I Am Not Starfire: Volume 1

Mariko Tamaki

Jul 2021 · DC Comics

About this eBook

From New York Times bestselling author Mariko Tamaki (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass) and artist Yoshi Yoshitani (Zatanna and the House of Secrets) comes a story about Mandy, the daughter of super-famous superhero Starfire. Seventeen-year-old Mandy, daughter of Starfire, is not like her mother. Starfire is gorgeous, tall, sparkly, and a hero. Mandy is not a sparkly superhero. Mandy has no powers. She’s a kid who dyes her hair black and hates everyone but her best friend, Lincoln. To Starfire, who is from another planet, Mandy seems like an alien, like some distant, angry, light-years away moon. And ever since she walked out on her SATs, which her mom doesn’t know about, Mandy has been even more distant. Everyone thinks Mandy needs to go to college and become whoever you become at college, but Mandy has other plans. Or she did until she gets partnered with Claire, the person she intensely denies liking but definitely likes a lot, for a school project. When someone from Starfire’s past arrives, Mandy must make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything to save her mom. I Am Not Starfire is a story about teenagers and/as aliens; about knowing where you come from and where you are going; and about mothers.

Ratings and reviews

A really fun story about a mother and a daughter learning to love each other again after growing apart with a cute romance thrown in. The art style is really cute and fun and while it can look flat it also never fails to be charming and pretty. It clearly hails from either the same or a similar universe to the one from the Teen Titans show (The OG one, not GO!) and it's nice to see this interpretation of the characters all grown up. Mandy is well written as a teenager and you can understand her perspective and values easily and see how they influence her actions. Her romance with Claire feels well-paced and the same can be said of her friendship with Lincoln; their relationships feel genuine. In the end, I enjoy seeing Mandy embrace all aspects of herself and how her relationship with Starfire changes as she herself does. I feel most aspects wrap up neatly, such as why Starfire was concerned of her appearance. All in all, a fun story!! Will probably read this again :)

It's ok. I think most people hate it because they don't realize the whole thing is being fed to us through extremely Mandy-colored glasses. She's a self-centered teen that is sad she doesn't have powers, and sees what she wants to see, even if it isn't there. She tells Starfire she's fine, and is mad that her mom actually trusts her words. She thinks her mom cares too much how she dresses, but we're never shown a real example. Sure Starfire's away a lot because of work, but she doesn't look down on or is disappointed in Mandy. That's just what Mandy's tiny, edgy, teenaged angst brain thinks. I hated the comic because of Mandy and her friend and crush's personalities at first, but after realizing the situation, the comic as a whole wasn't quite as bad. still don't like the teens though. They seem a little stereotypical, and try to rebel against things that're not actually a thing they're FORCED to do. So what if you don't go to college? Big whoop. But that's my take on it all.

As a thirty-something guy, I'm not the target audience for this book but I liked it all the same. It's a great coming of age story for a girl who is forced to grow up in Starfire's long shadow. She rejects everything about her mom but (as these stories go) finds her peace with it. The ending was very sweet. If you are someone who likes YA or Teen Titans, definitely give it a read!