Review: Power Girl #2

Power Girl #2 came out this last week and I have to be honest, I am struggling with this book. 

I shouldn't be surprised. I have struggled with Leah Williams take on the character since the Action Comics back-ups and through the special. This was a character that sort of visually looked like Power Girl but was stripped of most of the history and characteristics I had come to associate her with over the last 50 years. 

Who was this 'Paige' with psychic powers who was unsure of herself and her place in the world? Certainly not the Karen who was the CEO of a customer and pretty confident in her approach to life. 

The first issue was a little better as the psychic powers mostly were gone (outside of 'astral punching') and there was some connection to Krypton and even the earliest PG solo stories from Showcase. But that also included the seemingly standard food jokes, cutesy conversations, cat jokes in the middle of life-threatening combat, and - perhaps worst of all - a mean Superman. 

Now in this issue, I am back to being perplexed. The Power Girl in this book seems to be new to Earth, confused by standard human behavior, unsure of her heroism, needing guidance from Lois, and seemingly anxious about life. 

That characterization is NOT Power Girl. I don't know who this character is. So I wonder if my time ont this book is going to be short.

The art by Eduardo Pansica continues to be a high point here. Pansica's stuff seems to be softened a bit by the inks of Julio Ferreira. The office scenes have a high polish. And the action scenes seem to revert more to what I am used to from Pansica. The cover by Gary Frank is great.

But this isn't what I come to a Power Girl book to read. 

On to details.

Review: Power Girl #1

Power Girl #1 came out last week, the first issue of an ongoing series following a back-up in Action Comics and a Power Girl Special. These have been new takes on Power Girl, no longer Karen but now 'Paige', at times a psychic counselor but now more traditional in powers, but still finding her way. 

And I am still on the fence. 

As a character, Power Girl has always been feisty and fun, powerful and confident. I don't see a lot of that here. Writer Leah Williams has, at least, veered towards a Power Girl that I think is a little more recognizable than the dream jumper from the Action story. This opening issue does what it is supposed to. We get the background of the new set-up for the character. We get some action with a new enemy. We get the introduction of a supporting cast. And within that were some good moments.

But we also get an overbearing Superman. We get some comments from 'Paige' that seem to come out of left field. We get cutesy humor moments which take me out of the story instead of supplement the action. 

This is closer to what I want than the psychic stuff. But it is still far away from what I think a Power Girl book could be. Still, if I could tolerate Supergirl going from job to job and city to city in the Bronze Age, I should give this more of a chance. At least back then, Supergirl read like Supergirl.

Eduardo Pansica is on art which helped a lot for me. Pansica was on Supergirl for a while and did well there so there was something familiar and comfortable about the art here. His Power Girl looks great. And the superheroics flow well. On to the book. 

Back Issue Box: Superman #314

I have been having fun the last couple of weeks reviewing a four-part Superman story from 1977, involving Superman and Supergirl fighting the vengeful space pirate Amalak. The central plot point of the story is Amalak trying to trick Superman into killing. By forcing the Man of Steel to break his ethical code, Amalak knows Superman will be psychologically broken and will retire. Today I cover the finale in Superman #314. 

Writer Marty Pasko has weaved an intricate plot involving a space plague, the return of the Kryptonian criminal Nam-Ek, and a stray dog/alien vector as both the source of the epidemic and a lynch pin to Amalak's plot. Each of these four issues only has 17 pages of plot but Pasko packs it to the brim with twists and turns. All that despite using recap pages to keep readers up to snuff. I have loved the way Pasko has inserted Supergirl into the mix and treated her properly. In this issue, I love his handle of DC lore.

The art is again by Curt Swan and inker Dan Adkins. It is an good mix of fisticuffs between plot points. Swan gets to stretch out a bit, moving from fist fights to Kaiju battles. Adkins gives the work a sort of Schaffenberger slickness, something unusual to how I picture Swan in my head.  But it is pretty slick.

Add to all that some Lois and Clark drama on the last page and you have a winner!

On to the book!

Back Issue Box: Superman #313

Superman #313 was released in 1977, the third part in an intriguing four part story with a central theme of Superman's code against killing. A four parter was a rarity back in those days. Folks weren't writing for the trade. The spinner rack was often hit-or-miss. Things were mostly one and done.

Writer Marty Pasko does a lot in this story, bringing in a little known Silver Age villain, bringing in his own Kryptonian creation Nam-Ek, touching on the real life 'Legionnaires disease' outbreak, and even ratcheting up some tension between Clark and Lois. Heck, even Supergirl has a role here. But the real meat is how important Superman's code against killing was back then (and should continue to be). Superman is brought to the brink of despair and madness as personal ethos is put to the test. 

The art is by Curt Swan, the de facto artist of Superman back in the day. But the inking is by Dan Adkins. It is a smoother Swan but feels off. There is almost a Kurt Schaffenberger feel to the art here. It gives Supergirl a familiar feel but it still feels somewhat off. Not as strange as Frank Springer's inks. But not what I picture in my mind when someone says Curt Swan. And such an interesting cover with Superman tossing an alien around, threatening to kill it. Quite the art duo on this captivating piece, Dick Dillin inked by Neal Adams!

So get ready to dive into part three of Amalak and his machinations. (You can read the reviews of part one and part two here.)

Review: Superman #311

Last week, on a lark, I reviewed Superman #312, the second part of a 4 part story. The response was very positive with folks wanting to hear more about the story itself. Perhaps starting with part 2 wasn't the best choice.

So I am here today to catch you up! Today I cover Superman #311, by Marty Pasko, Curt Swan, and Frank Springer. The issue sports a delightful cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. If you are looking for a cover that screams ' buy me' from the spinner rack it is this one. Superman being manhandled by a horned unknown villain. People dying around him from plague! Guest starring the Flash! This one has it all true believer.

Pasko does a great job for an opening chapter, dropping us into the action scene immediately and then catching us up. There are a lot of mysteries here. Who is the villain in the scientist (revealed in #312)? Who is the newcomer in the trench coat? What is causing the new plague? And how can Superman recover from an philosophical crisis? Add to that a lot of supporting cast interactions, including the worst 'Steve Lombard is a jerk' scene on record, and you have a winner! And all that in 17 pages!

As I said in the prior review, Springer on Swan is a weird mix. But the action is brisk and beautiful. It is the more character driven scenes that seem to suffer here.

On to the book!

Back Issue Box: Superman #312

When I do back issue reviews here I often try to tie them to some sort of theme or plot that is happening in books currently on the rack.

Sometimes I look at them because I do a deep dive in some aspect of Supergirl's history, like the recent look at Comet's origin.

So why I am I looking at Superman #312?

Is it the great Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez cover, showing Superman and Supergirl teaming up to fight Amalak? Is it writer Marty Pasko's recognizing Supergirl's history or his deepening of Kryptonian lore? Is it the interesting if imperfect teaming of penciler Curt Swan with inker Frank Springer?

All of those would be good enough reasons. But they weren't THE reason. 

It is that recently I saw this picture of Mork reading the issue on an episode of Mork and Mindy.

This is a wild issue. It is a primer on Bronze Age story-telling, covering a lot of plot in a scant 17 pages. It is the second part of a four part story. (I suppose I should cover all of them here.) And while Supergirl is made a damsel in distress in the story, she also is treated with respect by Pasko who makes her act like Superman's colleague, not sidekick or mentee. 

On to the book.