Review: Superman #37

Superman #37 came out this week and was another very entertaining chapter in this redemption arc for Superboy Prime, subbing in for the departed Superman. 

I have said that it is a minor miracle that writer Joshua Williamson has made me actually like this take on Prime. Prime is a comic nerd who recognizes his worst deeds are several reboots ago and is trying to do good. But all those old deeds are still known so Prime is basically under the microscope with everyone waiting for him to mess up. I actually felt for Prime here as he is really feeling that pressure of everyone side eyeing him all while hs is trying to be a hero.

It helps that Prime is a great POV charactier because he talks non-stop about comic history and lore. He is 'one of us' but in the DCU. This issue is full of references and fourth-wall busting insanity. It is a great tool for Williamson to use. But it is a tightrope. You can't overuse. This was the first issue where I felt we got close to that 'too many'. Close ... but did not cross.

There is also a mystery brewing. And I think I might have solved it.

Dan Mora is typically fantastic on art here. With all the trips and adventures and references, Mora is in the deep end of the DCU pool. But he never disappoints. 

On to the book.

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: Action Comics #1070 - Supergirl Back-Up

The All In era at DC Comics started this week with the release of Absolute Batman #1. Part of that initiative is Mark Waid coming on to Action Comics and that title going to weekly! Within Action Comics, we have a Supergirl back-up feature by Mariko Tamaki and Sklyar Patridge. 

Given the focus of this site, I will be reviewing these Action issues in two parts, making sure to give the Supergirl story the space it deserves. For us old timers, seeing Supergirl in the back of Action Comics, a space she anchored in the Silver Age, is perfect.

Action Comics #1070 was released this week. So we jump right into the story. But before we get there, a couple of opening salvos.

First off, Supergirl is treated very very well by Mark Waid in the main story. I cannot wait to show how Waid continues that 'field marshal', second-in-command feel for Supergirl within the super-family.

Second, Mariko Tamaki wrote the rather bland Supergirl Special #1 almost a year ago. That story was extremely rough. Supergirl not remembering Krypton (after PKJ had her be the Kryponian archivist for years). Supergirl jealous of Power Girl (after we just had a PG story where she was jealous of Supergirl). And, of course, a concentration on eating snacks. How DC could read that story and say 'this is the writer we want to guide Supergirl in her next solo story' is confusing.

Third, this story seems to concentrate on Supergirl's 'new power' coming out of Absolute Power, a hypno-vision where she can literally control people. That has troubling implications all over the place about consent. In the story, it shows the super-family having a lack of trust in their friends. And we simply don't need Kara to have this power any more than we need Black Canary to have heat vision or Power Girl to 'astral punch'.

At the very least, Skylar Patridge is reunited with Tamaki and brings a wonderful art style to the proceedings. Patridge has a sort of breezy, fine-lined style that feels like a top-notch indy book. That is not faint praise. The art is beautiful. 

But this opening chapter is a little confusing and a little troubling. So I hope things get tighter. On to the book.

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 #7

Power Girl #7 came out last week, another cutesy, disjointed take on 'Paige', a character that is supposed to be the Power Girl I have known and love for most of my life.

Last issue, writer Leah Williams brought Power Girl and Supergirl to Ferimbia, a mystical fairy tale land in another dimension. That was something of an issue with some fun potential that was wasted. Thankfully, this arc is only two issues, the story wrapping up here.

Here is what I'll say. If you have a long, solid run on a book with a good interpretation of the character, I am more apt to tolerate a two issue cutesy storyline. Just like if you have a solid run with a good interpretation of the character, I am more apt to tolerate a 'silent', 'through the eyes of the pet' cutesy issue as well.

The problem is that this is not a solid run with a good interpretation, And only 7 issues in we have had a silent 'through the eyes of a pet' issue AND a two part cutesy, other world story. That is three off-brand issues out of seven. Too much, too soon, not earned.

This issue also has similar problems that I have had with prior ones on this run. There are too many silly moments about food. There is an insert character who basically saves the day instead of the heroes. (In this case, since Omen isn't around to bail out the title character, we get a new 'Omen' instead.) Even though we are in a fantasy world, there are too many forced 'slice of life' moments. And what could have been an interesting focus of the story (comparing and contrasting Kara from 'Paige') is given exactly one moment.

