Comic Book Review: Power Girl #21

Written By: Judd Winick

Artist: Sami Basri

Colorist: Jessica Kholinne

Cover Artist: Basri & Sunny Gho

Letterer: John J. Hill

Editor: Joey Cavalieri

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

I think the Brightest Day plotline has been much more interesting in its crossover titles.  Generation Lost, from what I’ve been hearing, has been phenomenal as well as the other titles connected with this major DC event.  Power Girl, ever since Judd Winick came on board, has been fantastic as he’s been able to incorporate both the typical Power Girl brilliance and the Brightest Day storyline without feeling too weighted down.

Issue #21 of Power Girl begins the resolution of the Maxwell Lord Mystery and why he’s wiping the memories of every hero except for the J.L.I.  Power Girl flies off after a brutal fight with her former teammates to jog the memories of her friends in hopes of bringing the fight Maxwell Lord.  But if Power Girl can’t even convince the greatest detective of all time, Batman, what chance does she have with anyone else?

One of the most appealingly funny attributes of Power Girl is how much bigger she is than most males in the DCU.  She still has than fantastic sex appeal that every artist that’s ever sketched Power Girl out hopes for, but she’s definitely given a stature that towers over most men. (Face up to it guys, we all fantasize about girl’s who are tougher, taller and stronger than we are.)  I understand the reason for it as Superman himself is above average when it comes to size, but that didn’t keep me from laughing hysterically as Power Girl looks down at Batman during their conversation.

Judd Winick really is doing a great job with Brightest Day within Power Girl, but I was a little jolted with two Batmen standing side by side…and there’s more to come!  Just like with Superman #708 and the Superman Squad of the future, I have a sneaking suspicion the same thing is going to happen with Batman; we’ll never know when we’re looking at Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, or whoever else ends up wearing the cape and cowl.  I’ll say it again…Damn you Grant Morrison!

The story itself is actually quite good despite the reminder of the Batman atrocity.  Being someone who enjoys nostalgic storylines, getting to see Ted Kord wear the blue suit again was icing on the cake.  The emotional impact of the book is effectively portrayed through Power Girl’s constant scolding of herself for not staying with Blue Beetle the day he was killed.  As often as Ted keeps returning in flashbacks since Blackest Night began, I’ve been wondering to this day if they plan on bringing him back from the dead.  What a nice change it would be for DC to divert from their typical storytelling technique and leave Kord dead.  Here’s to hoping!

I know Basri has been getting a lot of criticism for his artistic style, but I think his combination of anime and contemporary American comic book art has worked quite well for this title.  Jessica Kholinne’s mastery of appropriate colors has been a major contributor to Basri’s excellence as well. 

It seems that any woman that has the honor of being apart of Power Girl's title seemed to be required to expose a certain amount of cleavage.  That's OK, it's part of the running gag in this book...cleavage, cleavage, and more cleavage.  But of all the women in the DCU, I never thought Ice would made also be forcibly inducted into the Super-heroine boobage circus.  Oh well, she'll still remain the sweetheart of DC Comics.

One thing I wasn’t completely clear on however was how abruptly Booster asked Power Girl to leave.  I understand that she nearly mopped the floor with the J.L.I., but these five aren’t the type to simply ask someone to get out of their face, especially when they understood that Karen was under the influence of Maxwell Lord’s mind control.  The explanation was given that she needed to leave in order to see if anyone ELSE can remember, but the departure felt like baggage was still remaining between the J.L.I. and her. 

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

All in all, this issue is very good and incredibly intense while never wavering from the comedic impact that Power Girl is supposed to have.  And hopefully, after Generation Lost #22, Power Girl will be bringing us some new adventures to love and cherish.

8 out of 10 stars.

Comic Book Review: Justice League Generation Lost #18

Written By: Judd Winick

Artist: Aaron Lopresti

Inker: Matt Ryan

Colorist: Hi-Fi

Cover Artist: Aaron Lopresti & Hi-Fi

Letterer: John J. Hill

Editor: Rex Ogle & Brian Cunningham

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Good God I missed having Aaron Lopresti pulling the artistic duties of comics.  Having him work on Power Girl and the rest of the JLI is nothing less than a dream come true.  But now I’m faced with a major problem!  I picked up this issue of Justice League: Generation Lost because it ties in with the current arc running in Power Girl’s own title.  And after reading it, I’m regretting not following this miniseries when it started 18 issues ago.  Damn me and my ability to not spend shit tons of money on comics!

Power Girl is out for vengeance, but only because Maxwell Lord is sending false images into PG’s brain.  To her, Captain Atom looks like a psycho Superman who killed Magog.  This false imagery, provided by Maxy, also extends towards the rest of the JLI; giving Booster, Rocket Red, Ice and Fire a different look and personality in Power Girl’s brain.  It’s one of the deadliest and most intense hero on hero violence any comic has ever contained!  Will Power Girl kill her friends? Will Maxy succeed in his mind manipulation?  I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.

As most of you know, I love Judd Winick; his Batman arcs have been far superior to Grant Morrison’s, yet DC keeps hiring him to write for Batman more and more!  Judd Winick’s genius has been under rated by DC for as long as I can remember.  But here in Generation Lost #18, Winick once again proves that not even Morrison can keep him at bay!

