Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)
Scheduled to arrive in stores: May 30, 2023
Cover date: July 2023
Cover: Marguerite Sauvage
Variant Covers: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Tula Lotay, David Nakayama and Taj Tenfold
Reviewed by: James Lantz
“Head Like A Hole”
Writer: Leah Williams
Artist: Marguerite Sauvage
Power Girl takes on Johnny Sorrow in her mind while trying to find and accept her place in the DC Universe and Superman’s extended family. Sorrow uses Jon Kent to trap Omen and Power Girl mentally. The powerful heroines have their work cut out for them, for Johnny Sorrow’s horsemen – the Pit, the Pendulum, the Poet and the Pipe are keeping Omen and Power Girl occupied.
Johnny Sorrow has brought about Hell on Earth thanks to his mental powers taking over Metropolis. To top things off, Jon Kent is in a coma. This all because Power Girl had inadvertently opened the trap Johnny Sorrow created when she began entering other heroes’ minds. Power Girl blames herself for the situation with Johnny Sorrow. Yet, nobody in the Superfamily believes her to be at fault. They accept her as one of their own, and her cousin from Earth-2, Kal-L makes amends with her. Yet, Johnny Sorrow still uses his powers on Power Girl. Omen’s aid allows her to battle his horsemen, learn Sorrow’s origins and punch him out of her mind. With Johnny Sorrow beaten, Power Girl and Omen prepare for their next adventure with Streaky the Supercat now in their lives.
Story – 3: The story itself is not that bad. It does remind me of the psychic plane in X-Men and Bruce Banner’s mind in Hulk. I do, however, find that this and the Action Comics back-ups featuring Power Girl are trying to cram a six to eight issue mini-series into something with half as many pages. The dialogue is cringe worthy in places, and it feels like that there are moments when Power Girl is evolving, while other scenes on the next page seem like she is devolving. I did like seeing Kal-L and Power Girl accepting this world’s Superfamily as her own. The good does outweigh the bad in this. The bad just seems to stick out more for some reason. Yet, we do get to see Streaky the Supercat. That’s got to count for something.
Art – 5: The art is a huge acid trip. I got that Prince and New Power Generation song “Hallucination Rain” in my head while looking at it. However, that is perfect for this story.
“Hot Water”
Writer: Joanne Starer
Artist: Natacha Bustos
After Ice calls Guy Gardner for help with a tidal wave in Baltimore that she and Fire are trying to stop, Fire and Guy fight among themselves. Fire believes she’s protecting Ice. Yet, Ice doesn’t want or need it. Fire and Guy, however, do not listen. Superman arrives on the scene, realizing ehgo has gotten in the way of saving lives. Thus, he suggests a self-care vacation at the Kent Farm in Smallville.
Story – 3: This story suffers from the same problems as the main one. You could pretty much cut out Power Girl’s name and replace it with Fire and Ice in the review above. Plus, I keep wondering if Superman was really necessary. He feels shoehorned into the script at the last minute. It would have been more dramatic if Ice had taken Supes’ place and said the thing about ego. Still, in spite of all that, the story is decent and has some potential as a lead-in to a series.
Art – 5: The art could work for a TimmVerse comic. Perhaps Natacha Bustos could draw a sequel to Justice League Infinity one of these days.
Cover Art – 4: DC has been using blurbs that ruin the impact of their main cover images a lot lately. That’s why I can’t give this one a perfect score.
Variant Cover Art – 5: While these variants seem to be intended for posters, and I’m growing weary of variants in general, the art is fantastic.
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