nicely, and brings a lot to the table. He’s not flashy and he’s not too bold with his storytelling, but this is definitely his book. Designing analog costumes is difficult, and most artists either go too far with it or not far enough. With Sovereign and the other characters, Dauterman does a great job of evoking a look but not stepping all over it. He’s also a pretty amazing draftman when it comes to scene construction and perspective. Starting with the very first panel of Hella in the foyer, to Jeremy Metzger’s well-furnished library, by the end, the settings have almost as much personality as the characters who spend time therein.” (Source: Multiversity Comics)
Interviews
ComicBooked.com: “Grace Randolph Gets Comic Booked!”