Review: Power Girl #10

Settle in ... this is probably my last review of this Power Girl run. Barring some major Supergirl crossover, I think Power Girl #10 will be the last issue in my collection. 

This issue was a loose tie-in to the House of Brainiac storyline. But in a very tangential way. So with that connection to the main books over, I'm done.

This issue shows much of what I have been struggling with in terms of the book. Writer Leah Williams continues to me a Power Girl I don't particularly recognize. It leans into a current trope in comics - that our heroes are just like us, traumatized and hurting. That means we are heroes. I go more for the heroes aren't like me but are people I should aspire to be like.

But, for me, this issue's fault lies with the plot. A lot of what we are told seem spurious or coincidental. Much of it doesn't make much sense within the confines of the DCU. It will be easier just to show you.

The art continues to be solid in a sort of grungy way. I like Eduardo Pansica a lot and think his stuff would be perfect for a back alley, ground level book. And I like the Nicola Scott variant cover even more than the standard Yanick Paquette one. No denying the source for Scott's vision.

When does an homage become a copy?

But I seriously love this Kerry Gamill cover from the 80's Power Girl mini-series. Nice updating.

On to this book.

Review: Power Girl #9

Power Girl #9 came out this last week, a tangential House of Brainiac tie-in with "Paige" fighting some Czarians in Metropolis.

I have struggled with this title a lot since its inception. "Paige" isn't Karen. A Power Girl who feels awkward around other people isn't the one I know either. Having Omen save the day all the time and Power Girl either defeated, needing to be saved, or in the background of her own book doesn't work either. And "Paige" specific plots, about her symbioship attacking her, have been lost amidst cutesy fantasy and cat-focused issues.

So we come to this issue which on its face corrects a lot of that.

Power Girl is a hero in this. She uses her powers and strength pretty well in her fights. There is no Omen to be seen. The symbioship threat is back. From a 10000 foot view, this issue is better.

That doesn't mean this is a good issue. It's a Power Girl issue, more than many have been. But I still have some difficulty with the plot and the events and even the outcomes. Still, I should be happy there is some vague overall improvement.

Leah Williams seems to focus equally on Crush and the new Halliday Girls in this book. So I'm not surprised to see all of them come off just as tough as "Paige" even if they are just humans. And I still don't know 100% what the symbioship is trying to do here. 

The art remains solid. I like Eduardo Pansica here. His fight scenes are slick. He has a good grasp on Power Girl just as he did with Supergirl years ago. And if there is one thing keeping me here the most it is Yanick Paquette on covers. Paquette is a favorite and this (literally) cheeky take on the old 'Lobo's Back' books is great. 

On to some of the details.

Review: Power Girl #8

At some point I will stop collecting Power Girl. Probably soon. After the nonsense of the cat issue and the two issue Ferimbia storyline along with the confusing characterization for the main character (unlike any take on her in her existence) and the omnipresent, omnipotent Omen character, I was ready to drop it. 

Then Power Girl #8 was listed as a House of Brainiac tie-in and I felt compelled to stick around. 

I should not have been surprised to be underwhelmed with the book. There is one interesting moment that is specific to this book and it's tenuous supporting cast and subplots. There is one interesting moment that is more a DCU moment which I enjoyed. And at least Power Girl uses her powers and is adequate in battle. But once again writer Leah Williams has a good chunk of the book spent on a cute scene. Omen again seems unstoppable. And the Brainiac links are few. 

Eddie Pansica is back on art and I like his style. He handles the action parts quite well. Perhaps his years on Supergirl prepped him. I am a big fan of Yanick Paquette and I like his playful cover with Crush pushing Power Girl out of the cover pin-up pose. But in some ways the cover is a reminder that, at least in this volume, Power Girl has rarely been the star in her own book.

On to the issue.

Review: Power Girl #4

Power Girl #4 came out last year and continued the current story of Power Girl facing off against her old Symbioship. It also unfortunately continued this reimagining of the Power Girl character. Since writer Leah Williams was given the reins on the character in the back pages of Action Comics, we have seen strong, confident, independent Karen become scared, unsure, alien 'Paige'. 