As I said before, this whole thing reads like Williams wanted to do a Ferimbia story and shoved Power Girl and Supergirl into it.

Marguerite Sauvage is on art here but we aren't treated to her usual style. Since we are in a fantastic, silly fairy tale world, Sauvage gives her art a more cartoony polish. 

But here is the worst thing about this issue. I thought it was going to be my last. But the upcoming issues are tie-ins to House of Brainiac. So looks like I am going to stick around for a bit more. Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in.

Look, this comic is going to get a bad grade. But if you want to see particulars of the issue, read on.

Review: Power Girl #6

Power Girl #6 came out this week and was just another example of this series not understanding who the title character is and what this book should be about. Last issue was a silent pet issue, too cute and too early for a series trying to find it's legs. This issue, while starring Supergirl, is more of a twee fantasy tale. There actually is some potential in this book, some moments that could have led somewhere interesting. But it abandons them.

Writer Leah Williams continues to make Power Girl a side character in her own book. Yes, Supergirl is a guest star and seeing Kara and 'Paige' team up is usually good fodder for stories, even if to contrast them. But the most action is delivered by ... you guessed it ... Omen, who has become the 'how do I get out of this situation' tool for the writer. She can do it all. Second, it is clear that Williams wanted to write a story of people stuck in a fantasy world and so we rush our characters to get there. And lastly, the heroes are powerless in this fantasy land which means it could have been any characters who end up there - human or Kryptonian. Substitute Spoiler and Batgirl here and the story still works. It makes me think Williams wrote this story and then forced Power Girl and Supergirl into it. 

Marguerite Sauvage is a solid artist and I think her work on this title actually works well. She switches to a more cartoonish version of her art when the story switches to the fantasy world. And the one part of the story which seems perfect to let Sauvage run wild, a scene on a college campus, is left too soon. I do love the Amy Reeder cover.

But I would avoid this issue and this series. If you are a fan of Power Girl (her character, her history, etc.) you aren't going to get that here at all.

On to the specifics.

Review: Power Girl #8

Power Girl #5 came out this week and is a Streaky focused issue written from the super-cat's perspective. He doesn't understand the human language outside of his name. The word balloons from the humans are therefore gibberish. In essence, this is a sort of silent issue.

I have struggled with this title since it's inception in Action Comics. I have been reading Power Girl since the 70s and I have never seen her portrayed in this way. Writer Leah Williams presents us a character who is almost the opposite of the strong, confident, brash Karen Starr. Instead we have the non-confident, nervous, out of touch 'Paige Stetler'. And 'Paige' doesn't have much of an opinion, kowtowing to Lois and being saved by Omen. 

So while I have enjoyed animal issues like this before ( Super Sons Annual for instance - https://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2017/12/review-super-sons-annual-1.html ) and I don't mind breather issues between arcs (like Mark Waid is doing in World's Finest), I don't know if this title has earned a silly issue so early. 

Do I like Streaky? Yes. But as Supergirl's cat. Not Power Girl's. Did I find it a little off-putting that she calls Streaky 'Stinky' in this issue, given that PG had an actual cat named Stinky in her history? Yes. Do I think that I am not going to be buying this title much longer? Yes as well although a Supergirl crossover means I will be on this book for the next couple of months.

David Baldeon is on art here and brings a sort of cartoony feel to the proceedings which works for a cute animal issue. I think this style fits the tone of the book perfectly. He draws animals very well.

This will be a brief review. Hang in there.

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 #2

Power Girl #2 came out this last week and I have to be honest, I am struggling with this book. 

I shouldn't be surprised. I have struggled with Leah Williams take on the character since the Action Comics back-ups and through the special. This was a character that sort of visually looked like Power Girl but was stripped of most of the history and characteristics I had come to associate her with over the last 50 years. 

Who was this 'Paige' with psychic powers who was unsure of herself and her place in the world? Certainly not the Karen who was the CEO of a customer and pretty confident in her approach to life. 

The first issue was a little better as the psychic powers mostly were gone (outside of 'astral punching') and there was some connection to Krypton and even the earliest PG solo stories from Showcase. But that also included the seemingly standard food jokes, cutesy conversations, cat jokes in the middle of life-threatening combat, and - perhaps worst of all - a mean Superman. 

