A Change of Pace
Since the launch of Power Girl’s ongoing series, critical reception seems to be mixed with review scores for issue #1 ranging from 4.7 out of 10 to 4.5 out of 5. But the award goes to Aint It Cool News as a quote from their ecstatic review graces the cover of Power Girl #2
“Flawless” – Aint it Cool News
Was issue 2 flawless……………?
Good
Art
Amanda Conner's artwork is great as always. Paul Mounts colors are great as well and really set the mood on Manhattan Island.JSA
Other reviews might overlook this brief guest appearance but sometimes the small things mean a lot. The Justice Society have set up shop in New York and Power Girl is still an active member. It's good to see that Kara's current relations with the JSA are acknowledged in her solo book.Bad
Supporting Cast
Sadly the Starrware employees are the low point of this issue. I know Jim is trying to paint a grim situation for the civilians but a lot more could have been done here. The dialogue felt repetitive at times and the “real world” references didn’t work for me.Other Points (Good or Bad? Depends on the reader)
Dialogue
PG #2 begins with a fight sequence pitting Power Girl against the Ultra-Humanite. This scene contains most of the action in this issue and it's the only part in the book were Power Girl takes center stage (somewhat). The fight itself was OK but I felt some of the dialogue during the fight was either unnecessary or out of place.Ultra-Humanite
Stealing the spotlight from Power Girl, the Ultra-Humanite was the main focus of this issue. Since his “reincarnation” after One Year Later, his origin story has never been told until now.This flashback does help explain why the UH was wearing his heart on his sleeve during the fight but his attempts to make Power Girl sympathetic towards him felt out of character for a villain of his makeup. Should an intellectual, “mad genius” type villain be so emotional and short tempered or are these outburst meant to show a flaw in having his mind implanted in a savage beast? Maybe I shouldn't compare this reincarnation to the Humanite I know from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon.
Wrap-up
Power Girl #2 wasn’t as entertaining for me as issue #1 but it serves it purpose as an origin issue. The plot line does progress a bit by the end of the book leaving Power Girl in much dire straits.
Let’s see how this 3-part story concludes next month. : )
