On September 28, 2010, Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation released Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the seventh entry in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line and an adaptation of Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner's "Supergirl from Krypton" arc. The film gave Kara Zor-El her first starring role in DC's animated continuity: a spacecraft crashes in Gotham Harbor, Superman discovers his long-lost cousin inside, and after Darkseid brainwashes her into leading his Female Furies, Superman and Batman mount a rescue on Apokolips. Kara returns to Earth, takes up the Supergirl mantle, and the film closes with her formally joining the family of DC heroes.
It's a fitting anniversary for the character: Kara had already been fighting crime in the comics for over fifty years by the time animation caught up with her (more on that below).
More From the Vault
Born September 28, 1963
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman · Wikimedia Commons
Writer-producer Greg Weisman was born on this date in 1963. He's best known for creating the animated series Gargoyles and co-creating The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice — but he's also a working comics writer in his own right, scripting DC's Captain Atom and a Black Canary miniseries, plus Marvel's Star Wars: Kanan and The Spectacular Spider-Men. Few creators have moved as fluidly between the page and the screen.
Announced September 28, 2024
Marc Sleen's Comics Head to the Public Domain
Original illustration — editor's note: swap for licensed art if desired
The Marc Sleen Foundation announced on this date in 2024 that the beloved Belgian cartoonist's characters — led by his 55-year gag-adventure strip Nero — would become copyright-free ahead of schedule. Sleen drew Nero solo for 45 years (a Guinness World Record) and was knighted by King Albert II for his contribution to Belgian comics. It's a landmark moment for Franco-Belgian comics preservation, opening one of the medium's longest-running strips to new generations of cartoonists and publishers.
In Memoriam — September 28, 2024
Larry Todd, Underground Comix Pioneer
Original illustration — editor's note: swap for licensed art if desired
Underground comix artist Larry Todd died on this date in 2024 at age 76. Best known for the sci-fi-tinged Dr. Atomic, which he launched in San Francisco's underground press before it became a Last Gasp comic book, Todd also collaborated with Vaughn Bodé and co-created Cobalt 60 with Mark Bodé. His loose, exuberant art was a fixture of the West Coast underground scene for over five decades.
September 28, 2022
Jip van den Toorn Makes Inktspot Award History
Jip van den Toorn · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dutch editorial cartoonist Jip van den Toorn won the Inktspotprijs on this date in 2022, becoming the first woman — and the youngest cartoonist of any gender — to take the award in its history. Van den Toorn's sharp, protest-minded political cartoons had already made her a fixture of Dutch newspapers, and the win cemented her as one of European cartooning's rising voices.
First Issues, Debuts & Premieres
No new comic-book first issues were verified as having an on-sale date of exactly September 28 across the years we checked — publishers of the Golden through Modern Age rarely confirm exact daily on-sale dates, and none turned up for this date under cross-check. The date's real "first" belongs to the screen: as detailed in the Spotlight above, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (Sept. 28, 2010) marked Kara Zor-El's first starring appearance as Supergirl in DC's shared animated continuity.
Panel of the Day
Trivia
Supergirl's 2010 animated debut looked brand new to a lot of viewers — but Kara Zor-El had already been in comics for over fifty years by then. She first appeared in Action Comics #252 in May 1959, meaning Superman/Batman: Apocalypse arrived more than half a century after her original comic-book debut.
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