Now in this issue, I am back to being perplexed. The Power Girl in this book seems to be new to Earth, confused by standard human behavior, unsure of her heroism, needing guidance from Lois, and seemingly anxious about life. 

That characterization is NOT Power Girl. I don't know who this character is. So I wonder if my time ont this book is going to be short.

The art by Eduardo Pansica continues to be a high point here. Pansica's stuff seems to be softened a bit by the inks of Julio Ferreira. The office scenes have a high polish. And the action scenes seem to revert more to what I am used to from Pansica. The cover by Gary Frank is great.

But this isn't what I come to a Power Girl book to read. 

On to details.

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. 

Review: Knight Terrors Action Comics #2

Knight Terrors Action Comics #2 came out last week, a split issue telling us two stories. One story is the extended Super-family fighting the Cyborg Superman in a horrific tale of despair and blood. The other is Power Girl fighting her Symbio-ship and herself to escape a sterile environment. 

I'll start off by saying the Super-family story by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Mico Suayan, and Fico Ossio is incredible. Knight Terrors isn't exactly a must-read event. I don't know if this story will ripple into the main Superman books. But it is a great character piece for Otho and Osul. There is a brutal ending to the Cyborg Superman, showing us his greatest nightmare. It ends with a Wizard of Oz homage. And the art by both artists is just incredible. This is a horror story first and foremost, something I can't say about all the Knight Terrors books. This is terrifying. Fantastic. And the art is the right mix for this story. I'll be gushing throughout.

I'll also add that Johnson reminds us of a couple of things which came out of the Warworld saga which have been pushed a bit to the back regarding the twins. So I just ate this up with a spoon. 

The Power Girl story, by contrast, seems to fall flat. I honestly don't know what writer Leah Williams is doing with 'Paige' anymore. We went through a back-up story in the main Action Comics book where Power Girl seemed to come to terms with who she is. She even changed her name to Paige. She was a troubled, lost soul not the confident Peeg I am used to. But I thought at the end of that story we were in a better place. Instead, this issue plays up Power Girl's self-loathing. A self-loathing Power Girl?? I have never seen that .. ever ... in all her history. Vasco Georgiev's art is subtle and slick. But this seems way wrong.

The Superman Knight Terrors books have been, for the most part, successes in my mind as they have probed into the characters' minds in a way that builds on the main books. The Johnson/Suayan/Ossio story is so spectacular, it elevates this whole issue.

On to the details. 

Review: Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1

Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1 came out last week and was an interesting mix of horror stories.  Superman and Supergirl are carrying the horror in the Superman Knight Terrors book. Action has been an anthology book recently. So we get two stories here.

The first is a Power Girl story by Leah Williams and artist Vasco Georgiev. I wasn't a hundred percent keen on Karen becoming Paige, the psychic counselor. It feels like perhaps the psychic side of things may be waning in Williams approach to the character, even if Lilith remains a key supporting cast member. But what I like about this story is that Williams really seems to be leaning into Power Girl history. Her nightmare is a warped view of her origin from the 70's Showcase arc by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton. Now old timers like me know this story but Williams is playing a bit coy, not filling in the backstory here. It feels a little padded, as if a few pages could have been shaved off. But overall it was a good read. I don't know Georgiev but the art is breezy and strange as it should be.

The second story by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Mico Suayan give us truly horrific story, driven by Osul's fear of the Cyborg Superman. This one truly reads like a horror comic with jump scares, terrifying shadows, and a story of robotics taking over a body (cue memories of the scary robot lady in Superman III). It is interesting that the Supers seem capable of sharing nightmares, perhaps showing how close they are. And Suayan's are is the stuff of nightmares.

I don't know if Knight Terrors is going to amount to anything. And I don't think I needed these stories. But both were brisk, entertaining read.

On to the details.

Bullet Review: Power Girl Special #1

Last week, the Power Girl Special #1 came out and it took me a couple of days to wrap my head around it. Thus, the review is up today on Monday instead of last Friday. 