I keep waiting for DC Comics to recognize the error they have made in trying to turn one of their most powerful female characters into an insecure mess but it looks like they are in it for the long haul. If look beyond that terrible mistake though, we still get a pretty rough issue. 

Here Power Girl is powerless against the Symbioship. She is taken over initially. She doesn't even save herself, requiring one of the writer's favorite back-up heroes get the glory. And the ending makes little sense with things changing dramatically from one page to the next. Not much works here for me.

It is a shame because I like Eduardo Pansica's art quite a bit. There is a raw scratchiness to it that I think would serve a street level book like The Question. Gary Frank is a favorite so I love his covers too. It is a little bit of a shame.

On to the book.

Review: Power Girl #3

Power Girl #3 came out a couple of weeks ago and continued to showcase a Power Girl who doesn't seem like the Power Girl I have read for a long time.

Writer Leah Williams continues to show us 'Paige', a hero who is uncomfortable on Earth, feeling out of place and alone, and lacking confidence. This issue shows us how she feels most akin to a dying lion, the last feline survivor of Krypton. This should feel poetic or emotionally powerful but it falls a little flay because it makes little sense.

The main villain of the story is Power Girl's Symbioship program, the computer which fed her an AI history in her trip to Earth. I have any number of issues with this. The first is that there hasn't been much background information about the symbioship in the story. I don't know if I actually knew that it was a villain. Superman talks about having destroyed it in the past ... but when? And what is it? 

If the device that controlled Amalak was a symbioship drone (which I think it is), didn't 'Paige' bring that to the auction from issue #1? Why didn't it attack her then? 

And what is it's goal?

I have read a lot of Power Girl in my time and I am lost here. Add to that a couple of pages of Omen which make me dislike her a lot and you have little going storywise for me.

The art is by Eduardo Pansica and I like his sort of rough scratchy are here. But he has little to work with here in this issue. There isn't much action to let him shine. 

On to the book.

Review: Power Girl #1

Power Girl #1 came out last week, the first issue of an ongoing series following a back-up in Action Comics and a Power Girl Special. These have been new takes on Power Girl, no longer Karen but now 'Paige', at times a psychic counselor but now more traditional in powers, but still finding her way. 

And I am still on the fence. 

As a character, Power Girl has always been feisty and fun, powerful and confident. I don't see a lot of that here. Writer Leah Williams has, at least, veered towards a Power Girl that I think is a little more recognizable than the dream jumper from the Action story. This opening issue does what it is supposed to. We get the background of the new set-up for the character. We get some action with a new enemy. We get the introduction of a supporting cast. And within that were some good moments.

But we also get an overbearing Superman. We get some comments from 'Paige' that seem to come out of left field. We get cutesy humor moments which take me out of the story instead of supplement the action. 

This is closer to what I want than the psychic stuff. But it is still far away from what I think a Power Girl book could be. Still, if I could tolerate Supergirl going from job to job and city to city in the Bronze Age, I should give this more of a chance. At least back then, Supergirl read like Supergirl.

Eduardo Pansica is on art which helped a lot for me. Pansica was on Supergirl for a while and did well there so there was something familiar and comfortable about the art here. His Power Girl looks great. And the superheroics flow well. On to the book. 

Bullet Review: Nightwing #103

Nightwing #103 came out a bit ago but deserved a quick peek here. Over the last several months, there has been a back-up feature in the book. Writer C.S. Pacat and artist Eduardo Pansica have been telling a story of Nightwing and Jon Kent teaming up.

Now the story has had some twists and turns. I wonder how it would/will read if all the backups are read in one sitting. What initially got me excited was the premise that Dick was going to train Jon on how to use his powers physically ... how to fight. This physical aspect of hero-ing was something sadly missing in the Son of Superman title, written by main Nightwing scribe Tom Taylor.  

That kernel of the story has been pushed a bit to the background as the two are now investigating an explosion and a trapeze mystery at a circus. Someone cut one of the trapeze ropes, almost killing the mother in a mother/son trapeze act. Sounds pretty similar to the Grayson murders, no? With the new element of mystery added, this story has instead become a compare/contrast tale between Dick and Jon. How Bruce is different than Lois in investigating, for example. 

