Let me start off by stating why I picked up this title. I am a hardcore, die-hard Marvel Guy. I haven’t bought a DC title/book/issue off the LCS shelf in.. well..never. lol.
I am a huge fan of Jennifer Walters, aka: She-Hulk. For some odd reason, Marvel felt that she wasn’t a big enough seller and cancelled her book.. again. At about the same time that this news started circulating, I also got wind that DC was going to launch Power Girl. From little I knew of Power Girl, I could immediately see that she has a lot in common with She-Hulk. After checking out some art samples by Amanda Connor, I was almost immediately sold on Power Girl. So here I am, writing the review for the first issue.
Here’s what I was looking for in this title:
Humor,
Action,
No heavy connection to current DCU storyline or event,
Boobs!
I wasn’t disappointed. The first issue wastes no time. A quick synopsis and introduction to Power Girl is given by the titular character (
sorry, writing that made me giggle) as she flies by the Statue of Liberty, right before we jump into some action in the form of some sort of alien invasion.
From there, Power Girl battles the invaders all the while introducing us to her current status quo and secret identity via flashbacks. Under the alias Karen Starr, she’s in the process of getting an R&D facility up and running. We see Karen, hair in a knot, looking very professional in a functional pant suit, giving a tour and proceeding to interview a scientist. This gives us a glimpse of how intelligent Power Girl really is. She’s business savy in the least, but also confesses that she’s not much of a scientist and that isn’t her purpose within the company. Her goal is to help humanity, whether it be as Karen Starr or Power Girl.
Amanda Connor’s art is very well suited for this book. She has a little bit of an “animated cartoon” style, but with just the right touch of “Classic American Comic Book” lines to keep everything from looking rubbery and ridiculous. I love the art. Honestly. If this title succeeds, Amanda Connor will have a big hand in that.
I think the fact that a woman is penciling this books, actually gives Power Girl credibility. Nothing seems gratuitous in the sex appeal department. Power Girl is a woman, she has big boobs and a killer bod. It’s there on the page and really nice to look at, but you never get the sense that it’s flaunted. It’s really honest and conveyed perfectly with Power Girl’s interaction with other characters. She has a sense of humor.. and I love that about her.. right off the bat.
The writing is good. The pace of the story was great. It felt like I was going through a round with Mohammed Ali. Jab, jab, jab, Overhand right. It never let up. It was an easy read for me. Light hearted, good humor, just enough background on the character and what she had to face in this issue. The job of any first issue is to hook a reader in. Make them want to get the second issue.
Mission Accomplished.
I give this issue 4 stars out of 5. Power Girl is everything I was looking for.