Power Girl # 4 - Girls' Night Out!

This issue,like the past issues was great. It was funny,cute,quirky,and all around great. I'm sooooooo glad they included Atlee in this issue because she is awesome.  Plus I love how she's so headstrong. Zoradia makes a really cute villain too. And "Busty Airborne Lass"-Gold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I’ve been waiting for this issue for a while now. I enjoyed the first arc but I was more interested in what was coming down the road.

What does Jimmy have in store for Power Girl in issue #4.
 

Good

 
 

Format

What made the issue enjoyable was how it was structured. Through a sequence of events, that transition smoothly from one to the next, we follow Karen through her business, personal and super-hero life. For me this was quite unexpected but a welcome change.
 
 

Cast Work

The structure of this story made it easier to focus on the supporting cast. In this issue we learn a bit more about the status of her company through Karens interaction with her staff. We do learn a bit  more about 2 specific members of her staff who get more panel time. Outside of her business life, Power girl does spend time with some new faces.

• Terra: She's not a new character for many of us but unfortunately Atlee did not get a proper introduction into the series for readers unfamiliar with her. This issue does shed some light on Power Girl's relationship with Atlee as her friend and mentor in super-heroics.  If you can get your hands on the Terra mini series you'll understand why.
  

• Diane Dorst: After her dramatic introduction in this issue I hope Ms Dorst does not fade into obscurity and will continue to appear in the series.
  

Art

Does Amanda and Mounts work raise the bar yet again? Not really. But the art is definitely up to par and the cover......speaks for itself.
 
 

Other (neither good or bad but worth noting)

 

Big Bang

 Fans of the Big Bang Theory will enjoy the casts appearance in this issue.

Why is the cat not Orange?

 Well Jimmy does answer that question but not out loud. Look carefully.  

Leading by Example

Power Girl advises Atlee about the importance of helping others but also leads by example. Be it a small gesture like giving advice to some unlucky guys or giving an adolescent an opportunity to focus her passion in a new direction.
 

Avoiding Cliches

(This is more of an observation..... )
Granted, the outcome between Power Girl and the story's antagonist was done for a specific reason, I like the general idea of dealing with villains in different ways from time to time. Though I'm sure that it happens in comics a lot, I guess I just don't read enough of them. Still I think this concept works for the book.

Wrap Up

 

Power Girl #4 was a great issue that gives us our first glimpse of what many readers have been waiting for: A day in the life of Karen Starr. But the plot does progress a bit by the end of the book.
 
We'll see what happens next month. : )

The book opens with Terra and Power Girl sitting in a movie theater watching previews. After a couple of stupid trailers and one poorly executed pass by some random guy their movie begins. We find that Terra is no real fan of horror films.

As they are enjoying the movie a monster comes to shore Godzilla style. I mean Mathew Broderick Godzilla style. Right out of the water and over the bus, all we see are the feet. The two women come out of the theater and hear the commotion.

Ready to battle Power Girl begins to get out of her street clothes, only to find out that Terra did not wear her costume under her street clothes. Not to worry, or be out done Terra strips down to her underwear, and off to battle she goes.

When they get to the Brooklyn Bridge they see a blonde on an Ogre. She calls herself Zoraida, and she has come to liberate the city for the plants and animals, and return the city to the green. Of course Power Girl is having none of it and rushes in to shut her down.

It does not take long for Power Girl to realize that the book her young blonde adversary is using is the source of her power. So Power Girl simply takes the book and slaps her. Even with a last ditch use of Manga monsters, the young environmentalist has no chance of winning.

Instead of having the young lady arrested she admires her enthusiasm for helping the planet, and offers her a job. At the end of the book we see Kara touring her companies R & D section and seeing where possible cash flow can come from. She needs an apartment soon, and as she is apartment hunting while she is touring a seemingly perfect place, her and her real estate agent see something fall out of the sky near by, thus setting up issue # 5. 
  
This is the issue where the book has started to find its humor. It has tried humor in the previous issues but I really thought it was forced and not really a part of the story. Here thugh, it flowed pretty well and came naturally from the characters, not because the script called for it. The story was pretty thin however, just your basic beat em up. Also they seem to be fighting one imaginitive villain that has no chance of eing a recurring problem. 
 
   Especially since Power Girl not only lets her go after she trashes the Brooklyn Bridge, but even gives her a job. This does not surprise me at all, " at least her heart is in the right place" God help us. Next thing you know someone is going to defend a tax cheat and make them the countries secretary of treasure.  
 
  I did really like Terra in the book, especially the attempt to make a costume out of her t-shirt and underwear. Just a subtle little joke to make all things better. She really does add a lot of personality to the proceeds, which makes me wonder if the writer would prefer a book starring her rather than Power Girl since Power Girl is written with little personality at all.  
 
 So while I have decided to give the book a few more issues of a chance, it is hanging by a thread. I just think there should be a bit more to it. If anything, I think we need a heroine that the writer has confidence in to make her the star, and not the Ultra Humanite or Terra, as it has been with the first 4 issues of the book.