The “Supergirl” star’s new early-reader graphic novel, “You’re a Superhero!”, introduces Mariam, a six-year-old who learns that heroism starts close to home.
Azie made history as the first Ethiopian and Eritrean person to portray a superhero on television, playing Kelly Olsen, who becomes the vigilante Guardian, on “Supergirl.” Now she is breaking new ground within the DC universe again.
Her early-reader graphic novel, “You’re a Superhero!”, introduces Mariam, a six-year-old Ethiopian girl and the first Ethiopian character in DC’s line of books for young readers. The story places Mariam in the world of Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Batman and The Flash, where she comes to see that superheroes are not only the iconic figures she admires. They are also the everyday people in her community, her immigrant mother and, in the end, herself.
The project is deeply personal. Azie grew up rarely seeing girls who looked like her cast as heroes, and Mariam was inspired in part by childhood images of Azie herself. Authentic Ethiopian culture runs throughout the book.
It also extends a journey that began on “Supergirl,” where Azie wove her heritage into Kelly’s story. She later co-wrote “Blind Spots,” the episode in which Kelly officially becomes Guardian, making her the first Arrowverse series regular to co-write an episode.
With this book, Azie’s aim is to help young children see themselves in one of the world’s most iconic superhero universes, and to understand that they need not wait to become a superhero, because the hero is already within them.