Ultimately, this chapter has them solving the trapeze rope crime. The solution is a bit saccharine for me but might be playing in on the theme that children (like Dick and Jon) are sometimes pressured into following in the family footsteps and that isn't always healthy.

Eddie Pansica continues to bring us very good art on the story even if this one is mostly people talking about clues and feelings. Not much action here ... something I hope we eventually get.

But there was one moment that stuck out that deserved a nod here.

Bullet Review: Nightwing #102

Nightwing #102 came out last week. As with #101, there is a back-up feature written by C.S. Pacat with art by Eduardo Pansica. 

Last issue, I was struck by the feature. Once again we see Dick stepping in as a mentor for Jon. Last issue there was a whole bit about Jon not using his strength to fight with villains. Perhaps Dick could give him some fighting tips.

Now I could say that maybe his father ... or even cousin Kara ... could give him some tips on throwing a Kryptonian haymaker. But maybe Jon is too timid ... or even embarrassed ... to ask them. Or maybe you ask your 'older brother' for tips like this. 

That discussion around fighting and strength isn't really touched on in this issue. But once again, we see how Jon and Dick interact. With a mystery of a possible murder at a circus, trapeze ropes cut almost leading to the death of of an acrobat family (sound familiar), Nightwing and Superman decide to investigate.

Now one of my favorite things about Super Sons was hearing Damien and Jon compare and contrast their fathers. Here, we see Jon and Dick compare their parents approaches to mysteries. 

It is interesting, especially when Jon talks of both Clark and Lois. 

A quick review.

Bullet Review: Nightwing #101

This will be an extremely short look at one aspect of Nightwing #101.

Writer Tom Taylor has been writing Nightwing for about 2 years and has injected a breezy feel to the proceedings. Dick Grayson is social justice warrior, using his money to help Bludhaven. Using his heroic activities to fight corruption. Taylor definitely has strong political opinions and he has put them in these stories. Somehow it works here better than in other titles. Perhaps street level stories lend themselves to more realistic stories and issues.

Taylor was also given the keys to Jon Kent in Superman: Son of Kal-El. He injected the same politics into that title. But in a book with someone as powerful as Jon, the political stories felt silly and ham-fisted. 

Taylor also tamped down the super-heroics of the Superman book. Jon seemed like a guest star in his own book. Taylor even bragged about how Superman never threw a punch the entire time the title was running. 

I never quite became embraced with the Son of Kal-El book. It ended when Kal returned to Earth. And now Jon will be heading into his own mini-series getting ready to battle both Ultraman and the Injustice Superman. Might be hard to do that if you don't jab now and then.

So ...

Bullet Review: Suicide Squad Annual 2021

Last month I did a bullet review of Suicide Squad #6. I had been a little confused by the quick change in Superboy in this book given how he had just been portrayed in the Bendis' Superman and Young Justice books. In Suicide Squad #6, we got the answer. The Squad's Superboy wasn't Conner. Excellent turn and certainly one that allayed some fears of mine.

Suicide Squad Annual 2021 came out last week and followed up on that story giving us all the answers behind the Superboys and the Squad. It does explain things nicely, calling back a Superboy villain from the 90s, leaning into the new continuity that everything sort of happened. All this worked for me. 

The art is a mix of Dexter Soy and Eduardo Pansica. There are a lot of splash pages and double splash pages in the book. Given the over the top action, I suppose some of these pages were warranted. But there are so many it made me wonder if they were all there just to pad the page count to bring this single issue script up to Annual length. Soy and Pansica both are solid artists and the action is rough and tumble, befitting the story.

On to the book.

DC Comics October 2020 Solicits

The DC Comics solicits for October have come out and I can't help but wonder just what 2021 has in store for fans. Here is a link:
https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-october-2020-solicitations-and-covers-revealed/

There is a ton ... A TON ... of Death Metal stuff.
There is a ton ... A TON ... of Joker.
Not surprising, there is a ton of Batman.

And there are cancellations! Batgirl, Justice League Odyssey, and Red Hood.

My guess is that with so many books going away and with all this Death Metal stuff, we are on the verge of yet another reboot. Rao, help me.

But here are the super-books, including the variant cover for Action Comics #1026 as seen above.

