The new World's Finest comic is just about a month away and I will be adding the title to my review stack here. Starring Power Girl and the Huntress, written by Paul Levitz with art by George Perez and Kevin Maguire, and linked to the new Earth 2, it has all the trappings to be a very successful comic. And DC is doing right by it, promoting it around the web.
The latest publicity was the release of Kevin Maguire's variant cover to World's Finest #1 over on IGN. Here is the link: http://comics.ign.com/articles/122/1222198p1.html
Now I'm a sucker for good cover design and this one has a lot going for it. The yin/yang motif in the back works well, showcasing the contrast in the character's styles but showing they are part of one whole, a team. The use of the moon and the sun within that motif adds to the symbolism of this and plays of their techniques. It even works that the sun is the low portion, Power Girl (really E2 Supergirl) being above it all. And the characters amplify that. Power Girl is looking up and out onto the horizon. Huntress is looking down and seems to be focused on something up close, maybe crouching around the corner. It just is a nice piece contrasting the Bats and the Supers in attitude and strategy.
Unfortunately, the elephant in the room (or on the cover) is the latest Power Girl costume which simply isn't pleasing to look at. The asymmetry of the torso just seems jarring, especially given that it tapers to so fine a point. And I have to look at the symbol for a while to finally see the 'P' emerge. But I might be able to look past the costume if it was just that which seemed off. But the accents seems off too.
The gold bracelets don't seem like a natural fit here. The vertical stripe up the side evokes thoughts of a gym suit and Beatrix in Kill Bill (which isn't a bad thing), but the horizontal stripes almost around the gloves seem a bit superfluous and take away from the one up the leg. I don't know if the boots are sort of like lifts/solid high heels or if that is simply color design. And lastly, the red right shoulder pad looks like an add-on. I wonder if it might look better blue or gold. Or maybe not there at all.
Look, maybe I will grow to love the costume. There are plenty of costumes I started out disliking that have wormed their way into my heart ... The Creeper for instance. But Power Girl should be simply, understated, and sleek and this looks like a hodgepodge of ideas thrown together. Compare it to the utilitarian and slick Huntress uniform.
It doesn't change my interest in the book or my love of Maguire and Perez. I guess I'll need to see it in action.
4 comments:
I agree, it’s not a good look, nothingy yet fussy at the same time. Boob window, not boob window, the classic Power Girl costume is the classic - if DC wish to evoke the Helena/Kara stories of old, use the original costume too.
I think it's unusual to see a heroine in comics so covered up. Head to toe. Especially unusual as this is Power Girl, reknowned for her... forthright attitude.
I like Perez' version of it, or at least have no particular objection, but this from Maguire does look too much like a 1970s style jumpsuit. too much white with nothing breaking it up - and that blue line down the sides doesn't help change that feeling.
Nontheless, I'm all for changing her look like this, I knew going in that the JSA revival would almost certainly be radical, I don't object in principle to updating The Flash and Green Lanterns costumes but to lose the 1940s heritage and set it in today with young heroes just started out is wrong in nearly every way. It makes the JSA a thinly reflected version of the JLA, and nothing more.
Power Girl's new costume looks like something out of an issue of Ultraverse Premiere. Specifically, the red breast looks like something drawn on a piece of paper, not worn on a human body. PG has a checkered history with costumes, but this is by far the worst. It is to her as the green and red jumpsuit was to Wonder Man. It's outright offensive to the eye.
Are those sneakers she has on??
They look like white 1980's Nikes....
:D
JF
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