Comic Book Review: Power Girl #9 (Hottest Issue Ever!)

Book Information

Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti

Art by Amanda Conner

Plot

Power Girl finds herself in the middle of the worst day ever!  Apart from not getting a date and being the sex symbol of the year, she has to deal with Ultra-Humanite’s girlfriend, Satanna!  As she unleashes the entire zoo on Power Girl, Satanna takes extra measures to make sure Power Girl falls to her death.

My Thoughts

So this review will be unlike my others.  Within this review I will be delving into certain things that no guy will ever deny to be (for lack of a better term...and for the mere sake of saying it) awesome SHIT!  I don’t care who you are, there is nothing about this issue that will not excite you and make you smile.  As a rule, any comic that contains predictable storylines I typically rank lower because I hold original plotlines to the highest degree…I’m a snob like that!  But Power Girl, as predictable as it usually is, I can never ever rank very low.  I’m am so happy with how Grey and Palmiotti write this title that I constantly find myself rereading issues of Power Girl more often than any other comics I buy on a monthly basis!  I will most definitely be coming back to this issue on a regular basis.

It’s amazing how many horrible events can be written into a day in the life of a superhero.  Power Girl is either upset, depressed or pissed off at something through this whole book.  And what’s worse, nothing goes her way!  Her company seems to be having financial troubles, guys are pinching her ass on the train, people want to take nudie picture of her, zoo animals want to kill her, this is just a terrible day.  Palmiotti and Grey did a superb job at building the stress level in PG’s life so well that I felt stressed out for her! 

The best part of all the chaos, as a way of amplifying her frustration, Grey and Palmiotti bring in the entire zoo!  What better way of showing how chaotic her life is than by using a bunch of circus animals in armored suits trying to kill the well endowed superwoman?   But the mean spirited writers don’t stop there!  They have to have their final blow as Satanna whacks at PG again and again with a large hammer that seems to pound away not just at the surface, but deep down at the core of a living being.  If I was Power Girl, I would have just killed myself and be done with life!  This issue almost makes me think Palmiotti and Grey want to see how much they can torture and belittle Power Girl and get away with it.

What I enjoy the most about how the writing duo has molded Kara is her kick-ass attitude.  She’s a lot like Supergirl in how she always has something to complain about, but yet she doesn’t dwell on those frustrations and knows how to work through them in a mature manner.  It makes for a very pleasant read.

Now I know this part of the comic sticks out like a sore thumb, but I can’t write this review and NOT talk about it.  Having Power Girl run out into the stair way completely nude is a dream come true for me, as I’m sure it is for every other guy on the planet.  I’ve criticized this title for the slight overuse of Power Girl’s sexuality as a comedic gimmick, mainly focusing on her boobs, but this scene I can’t complain about.  Amanda Conner is fantastic at making PG as sexy as possible and pushing the limit, without going to far.  There’s nothing lewd or crude about the whole scene.  It’s very sexy and funny at the same time.  The scene is so great, I went as far as to scan those pages and crop them for your viewing pleasure…

Speaking of the art, how awesome is Amanda Conner?  Apart from creating incredibly beautiful women, she’s got such a handle at amazing artistic panels of color and explosive action.  The cartoonish feel to the book shouldn’t overshadow the maturity and wonderfully crafted scenes that she delivers month after month.  She might be one of the better artists at giving her characters meaningful facial expressions.  She isn’t like Ed Benes, who typically gives his characters very melancholy faces, even in the heat of battle.  No she uses the full emotional spectrum of the mobility of the human face.

Overall

I don’t know what to do with myself.  As I know for a fact this issue won’t make its way into my top ten list for 2010, this issue has definitely made an impression on me artistically and on the literary side.  Gail Simone, you better have delivered some good stuff in Wonder Woman (which should be coming in the mail very soon!) in order to top this issue!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming March 24, 2010

Power Girl squares off against Satanna and her Animal Army just as Terra enters the fray! This should be a good thing, but somehow it looks like Power Girl's got a new enemy!