We all know that Maxwell Lord is the bad guy (or one of the bad guys) within Brightest Day, but what his role is within the story has yet to be determined.  Winick, however, throws a monkey wrench in the works by causing us to rethink Maxy’s diabolical intentions.  Is he a bad guy or a good guy?  You can ask this question but you’ll never come to any solid conclusion because Winick leaves the playing field wide open!  Is Max really reforming or is he suffering from a misguided sense of justice? 

Within the last few years, DC has really utilized the sepia-toned flashback sequences to help set up a story.  Calling back to the friendship shared by PG and Captain Atom was the perfect Segway into the fight of fights between the two.  This led into a wonderfully angst-driven brawl where Power Girl was ready to pummel Captain Atom to the grave, and the JLI torn between killing Power Girl to save Atom, or going easy on her while Cappy shuffles off this mortal coil.  There was so much power put into this whole conflict, something very few writers are able to do in just 19 pages.

As stated above, Aaron Lopresti is one of my all-time favorite comic book artists.  I didn’t even realize he was sketching this book out until I opened up to the first page.  The panel toggle from What Power Girl was seeing to what was actually there was excellently executed.  Panels with the Max-vision goggles were typically darker while the reality shots were much more soaked in cooler, blue colors, helping me to understand the emotional impact of Power Girl’s dilemma.  Hi-Fi (Who names their kid Hi-Fi?) brought the colors together quite nicely and intelligently, never wavering in quality.

My only complaint with this issue is purely based around the fact that I had to buy an issue of Generation Lost in order to stay up to speed with Power Girl’s title.  Sure, it makes sense to do it this way, but why couldn’t they have kept it in Power girl?  I guess this sentiment follows along with my frustration with Brightest Day in general as it seems to be slapped on every comic book cover these days.  Or, who knows, maybe this is a hint that Generation Lost will be making it’s way into a on-going series.

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

I really enjoyed this issue, and my highly developed nerd brain tells me you will too.  But you might want to catch up on the events of Brightest Day if you aren’t too familiar with its goings on.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Comic Book Review: Power Girl #18

Literary & Artistic Credits

Writer: Judd Winick

Penciller: Sami Basri

Inker: Sami Basri

Colorist: Sunny Gho & Jessica Kholinne

Letterer: John J. Hill

Cover Art: Basri & Gho

Editor: Mike Carlin

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

What?  A relative of Superman is cloned?  I’m completely and utterly shocked!  Never in a million lifetimes would I have guessed Power Girl would be cloned!  Very nice Winick, very…very…nice…

Ok, seriously, I actually don’t mind the whole “cloning” driven plot, but when will DC get it through their heads?  Cloning is WAY overdone in the superhero world.  And thanks to Superman dying all those years ago, it has only gotten worse.  But it extends further than cloning doesn’t it?  What with the Crime Syndicate and other alter-egos of superheroes from alternate dimensions.  Clones, alternate versions of heroes, doppelgangers, whatever!  It’s time to move past this and invent something new.

Excuse me, let me exit from this negative and ill-favored room and enter into a much more prestigious and uplifting room where I’m allowed to discuss what I loved about Power Girl #18. 

This story ties two very significant plotlines together; the story of Donna’s mysterious disappearance and the whole Maxwell Lord fiasco, both of which were exceptionally interesting.  It shouldn’t take anyone too long to read (unless you’re like me and read while gazing at the artwork as well.) as the bulk of it focuses on the brawl that Power girl has with her evil, black haired twin.  To be honest, I never would have thought Basri had this level of intensity within his artwork in him.  I’m sure most of you would agree that Basri’s characters always seem rather stiff and wooden, which isn’t a negative criticism, but it does leave little room for an expansive visual appeal.  This issue never faltered and delivered some fantastic action sequences that I haven’t seen from Power Girl since this series began a year and a half ago.

I’m having a little difficulty figuring out Nico’s purpose.  Sure, he’s a genius, but he always seems to point out the obvious to Power Girl; always a smidge too late and getting the information PG needs after she’s taken one too many hits to the face.  Nico will either become a very funny running gag, or a ridiculous addition to an awesome series. 

Power Girl is a total badass in this issue!  (Not that she wasn’t already.) It’s a shame that the outcome being that of a Power Girl clone brought the impact down a bit.  Sure, it’s cool as first, but with the whole “compare and contrast” motif that’s been so overplayed, I had trouble getting into the story as much as I would have liked.  Even Basri, who soared above what he normally does, copped out with the obvious visual statement of White is good, therefore black must mean bad. (Do you get it?  Power Girl’s suit is white, evil Power Girl’s suit is black.)

Maxwell Lord is building up quite nicely I must say.  I’m not following the JLA: Generation Lost series so I’m lost (no pun intended) as too what’s going on with Maxy for the most part, but it’s interesting to see how easy it was for Power Girl to get her memory of Mr. Lord back.  Funny how we haven’t seen anything dealing with ol’ Maxy in Brightest Day huh?

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

Despite what I say, the issue is still fun and enjoyable to read.  Even I, the person who scolds stories with overly predictable plots, still enjoyed it.  It’s Power Girl, you can’t go wrong with Power Girl.

Rating: 7.33 out of 10

Writing: 7

Art: 9

Themes: 6