ACTION COMICS #1026
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art and cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and KLAUS JANSON
variant cover by LUCIO PARRILLO
Wonder Woman 1984 variant cover by FRANK CHO

This issue, it's the Superman family versus everybody! In this blistering conclusion to the epic "House of Kent" saga, huge choices are made to defend the great city of Metropolis. Plus, amid all the chaos, the new owner of the Daily Planet is revealed—and it's...Jimmy Olsen?! Guest-starring Jonathan Kent, Conner Kent, Supergirl, and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I can't help but be happy that Supergirl is part of this arc. And I trust Bendis to treat her the way she deserves to be treated.

Kara as drawn by JRJR? I am ready to shudder.

Supergirl Best Of 2019: Top Ten Comic Moments

I have now been doing these 'Best of Supergirl' end of year lists for 11 years now and some years are definitely better than others. But I have never felt that a year encapsulates the difficulty DC seems to have with Supergirl better in that time span than this year does.

2019 wasn't a great year for Supergirl. In her own title, she leaves Earth on a wild goose chase, embracing an rage-inducing axe and coming within a whisker of killing people all while wallowing in anger and sadness. She subsequently succumbs to an evil virus becoming a Goth Supergirl embracing anarchy and anger, DC doubling down on the 'Mistress of the Axe' plotline. Since I started this blog alone we have seen the 'dark, angsty, angry, very sad Kara' trope several times. It never seems to work. Like ... NEVER.

And yet, 2019 was also a very good year for Supergirl. She sheds the dark, angsty, angry persona (again) and embraces Earth as home (again). She clearly is a valued and loved member of the Super-family and her relationship with her cousin Kal hasn't seemed this strong in a long time, maybe since Gates/Igle. And she had a number of one-shots and specials that built up her character arc and history in a powerful way.

Still, as I put together this list, some of the moments seemed to be repeats from prior years.

Enough talk, on to the top ten Supergirl comic moments of 2019!

Review: Supergirl #36

Supergirl #36 came out this week and seemed to hit all the notes I worried it would hit. This is the Year of the Villain, Supergirl is one of the 'Infected' and readers get yet another turn at a dark Supergirl. You would think DC would not want to keep drinking from this well and yet, here we are.

This also represents writer Marc Andreyko's last issue as writer on the book. You may recall that Andreyko already put Kara through a grim turn, having her abandon Earth, wield Rogol Zaar's axe, and come thiisssss close to using it to kill. When that arc was over, Kara seemed to move past her rage. Now, infected by the Batman Who Laughs, we get an more vicious turn than the 'Mistress of the Axe'. Now perhaps Andreyko had little to do with this current turn. Perhaps it was DC leadership who deemed Supergirl one of the Secret Six. But it seems to me that back to back 'Dark Kara' arcs, especially after she seemed to learn from the first one, seems pretty silly.

The art by Eddie Pansica remains spot on beautiful. Pansica has really grown on this title. And I have come to look forward to his monthly double page spreads of Supergirl doing something spectacular. This issue Pansica is given multiple splash pages to work with and he really brings it to the table. Alas, this also seems to be his last issue on the title.

Derek Chew provides this variant cover with a classic shirt rip.

Perhaps it was the tilt of the figure, but I couldn't help but be reminded of the famous Jamal Igle cover from Supergirl #53.

But let's get into the issue.

Review: Supergirl #35

Supergirl #35 came out last week and was another issue putting Supergirl in the middle of the Event Leviathan and Year of the Villain storylines. It is wonderful to see Supergirl enmeshed in the major crossovers of the DCU. In fact, Supergirl gets to face off against Leviathan himself. And during that encounter, a possible clue is revealed.

Now that the Rogol Zaar/Mistress of the Ax story is over and Kara is back on Earth, writer Marc Andreyko gives us a Supergirl who is more classic in tone. This is a Supergirl who seems ready to fight injustice but also has a strong sense of compassion. It is a bit interesting to see her simply shed all the anger and angst we saw for a year ... but frankly I am glad it is gone. And it is nice to see elements of what came before, specifically her relationship with the Danvers, brought back to the book.

Artist Eduardo Pansica continues to shine as the book's artist. There always seems to be one impressive splash of Supergirl flying in each issue. This issue includes a brawl with Leviathan and Pansica is able to bring some fire to the proceedings with page layout and rapid fire panels.

