Reviews for 8/20

Hailing frequencies are open for some new comic reviews. These were books released on August 19th, 2009.

Power Girl #4
For those of you who missed the first three issues, SHAME on you! Buy them NOW. Leave work if you have to. Break a date, Jump into a phone booth. Whatever you have to do and go GET them! Pee Gee is one of the best titles on the stands right now. It’s funny, sassy, exciting and beautifully rendered. And those are the WEAK points! There is a strong dash of Joss Whedon influence here in the self deprecating humor and snappy dialogue.

The creative team of Gray, Palmiotti and Conner give the book a fresh and very original look and feel. Trust me when I say you won’t confuse power Girl with any other book on the shelves.
Think of a well endowed Buffy from and alternate Krypton sent to earth to run a struggling company filled with delightful and surprisingly three dimensional supporting characters. Yes, Pee Gee has Scoobies! The book is a blast so get in on the ground floor!

Nothing much actually happens in this issue but nothing happens in such a charming and entertaining manner that you will completely enjoy the not happeningness.

The book opens with Power Girl and her friend Terra (not evil, psycho Terra but totally cute sidekick Terra) taking in a low budget horror film. Among other things we find out that Pee Gee loves blood and gore (whoda thunk!) There is a hilarious moment when a group of teenage boys try to pick the pair up and our hero towers over the would be lothario, her “charms” staring him right in the face. The look of panic in his face alone is worth the price of admission. Further hilarity ensues when the duo has to quick change into costume (Terra forgot hers and has to go into action in her underoos!) to deal with some Anime/Lord Of The Rings monsters lead by…well I won’t spoil THAT. Let’s just say that the villain here is…unique.

Superman – Blackest Night #1
There may yet be a BAD book in the Blackest Night story line but you won’t find it here. Superman – Blackest Night #1 feels like the beginning of a particularly nasty horror movie. You know you are going to see some disturbing images…you want to turn away…you KNOW you should not go into the basement. But you do anyway. And you SHOULD because you won’t be disappointed. Shook up, disturbed and even a bit horrified, but not disappointed. Though Geoff Johns did not actually write this issue, his fingerprints are all over it, which is a good thing. Needless to say James Robinson, Eddy Barrows and Ruy Jose are all on board with the overall vision that Geoff laid out for this wide reaching arc.

As those of you who are following Blackest Night know, the Black Lantern Rings seek out dead people. (No, Bruce Willis is not in the book!) Without spoiling the story, let’s just say that seeing deceased members of the Superman family take on the aspect of Black Lantern is something to see. Too bad that Alfred Hitchcock is no longer with us because if they ever make a film out of this he would have been the perfect director!

The set up is great. We get “shots” of the idyllic life in Smallville (and a nice cameo by old friend Pete Ross). We get Clark (on hiatus from New Krypton) enjoying a meal with his mom, newly returned Connor Kent and Catwoman’s favorite canine, Krypto. (My dog , Scully gives Krypto two big paws up by the way! She thinks Underdog is a wimp by comparison!) Then, just as we are comfortable in this rural paradise…BAM! …monsters aplenty!

Scully the dog gives this issue 4 ½ out of 5 Milk Bones!

That’s 30!

Mitch