Six-year-old Mariam knows how to spot a superhero on television. Spotting one on the bus takes a little help from her mother. In You’re a Superhero!, a new graphic novel from DC Comics, a trip through the neighbourhood gives Mariam a fresh way to look at the people she passes every day. A bus driver calls Wonder Woman to mind. An electrician has a little of Batman about him.
Writer Azie Tesfai knows the appeal of putting on a superhero costume. She played Kelly Olsen, who becomes Guardian on the television series Supergirl. Here she gives the adventure to an Ethiopian girl whose mother knows the neighbourhood well enough to make the introductions. Penelope Rivera Gaylord illustrates the story, which is aimed at readers aged five to seven.
There’s a question worth borrowing for the journey home from school: who helped you get where you needed to go today? A child might name the driver who waited while someone climbed aboard, or the person who fixed a light on the stairs. Asking what that person actually did gives a young reader something more interesting to notice than a cape.
You’re a Superhero! was published on 3 November 2026. The hardcover runs to 72 pages. Families looking for it through a library or bookshop can use ISBN 9781799504047.
Cover illustration by Penelope Rivera Gaylord. Published by DC Comics.
