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

Unfortunately, a waste of money and time. The concept itself isn't bad, but the way the story and characters are executed is very amateur. Characters feel shallow, dialogue is cringey and without charm, story has plot holes and untied loose ends. If you were planning to buy this for your child, also keep in mind they don't hold back with cursing and sexual themes. If you were planning on buying this for your teenager however, skip this and just buy them manga.

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.

A poorly written attempt to change a well established character into a social justice propaganda tool. The author should not be allowed to scribble on the walls of truck stop.