“Power Girl” #6

What better way to follow up the Streaky’s big adventure issue than with a good old fashioned team up. Nothing could possibly go wrong here. Right?

Cover by Amy Reeder

Written by Leah Williams
Illustrated and Colored by Marguerite Sauvage
Lettered by Becca Carey
The citizens of Metropolis are missing! Looking for an escape, many have fallen victim to Avalon, a new street drug that transports you to a simpler era…the Medieval Times! And turns out that it’s not just a trip you take in your mind, people are being physically transported to this magical plane too! Looks like a job for Power Girl and her new bff, Supergirl?!

This new “Power Girl” series has been everything I’ve hoped it would be. Not simply “Supergirl but with a different name,” the title has thus far been charting a new course for Paige, contrasting her and her supporting cast with the A-team. In the first arc, this took the form of Lois and Clark and now in the second it’s Kara Zor-El, Supergirl herself.

To say Power Girl’s history – on and off the page – with Supergirl is complicated would be like saying lava is warm. I’m not even clear enough on it myself, and that includes Paige’s current status in the DCU. Thankfully, Williams has been doing a bang-up job of only dwelling on the important bits and making sure to contextualize them for the new and uninitiated. She’s a fish out of water – “Hello fellow humans” – as well as a Kryptonian out of, uh, Kandar?

Anyway. “Power Girl” #6 presents a fascinating study in contrasts as Paige, Omen and Kara go undercover at the local college trying to discover the source of a new drug, Avalon. As Williams is constructing and reinforcing differences between Supes and Power Girl, this makes sense, with Omen acting as a chaotic addition that brings an extra spice to the issue.

First is the moral contrasts between the trio, with Kara representing the traditional moral alignment of the super family, Paige being more neutral, and Omen right on the other boundary, skirting with a mischievous wink that definitely could use some tempering. Then there are their personalities and insecurities, expressed through everything from the way they handle examining the strange, possibly living drug to their dress to the way they cross a page.

Definitely one of the best ways this is conveyed is in the tiny details Sauvage throws in. I’m thinking in particular the panel where Paige, Kara, and Omen are crossing their arms. Paige & Kara hold themselves in identically, albeit mirrored, poses – head tilted, one arm on the stomach, the other on their chin/cheek, shoulders slightly twisted – except for the way their fingers are held. Kara’s biting her pointer finger, pinky elevated, thinking deeper with more worry, while Paige just has her pointer on her chin, pondering but not concerned.

Omen seems to split the difference while still being aligned with Paige in her posing. And don’t think I didn’t catch the mirroring Mariposa did too of Paige pushing up her glasses during her brief appearance. I doubt that was by accident. Mark my words.

One of the few negatives I have about the issue, besides admitting that it’s a fairly standard (official) start to a second arc and not nearly as propulsive as issue #5, is that Sauvage is an artist I don’t really click with. It’s something about her style. Despite how beautiful it is and how strong the sequentials are, Sauvage has a limited number of faces and I often found myself confusing Paige and Kara in spite of their wildly different outfits and hairstyles, particularly during the lab scene. I readily admit this is probably a me thing since I did not have this problem with Baldeón’s art last issue and I could levy the same critique of faces at him.

I also struggle to feel like I’m in a place with the characters. Backgrounds are impressionistic, set-like, be it colors or a group of partying college kids on a quad, gesturing at locales without firmly planting the figures within. Thus, when they move through an environment, it’s easy to get disoriented.

This is problematic when it comes to action, doubly so because Sauvage often poses characters stiffly, muddying the lines of motion and hurting those usually strong sequentials. At least it’s never cluttered. That’s never a problem with Sauvage. Clarity of primary figures is always a top priority, benefiting the quieter moments and complimenting Wiliams’ witty dialog. It also means that when we see Ferimbia for real, there is a clear continuity of appearance despite the cartoonification. Additionally, Sauvage’s pastel palettes are a boon to this arc, supporting the etheriality of Ferimbia and the Avalon takers’ experiences.

For all my struggles with the art, the return of Sauvage to “Power Girl” portents good things for the next couple issues. Grounded isn’t Sauvage’s strongest suit but fairy tales, dreams and psychadelia certainly are and paired with Williams’ buck wild imagination and strong character writing, I am left excited about what is to come more than what transpired in the issue itself, though the issue was no slouch itself.

Final Score: 7.9 – A standard but strong start to a second arc with the promise of greater heights, though it will be hard to top ‘Streaky Does a Big Stretch.’ Sorry Krypto lovers.