I was pretty unimpressed with the Power Girl story which unfolded in the recent Action Comics. In that story, writer Leah Williams changed Karen to Paige, changed her from a physical, confident, brash hero to a psychologically damage, isolate, psionic. It just didn't read like the Power Girl I have known for the last 40 years. Whether it was the original in All-Star or the JLE hero or JSA All-Stars leader or the Palmiotti/Conner version, they all felt recognizable. This version by Williams just didn't. Marguerite Sauvage was on art and I think her style is a 'love it or hate it' one but I love it. And her pastel pastiche does work well with psychic landscapes.

That story ended with Johnny Sorrow arriving. 

Anyways, all that meant I went into this special with almost no expectations. Like zero. 

So when I read this special the first time, I actually thought to myself 'hey, that wasn't that bad'. A lot of that was built on a couple of Supergirl moments where Kara is portrayed very well. And hey, Streaky is back. Sauvage's art is very good if you like it. I even tweeted that I thought it was better than I anticipated.

But then, when going back into the book to try and get this review ready, I realized it isn't really a good Power Girl book. Because, once again, this isn't the PG, the Karen, that I know. For a second, I thought much of the new stuff here would be swept under the rug. Throw in some other moments that don't make sense and I think in the end, this isn't a very good story. The art is wonderful.

Now if you have no sense of PG history, you might love this. And I honestly wonder what long time PG fans think. 

On to some moments.

Review: Action Comics #1053

Action Comics #1053 came out last week and was another crackling issue ... well mostly crackling, This is an anthology book so there are three individual stories present here. No surprise, I liked some more than others. 

There is the main story, the Superman Family story with Superman fighting Metallo. This is an excellent story. This Metallo is creepy but also sympathetic. The actions and interactions of the super-family are wonderful. In particular, two moments - one between Kal and Kenan, and one between Jon and Osul - are emotional and powerful. Rafa Sandavol's art feels a little raw but that adds energy to the proceedings. Nothing wrong here.

The Dan Jurgens/Lee Weeks flashback story to an untold tale of young Jon is a solid storyline. There are two plots proceeding at pace here. One is Jon befriending an alien Princess in peril. I think this is a 'don't judge a book by its cover' moment for Jon. There is the Doombreaker plot with Doombreaker looking for the Doomsday spike which created him in the first place.

But it is the last story, the Power Girl story, by Leah Williams and Marguerite Sauvage that I find lacking. Sauvage's art is beautiful in its pastel glory. But the story, a complete demolition of Power Girl, feels wrong. Power Girl has had a solid characterization and a strong foundation for decades. She doesn't need fixing. Here, Williams decides to torpedo everything we know about Power Girl. I don't recognize a Power Girl feeling alone, anonymous, rudderless. If anything, it just makes me want to re-read the Palmiotti/Conner run to read Peeg done right. This feels like another creator coming up with an idea and bolting it onto a pre-existing character. I have got behind new interpretations of characters before and I have given this story some time to see if it would work. For me, it just doesn't.

On to the particulars.

Review: Action Comics #1052 - Power Girl Feature

Settle in. Because I will open up this review with a lengthy preamble. But grant me this introduction because it speaks about a problem I see that is pervasive in comics these days.

Action Comics #1052 came out this week. The book is now an anthology with a main Superman story by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Rafa Sandoval as well as a Lois/Clark/Young Jon story by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks. As a fan of the old Superman Family anthology I was pretty happy about this new format.

And with writers Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Joshua Williamson (over on the Superman book), there really has been a feeling of family. Everyone has been treated well and with respect. Even this variant cover by Rafa Sandoval shows that closeness. In particular, and given the focus of this site, Supergirl has been treated well by those writers. I'll add Mark Waid over in World's Finest has also been giving us great Kara content recently.

That isn't to say that things have been great for Supergirl recently. Her own book ended 3 years ago after she left Earth (again) and turned dark (again). She was treated as a glum loner in Future State, living an isolated life on the moon with Krypto as her hero. And of course, she was a drunk, sad, angry, traumatized character in Tom King's Woman of Tomorrow. Suffice it to say, things have been rough for Supergirl lately as time and again she was given to creators who don't understand her character or her history or simply don't care about it.

All of this leads to the third feature in Action Comics #1052. There is a Power Girl story written by Leah Williams with art by Marguerite Sauvage. I love the art. 

But the story does not work for me. 