This was a good issue. On to the particulars!

Review: Supergirl #34

Supergirl #34 came out this week and was the first issue since the Rogol Zaar storyline ended. It also was a strong tie-in to Event Leviathan, a book that I am loving and also enmeshed in the the Superman books. And on top of that, it also had a strong 'Year of the Villain' JLA hook as well. More than ever, Supergirl felt like a DCU book, involved in the events of the entire universe. Yes, it will be nice when this book is solely Supergirl's adventures. But this issue made it seem like Kara matters in the universe writ large.

All that said, this was also an opportunity for writer Marc Andreyko to bring Supergirl back to Earth and try to re-establish her here. There was plenty of stuff happening in the book before the Zaar arc, back when Steve Orlando and Jody Houser were guiding the ship. Thankfully, Andreyko picks up some of those plots. There are plenty of stories still waiting to be mined there.

Eduardo Pansic remains on art here and brings a certain scratchy feel to the proceedings. The issue runs the gamut of science fiction, character conversation, and street fighting, showcasing Pansica's range. There is even a sort of gratuitously grotesque scene in the middle making me think Pansica would be perfect should DC restart a horror anthology book.

Overall, this felt like a big step up from the prior angtsy, angry, axe-y books which preceded it. Hopefully, this means the tone of the book will be better. Just in time for infected Dark Kara?

Full DC November 2019 Solicits

Last week, DC released their complete solicits for November 2019. Here is a link to see all the books:
https://www.newsarama.com/46215-dc-comics-november-2019-solicitations.html

They had done something of a preview of some of the books earlier, showcasing the 'acetate cover' books which have a clear overlay which changes the initial image. I wrote about how disappointed I was with the Supergirl one last month here:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2019/07/early-november-solicits-dark-supergirl.html

Now we know a little bit more about the Year of the Villain, who the Batman Who Laughs infects, and what issues we will see these heroes turned villain.

No big surprise, I am pretty tired with the whole darkening of good characters. I don't know how this infection happens. But it would be nice if DC recognized that Kara has gone through these dark periods before and it never seems to work. How I would have loved it if somehow Kara rejected this evil turn. Or was considered too good for the Batman Who Laughs to even try on her.

Instead we once again get this dreck played out. Even if it is temporary, it feels wrong.

SUPERGIRL #36
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JULIO FERREIRA
acetate cover by DAN MORA
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

Supergirl—the infected! Brainiac-1 attempts to contact Supergirl at the Fortress of Solitude, but for what nefarious purpose? No matter what he has planned, things are about to go from bad to worse as Supergirl heads on a collision course with the Batman Who Laughs! He’s targeted Superman as part of his plan to infect heroes and transform them into their twisted Dark Multiverse counterparts—but Supergirl gets caught in the crossfire, and the Year of the Villain stakes get even higher! 

I don't even care if somehow she sacrifices herself to the infection to save Superman from going dark (as may be implied here). I am sick of this take on Supergirl. 

I wish I know who to blame for continuously picking this scab. 

On to the rest of the books.

October 2019 Solicits

The DC Solicits for October 2019 came out last week and I am trying to maintain some optimism. But it isn't easy. For a list of the entire slate, you can head to Newsarama here:
https://www.newsarama.com/46214-dc-comics-october-2019-solicitations.html

Now there are some interesting things that are hitting the racks this month. Call me nutty, and it isn't in my usual wheelhouse, but I am intrigued to read the Brian Azzarello/Emmanuela Lupacchino new Birds of Prey book. And a new Hellblazer book might be worth checking out.

But the whole DC line is tied up in the Year of the Villain storyline. Every cover seems to show citizens and heroes bloodied and zombied up. And it just seems that DC, under Dan Didio, is a one note singer. Every 2-3 years we have to darken everything up. And it never seems to work. The shine of Rebirth is finally dulled. We are back in the doldrums of Forever Evil and Future's End. Grim isn't better.

It doesn't help that Didio at SDCC complained that people buy the reprint books DC puts out rather than buying new books. Didio should be embracing the history and legacy of his company. He should realize people buy those because they are good stories, classics. And maybe they are shying away from new content because they aren't good.

