Comic Book Review: Power Girl #13

Book Information
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Sami Basari
Colored by Sunny Gho
Lettered by John J. Hill
Cover by Sami Basari

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
So far, so good. Judd Winick is a highly competent writer who’s very good at telling a story. However, I wonder how many times a superhero’s origin story can be regurgitated until it becomes meaningless? Granted, Power Girl hasn’t truly been taken advantage of (storywise) until recently; we can thank Palmiotti, Gray and Conner for that. I do like this start Winick has given PeeGee, but it doesn’t have the same ring that the first twelve issues had.

Winick is attempting to remind readers of who Power Girl is and what she stands for; all of the flashbacks that occur with Max Lord, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the OMAC project show that Our lovely Kara will be going through an awakening. I feel Winick is attempting not so much of a recreating, but a recalibration of Power Girl, and it starts with a pair of earrings. It does give her some purpose and reasoning for wearing jewelry on the job now doesn’t it? (Just a side note: There’s no way Nicco wasn’t ready splurge right then and there once PeeGee put those rubies on her earlobes. I wonder how big his bulge was after he left that office.)

Now, as much as I appreciate what Winick is doing, I would much rather see this new approach to Power Girl to be a little less nostalgic. Flashbacks occur way too often within the DCU and unnecessarily so most of the time. As most of you know, I like that, but you can only take it so far, especially if it’s the umpteenth you’ve heard that story! I can hardly count on both hands how many times we’ve seen Wonder Woman twist Maxi’s head a full 180. However, it was nice to see what was going on with Maxwell Lord from a different perspective when he fell into that vat of ice. The question is, what does he want everyone to forget, his evil period or his life in general? And why does this seem to initiate some type of memory switch to flip on in Power Girl’s head?

What I do appreciate the most with Winick’s literary style is keeping the humor around. PeeGee is at her best when letting out her inner child. When she realizes Nicco has a gift for her, she becomes completely giddy and full of life. That’s the Power Girl we love and I hope Winick keeps it around. In addition, I’m glad to see that ever Power Girl knows that Booster Gold is a knuckle headed nincompoop who acts out of the glorification of being him rather than genuinely wanting to help people. I’m sure I’m stretching the truth about Booster, but I like that Power Girl gets truly ticked off at him because, well, that’s how I feel about him.

Sami Basri is very good, I won’t deny that, but his art is definitely something I’ll need to get used too, and I think I will too! The colors and definitive lines are gorgeous, but the inking is where I’m left a little disappointed. Within the confines of the bodies, the outlining is truly remarkable. But when having to trace on the outer structure of the characters, the outlining becomes a little overdone; it’s almost as if I was reading a Japanese Manga book, something that has never really appealed to me. But that cover is a sight for sore eyes. Despite Power Girl’s miniaturized cape flapping in the wind, everything about that cover screams perfection.

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion
A nice start to a new period in the life of PeeGee. I would have tweaked a few things if it were me working on the book, but I’m sure every fanboy says that, right?

Ratings
Writing: 9
Themes: 9
Art: 9
Overall: 9 out of 10