Refreshingly Charming
If you've seen G-Man's review of this issue then you get a good sense of what I'm about to say. My star rating differs a little bit from his, but my feelings generate from the same point.
I'm not a huge Power Girl fan. Before the new volume, I really only knew three things about Power Girl. She's from Earth-2, she's a JSAer, and there's that main-defining characteristic. Without really realizing it, I've gone from giving the series a chance on a whim to picking it up every month.
The story continues directly from issue 8 and draws upon what's been going on throughout the current run. For a steady reader, this will be no big deal. However, if you want to jump into the series it may be a little bit of a deal. If DC had a front page review, a la Marvel, then this would be no problem. However, they don't (although they had a little paragraph in issue 8). You can piece together what's been going on, more or less, but DC needs to get on board with a review page to be more accessible for new readers to jump on as opposed to catching up.
That aside, the issue makes good on Satanna's teased action from the previous issue. The action moves through from Power Girl's rough morning to her battle with Satanna's animal army. I feel like the action moves through at a good pace. The dialogue flows pretty smooth. Getting inside Karen's head lends itself to some charming moments. It wasn't the best story I ever read, but it held my interests and had me reacting.
Amanda Conner's art really fits the series. Aside from one or two faces, I think she does a great job. The facial reactions are spot on, the art isn't static, and it has a lot of life in it. I can kind of easily see this as an animated series because it's so charming.
The key word here is charm. What I like about this series is that it is fun and charming - it has a definite personality. The book has its action, and you could delve deeper into Power Girl as a feminist icon or a satirical icon for how females get portrayed in comics, but you also have that layer of fun and charm. While it's not for everyone, so far Power Girl has been an entertaining read (this issue and overall) that I would recommend at least giving a chance.
