A ‘Supergirl’ Actress Writes the Children’s Book She Wished for as a Kid

George Gine Gustines, New York times

Azie Tesfai, the Eritrean and Ethiopian actor, was inspired by her childhood and her time on set to write “You’re a Superhero!”

Azie Tesfai is on a mission with her latest career move: graphic novel author. The “Supergirl” actress, who was the first Eritrean and Ethiopian person to portray a superhero on television, said she never saw herself in comics stories and wanted to change that for other children.

In “You’re a Superhero!,” her graphic novel out on Tuesday, Mariam, a 6-year-old Ethiopian girl, lives in a world full of heroes. Her mother teaches her about costumed crusaders like Wonder Woman and Flash. And she doesn’t leave out the everyday but sometimes invisible figures like bus drivers, grocery clerks and utility workers.

The mother-daughter relationship is based on Tesfai’s life. Her father is Eritrean, and she was raised by her mother, who is Ethiopian.

Tesfai said that when she saw the illustrated pages of her story, she cried. “To see this little girl who is from this culture and is so confident — and just grows in her confidence — it felt very emotional seeing that because I always wanted it,” she said.

Her book, drawn by Penelope Rivera Gaylord with Jerry Gaylord, a husband-and-wife team, and published by DC, uses photographic references from the California home of Tesfai’s mother, Mulu Gebremichael, to incorporate elements of Ethiopian life. They include a netela (a lightweight scarf), a messob (a handwoven basket) and a jebena (a type of coffeepot).

Learn more about the author and her book.

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