Williams has taken Power Girl, one of the most physical and confident characters, a leader and powerhouse, and made her into a telepathic psychiatrist. She has taken away the physicality of Karen and given her this passive power. And worse, in this story, she has taken away that confidence. Here is Karen, the former chairperson of the JSA, the CEO of a tech company, and made her feel shunned by the super-family and diminished in her own mind in comparison to Supergirl. 

Even worse, Williams has taken Supergirl and made her a sort of narcissist. Someone who puts on airs of perfection. Someone who imagines herself in princess gowns. And also someone who isn't the brightest bulb.

So who is the real Supergirl? The hero with the penchant to go dark? The sad loner on the moon? The drunk, angry, traumatized survivor? Or the narcissist? Or is she the mature, optimistic, bright young hero in World's Finest? Why can't DC figure it out?

And who is the real Power Girl? The one from the popular Palmiotti/Conner run? Smart, sassy, brash? Physical bruiser? Or this one, suddenly someone who is a therapist?

Honestly, this feels like Leah Williams had a story to tell of a hero becoming a counselor for other heroes and decided to bolt that onto Power Girl. Like Tom King bolting suicidality on Mister Miracle. And Tom King bolting depression and anger on Kara. Like Tom King bolting genocidal selfishness on Adam Strange. I have seen it so much lately ... an author bending a character out of shape to fit a narrative instead of writing a narrative for the character.

This isn't how I think Power Girl or Supergirl would act. But here we are. As always, your mileage may vary. On to the story.

Review: Lazarus Planet: Assault On Krypton

Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1 was a brilliant opening to the latest DC event. The story had legitimate stakes, moved at a brisk pace, showcased some of my favorite characters, and had beautiful art. 

Now the aftermath of the Lazarus volcano are being felt throughout the DC Universe. We'll see this in one-shots and mini-series, setting up the next year of stories. Today it is Lazarus Planet:Assault on Krypton. Really it should have been called Assault on the Super-Family. This book takes a peek at Dreamer, Jon Kent, Mercy, and Power Girl, all characters with connections to Superman. 

Each character gets their own story in the anthology. We know Jon and Power Girl will be getting their own stories, in the Adventures of Superman and Action Comics anthology respectively. I don't know where Dreamer and Mercy will end up, although the Lex-centric new Superman book is a good place for the latter. 

The stories themselves are quite solid, each ending on a sort of cliffhanger to get us interested in reading more. The Jon story was probably the best of the bunch, introducing a new villain, charming and irreverent. 

The art includes stories by veterans like Scott Godlewski,Sami Basri, and Marguerite Sauvage. Skylar Partridge pencils the Dreamer story and is a new name for me. Her work is stylish enough to work in the dreamscape. Partridge draws a pretty good Supergirl to boot.

If you're a fan of the Super-Family, I'd say this is worth the $4.99. On to the stories.

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Epilogue in Supergirl #9

I (sort of) close my long look at the Candor arc in the early run of the 2004 Supergirl series with this brief look at Supergirl #9.

Remember that last issue Supergirl scooped up Power Girl and left Kandor in the middle of an uprising of the alien citizens against the nationalistic Kryptonians. Why did she leave the good fight? Because Saturn Queen gave her some undisclosed information about Argo.

That issue was the first issue for Joe Kelly and, as I have said many times before, I just don't care for Kelly's take on the character. Now it may be that Kelly didn't want anything to do with the Kandor story (remember Greg Rucka started it) and so he simply pulled the plug on the whole thing.

But you can definitely see the direction Kelly was interested in within the pages of this issue. At the very least he addresses the quick exit from Kandor.

Ian Churchill is on art again and he has his style. His Kara looks rail thin and stretched out. That said, I think Churchill would make a dandy Power Girl artist. And if you can look past the sleaze, his stuff has a lot of polish.

We should start with the cover as it also is something of a foreshadow of the darker tone for this book.

Here we see Kara sitting in the dark of space, crying, looking at shattered rocks. Perhaps this is the detritus of Krypton. But this is an homage, really an homage through a mirror darkly.

Because it an homage to All Star Superman #1.

Here a rather peaceful looking Kal is sitting on a cloud in the bright blue sky looking at a sunny horizon. This is a far more optimistic and idyllic image.

But that wasn't meant for Supergirl in the early going of this book.