Power Girl gets her own ongoing series and it's as confident as the character deserves. Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Amanda Conner hit the ground running as Peege learns an old Superman adversary is behind the latest attack on New York. And he has big plans for her. Peppering the action are flashbacks showing Peege in her long-neglected secret ID of Karen Starr, refocusing her old software company into an ethical engineering company.That's not as dull as it sounds - there's plenty of room for mad science, as interviews with prospective staff show. There's also humour, with a terrific gag centred on Peege's snow globes collection which inclines me to stop moaning about the businesswoman's upfront assets. I'm such a hypocrite.
But at least I'm not going to spoil it by duplicating the panels here; I'd rather you tried this book, which is a lot more interesting than the fun preview in recent DC comics hinted. Peege is written not as the hothead she's too often seen as, but a smart, capable cookie. Yes, she bristles when faced with an idiot sexist, but she doesn't lose her rag. Better still, she's a great superhero, respected by New Yorkers and opponents alike.
The new supporting cast look fun and as drawn by Conner, full of character. I've taken an immediate liking to chatterbox Martie Lieb, partly because Karen does and I'm already comfortable with her as a solo character. Peege herself has rarely looked better, cute, strong and smart as a tack. She looks especially great as the smartly dressed Karen, and her apparent assistant, Simon, is equally natty - I do like a dapper comic book.
And this is a very likable comic all round. It deserves to do well.
I can't wait to go home. I will: catch up on Wonder Woman. Catch up on a year's worth of Secret Six (seriously). And read Power Girl! I was speaking to Amanda Connor at NYCC when her editor came up to congratulate her for finishing the first issue. I've been looking forward to it ever since.
ReplyDelete--Sandicomm
Please let me know what you think! I bet you like it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I'm related to Justin Gray?
Is it just me, or does the image of Power Girl on the cover look like Doris Day’s head and Jayne Mansfield’s breasts grafted on to the body of Kate Moss?
ReplyDeleteThose narration panels were just so long though! I thought they took the story to a screeching halt. It was still a decent issue, but man, PG can talk!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it very much, even the sno globes. They got Cat wrong, though. What's up with that? The backup cast seems infinitely more interesting than that of the awful 1988 Kupperberg miniseries. (Which was pre-Cat era).
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue leaves a bit to be desired. When people have long sentences to tackle, they tend to drone in textbook fashion. The shorter conversations are much brighter, thanks.
Perhaps this is the book to give us back our thought balloons that comics packed up so many years ago? They would work so much better here than first-person narrative captions. (And a little more Show, Don't Tell couldn't hurt either.)
But this baby is Conner's book all the way. She lifts it up and gives it vibrant life! She's just brilliant. Combined with the abundant potential that is Power Girl, this series stands a very decent chance of survival.
OMG! Who was 'anonymous'?!?!? He / she took the thoughts out of my head! It looks like Doris Day with the most horrific tit job in comicdom.
ReplyDeleteI actually find that cover offensive.