Starfire is probably one of the most recognizable characters from the Teen Titans, but her world is set to expand with a YA comic from New York Times bestselling author Mariko Tamaki. I am Not Starfire is set to come out next year, and we have our first look at the cover featuring Starfire's gay and goth daughter Mandy.
This is the synopsis from Bleeding Cool:
Seventeen-year-old Mandy Koriand'r is not her mother. Daughter of Starfire and high school outcast, Mandy is constantly trying to get out from under the shadow of her bright, bubbly, scantily clad, and famous mother. Dyeing her bright orange hair black and sticking close to her best friend, Lincoln, Mandy spends her days at school avoiding Teen Titans superfans and trying to hide her feelings for the gorgeous, popular, and perfect Claire. And while Mandy usually avoids spending too much time with her alien mother, she's been particularly quiet as she's keeping one major secret from her: Mandy walked out of her S.A.T.
While Mandy continues to tell Lincoln her plans of moving to France to escape the family spotlight and not go to college, she secretly hides a fear of not knowing her identity outside of just being the daughter of a superhero and who she will become. But when she is partnered with Claire to work on a school project, their friendship develops into something more and a self-confidence unknown to Mandy begins to bloom. Claire seems to like Mandy for being Mandy, not the daughter of Starfire.
But when someone from Starfire's past comes to disrupt Mandy's future, Mandy must finally make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything. I Am Not Starfire is a story about mother-daughter relationships, embracing where you come from while finding your own identity, and learning to be unafraid of failing, if it was even failing in the first place.
Here's a look at the cover shared by artist Yoshi Yoshitani as well:
As you can imagine, there are a lot of fans who aren't too pleased with the announcement. Besides the anti-SJW whiners, you also have people angry that Mandy isn't described as a Grayson—seeing that a lot of people love the Starfire/Nightwing tandem. Hopefully, this will be addressed down the line, and we get to meet a lot of other familiar faces like Raven or Beastboy.
Though a lot of fans have opinions about I Am Not Starfire, I think it's important to keep in mind that no one is forcing them to read this material. It's a YA book, and the synopsis very much reads like an entry in the genre. Hopefully, kids who this story is aimed at will come to love it and find something to identify within the fandom. There should really be no gatekeeping when it comes to new material like this.
I Am Not Starfire comes out on August 10, 2021.
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