Back Issue Review: All-Star Comics #58

We just turned the corner on April and that means we have officially entered the comic event of 2025, JSApril! Kudos to comic podcast legend, The Irredeemable Shag, for putting together the event, herding in over 40 podcasts and blogs to celebrate the first super-hero team, the Justice Society!

I definitely wanted to be part of the festivities. I wanted to remain true to this blog's core. So why not review All-Star Comics #58, the first appearance of Power Girl, the Earth-2 Kara Zor-L. 

In this current world or reboots and new #1's, it is pretty amazing to me that DC picked up the numbering of All-Star Comics. This book came out October 1975. All-Star Comics #57's release date? December 1950! A quarter century has passed!

But here we were in the mid-70s with DC deciding that not only were the JSA worth being on the racks, not only that we would pick up their legacy numbering, but we would inject the 'old-timers' with fresh blood ... The Super Squad!

Kudos to writer Gerry Conway for mixing this up. Yes, we get the veteran JSAers, right there on the splash page! But the Squad's make-up is interesting. A now grown-up Robin, a veteran in a way. The Star Spangled Kid, a hero from yesteryear but now thrown into modern life. And Power Girl, brand new and answering the question 'why isn't there a Supergirl on Earth 2'! They each add some juice to the proceedings but in different ways.

Power Girl is immediately effective and her personality is pretty much on display from the beginning. She is strong, smart, and very independent. This isn't the meek 'secret weapon' in the orphanage. She is ready to throw down and jump into the mix. This is who Power Girl is and always should be. 

The art is by Ric Estrada with great inks by Wally Wood. We all know that Wood is the one who ultimately pushes the envelope with Power Girl's particular pulchritude. But both artists give us solid representation of the JSAers. 

That is my copy's cover scanned above, signed by Conway and cover artist Mike Grell!

This is a fun new chapter for the Society and therefore a perfect book to celebrate JSApril. On to the book.

Review: All-Star Comics #58

I have been running this site for almost 6 years and I have done my best to truly concentrate on Supergirl as a character, keeping Power Girl out of the spotlights intentionally. I truly believe that Power Girl is a separate character altogether.

However, with the new 52 Power Girl actually having been Supergirl on Earth 2, and with my reviews of Worlds' Finest appearing here, Karen has been nudging her way more and more onto the blog. And with the characterization of that Power Girl being neither Kara or Karen enough, neither classic Supergirl or classic Power Girl, I thought I would let Kara Zor-L bask in the spotlight again by reviewing her first appearance All-Star Comics #58. I was lucky enough to find this at a convention for $5 in decent condition.

It really is amazing how much of Power Girl's personality was already in place in this very first appearance! Writer Gerry Conway not only brings Power Girl around but also Star Spangled Kid and a new maturity in the Earth 2 Robin. Yes, this young trio becomes a Super Squad adjunct to the JSA. Karen is already shown to be fiery, determined, and strong. 

And as much as Conway shows the prototype Kara Zor-L, artists Ric Estrada and Wally Wood defined Power Girl's looks right off the bat. You can read this issue and immediately understand who Power Girl is and who she was for the next decades in the DCU.

The issue starts in a very classic way. The JSA has gotten word of three catastrophes that will strike the Earth simultaneously. Seattle, Peking, and Capetown are all in danger.

And in classic team comics style, the 6 JSAers split up into 3 groups of 2: Flash and Wildcat, Hawkman and Dr. Mid-Nite, and Dr. Fate and Green Lantern. Now I don't know if that is the best breakdown of teams. Fate and GL are the heavy hitters of this group. Maybe they should be on different teams.

And the villain of the piece is revealed early. Brainwave, the mad psionic, is going to lay waste to the world.

Some things that I love about this. Brainwave is obsessed with beauty since it was denied him in prison. So he is hoarding objets d'art on his satellite headquarters. At least it isn't a love of money driving him.

Second ... and 40 year spoiler alert ... this isn't Brainwave's real body. It ends up being a projection from his small spindly body. His love of beauty is so great he cannot deal with his real less-than-perfect looks.

But lastly, I love how this Brainwave look is eventually co-opted by his son Brainwave Jr. in Infinity Inc.

Now there is some fun stuff with Star Spangled Kid in Seattle and Robin in Capetown and the disasters thwarted there. But this is a review of Power Girl's first appearance.

In Peking, a volcano suddenly surfaces, spilling lava all over the place. I don't know just what Wildcat could do against something like this. And I don't know if the Flash could easily stop this. Hmmm ... wouldn't GL or Dr. Fate have come in handy here? (To be fair, GL and Fate fail in Capetown despite their combined might.)

Just when things look bleak, someone unknown appears on the scene, showing the lava back into the volcano, sealing it.

And there she is in all her glory, Power Girl. It is clear that how she looks has been defined from the very beginning. There are those urban legends about Wally Wood increasing Kara's pulchritude each inking session, baiting DC to tell him to stop (which they eventually did).

But there is so much to love here. She wants to be Power Girl to differ her from Superman, so there is no confusion. Unlike the earliest Earth 1 Supergirl, this one is her own woman from the get-go. And she also has been hidden away ... maybe as an emergency secret weapon?? She wasn't supposed to reveal herself quite yet!

Again, it feels like this is sort of the essence of Power Girl all in the first two panels.

The Chinese must take offense to the save, their military arriving and firing on the heroes. Despite Wildcat feeling like he can finally do something (slugging the Chinese soldiers), Power Girl ends the battle quickly with a super-stomp. Already Wildcat feels useless.

It set up an ongoing subplot of Wildcat being irritated at the 'liberated' Kara in the book. His 'old fashioned' attitude made him feel antiquated. Which was sad because I like Ted.

But things get even better. Power Girl. She sort of takes control of the whole situation. She already knows about the Capetown and Seattle disasters. And she can't understand why the JSAers can't handle the relatively mundane natural disasters happening. Hmmm ...

Again, this just is Power Girl.

She quickly mobilized Flash and Wildcat. It is time for them to regroup and attack Brainwave.

Something else great here. We are dealing with old-school Kryptonian powers. She can't fly but she can leap great distances. Fascinating ... and fun.

So there it is, the first appearance of Power Girl. And what a smashing introduction. It is incredible reading this to see just what a foundation this All-Star Comics run was for the character. I mean, this is a primer for Karen and who she has been ... that is up to this jumbled New 52 version. Impressive! She has grown as a character but the resolve and confidence has been a constant.

Overall grade: A+

But wait, there is one more treat in this book.

Holy cow there is a letter from Roy Thomas! A fan letter! From fan Roy Thomas!!

Okay, so Roy Thomas was already a prolific comic writer when this was released. But I love that he wrote to DC about this comic. Of course, Thomas ended up being 'the Guy' for Earth 2 writing All Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and Young All Stars.

So this is obviously a key issue for Power Girl fans and I would say Supergirl fans and I would even add DC fans. It introduces Power Girl but re-introduced Earth 2 to a monthly comic world. The Huntress would be added soon after and the books kept coming.