Comic Book Review: Power Girl #14

Book Information

Written by Judd Winick

Art and Cover Sami Basri

Colors by Sunny Gho

Letters by John J. Hill

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Power Girl is going through the worst time in her life; with giant purple-people eaters, her company being taking away from her, and Butt-Monkey’s, this is a day from Hell!  I don’t think any writer who is given the privilege to write for Power Girl will ever go easy on her.  Having the biggest boobs in comics isn’t enough, they have to throw everything but the kitchen sink at her.  (Although I do recall seeing a sink somewhere amongst the wreckage.)

Winick is in fine form by taking Power Girl and putting his own creative genius into the character while still remaining true to the humor and “bad-ass” attitude established by Gray and Palmiotti.  But Winick is adding his own touch by using a character we have never seen before, which means we care very little about him, and turning him into a giant, purple alien from outer space.  This has a similar feel to Men in Black, as the director created a character we hate and killed him off within the first five minutes so the real villain can have his brand new Edger suit.  However, in this case, our esteemed fourth most prosperous illegal arms dealer (oxymoron maybe?) has kept his own body, but with major discolorization issues and warped facial features.  Under the control of some alien computer program, the villain in the brand new Mikavic suit is ready to terrorize the city.  But Winick leaves room to be excited for next month since it’s still up in the air as to why this force from space is here on Earth.

One thing I’ve notice in the first two issues of Winick’s run is the lack of boob jokes.  (I think Palmiotti had a thing for breasts...probably still does based on his blog.)  But that isn’t stopping Basri from flopping Power Girl’s jugulars right our in front of us.  It’s nice to see that the running gag that haunts Power Girl is still here to stay, but it seems to be a tad more tame and realistic with Basri’s art.  For you people who think comics are just about testosterone, hitting things, explosions, and boobs…well…you might be right on the money with Power Girl, even if the writing is pretty darn fun and amazing.  But you have to realize when it comes to Power Girl, boobs are always going to be part of the focus.

Judd Winick is also tying in little bits and pieces from his Justice League: Generation Lost series with Booster Gold trying to remind PeeGee (and others) of their long lost enemy, Maxwell Lord.  I’m not currently following the Generation Lost series, (although I should because the JLI was what got me hooked into comics in the first place) but I do know of the effect that only Booster and company remembering Mr. Lord is having on the DC Universe.  It is an unnecessary addition to the story, but it is a way to keep readers who aren’t following his other title in the know since Maxwell Lord is an obvious vital aspect to Brightest Day.

Back to Basri…I had my doubts about Basri’s art last month; it felt like it came straight out of an Anime or Manga comic/cartoon show.  Except the difference here is that Basri’s art is mature, which is why I’ve decided that I like his artistic approach.  I think this mostly has to do with the depth of shadowing and detail in the characters facial features.  The difference between Kara’s angry and confused faces are world’s apart, which allows the eye to differentiate between the different modes of expression.  And just like Amanda Conner, Basri really knows how to make a punch from an alien visitor to the face of a hero look painful…

My Awesomely Climactic Conclusion

Overall this issue is a wonderful piece of literature to behold.  It’s got everything Gray, Palmiotti and Conner brought to it, but it is completely separate from what they established as well.  Winick’s work has always appealed to me, but this issue proved to me that he has the ability to stay true to the comic book cannon of Power Girl while making the title his own.

Ratings

Writing: 10

Themes: 10

Art: 10

Overall: 10 out of 10