But I digress. I am here to light a candle, not curse the darkness.

As for the super-books, there are a couple of new items on the docket. But to be honest, for the first time in a while, I felt compelled to post the prices of books on this post because comics aren't cheap anymore. And while I might be interested in trying something new, $9 is a big ask.

On to the super-books.

Early November Solicits. Dark Supergirl ... Again .... yeesh

DC has early solicited some of their November books so that orders for special 'acetate' covers can be gauged. Here is a link to that story over on Newsarama: https://www.newsarama.com/46215-dc-comics-november-2019-solicitations.html

But more than anything, it had me muse over a famous quote by Satayana.

'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.'

Because, in case you can't tell from the studded leather corseted, KISS make-up wearing, angry red eyed Supergirl on the cover of Supergirl #36, we have once again entered a Dark Kara phase. 

It occurs about every 3 years. 
It never works.
And we need to rebound from it.

Here I thought 'Queen of the Axe' Kara was Marc Andreyko's Dark Kara. But he and Dan Didio said 'hold our beers while we get shots of whiskey'.

Here is the solicit:

SUPERGIRL #36
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JULIO FERREIRA
acetate cover by DAN MORA
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

Supergirl—the infected! Brainiac-1 attempts to contact Supergirl at the Fortress of Solitude, but for what nefarious purpose? No matter what he has planned, things are about to go from bad to worse as Supergirl heads on a collision course with the Batman Who Laughs! He’s targeted Superman as part of his plan to infect heroes and transform them into their twisted Dark Multiverse counterparts—but Supergirl gets caught in the crossfire, and the Year of the Villain stakes get even higher!

And frankly, I'm tired of this.

Even if this is temporary, which of course it is, DC Editorial could have decided not to have Supergirl succumb, not to have Supergirl infected. But instead we get the drum beat again. 

DC Comics September Solicitations

The DC solicits for September have come out and it is a little bit heavy with new books and exciting news all happening. I won't comment on all the Harley love that is coming out but there is plenty. So head over to Newsarama to take a peek at everything:
https://www.newsarama.com/45611-dc-comics-september-2019-solicitations.html

In the meantime, I'll do my usual review of the super-books that are coming out.


SUPERGIRL #34
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JULIO FERREIRA
cover by JESUS MERINO
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

After months on the outer edges of the universe, Supergirl is back on Earth! But things are not as she left them—her adoptive parents have disappeared without a trace, Leviathan’s plans are in motion and a Brainiac lurks in the shadows with its sights set on Kara! Oh, and what about that grave? The truth of who is in it will shake Supergirl to her very core!

I am thrilled that Supergirl is back on Earth again. And a mystery of finding her parents is a good hook. I wonder if, based on Leviathan Rising, if Eliza has been recruited to Leviathan's ranks. As for the Brainiac on the loose, we have already seen Kara fight Indigo in the Fatal Five arc. But news coming out this month makes me wonder if there is another Dox Kara will be meeting.

With all these arcs mentioned in the solicit, too bad the cover is (of course) gritty angry Kara immolating a Leviathan crony.

 What else is coming out?

Review: Supergirl #31

Supergirl #31 came out last week and continues the Unity Saga story which has been going through the Superman book. I posted my review of Superman #12 yesterday and this issue of Supergirl covers much of the same story, albeit from her perspective.

While the story beats are similar, there are some unfortunate differences. While my review of Superman praised the maturity and respect and love that was evident in Supergirl and the El family, this issue doubles down on Kara's anger and viciousness. It was hard to go from one to the other and think these are the same characters. I just don't quite understand writer Marc Andreyko's take on the character.

Now comes my every couple of year defense that I don't want a sickeningly sweet Silver Age Supergirl, trapped in an orphanage with no agency. I don't mind a fierce Supergirl, learning to be a hero, occasionally failing. I don't mind her being angry when the time is right. But Supergirl should be, foremost, optimistic and bright. She should be about hope, help, and compassion for all. And this sneering Supergirl isn't that.

The art in the book is split. Kevin Maguire does the first 5 pages of the book and then semi-regular artist Eduardo Pansica takes over. Pansica should just be named regular artist and Maguire should start working on the Annual. The two styles don't mesh well. Separately both are fine.

On to the book.