REVIEW: Power Girl #9
Power Girl #9, “Holliday Girls Gone Wild” is a House of Brainiac tie-in that shifts the focus back to Earth while Superman is in space. Picking up right where last issue left off, Paige and Crush deal with some stragglers from the Czarnian invasion that are creating a bit of mayhem throughout Metropolis. There’s also a hint of extra trouble for Power Girl on the horizon.
The standard cover by Yanick Paquette and Arif Prianto is a fun nod to Simon Bisley’s cover to ‘Lobo’s Back’ #1 from 1992. Obviously taking some fashion advice from Crush and/or Conner, Paige is sporting a more attitude fueled jacket complete with a dare to buy this book. It’s also a clever way to acknowledge the crossover event using just one character.
Amidst a turbulent and chaotic background of the sky, Power Girl strikes a heroic pose to give us hope on the variant by Tony S. Daniel and Jay David Ramos. The realistic style and brilliant color scheme gives this a poster perfect quality as is typical of Daniel’s work.
David Talaski’s variant is probably the most adorable scene out there this month. Paige and Streaky take a much needed break to play with a ball of yarn in space. There’s just a wholesome, heartwarming feel to the piece that makes Power Girl’s smile contagious. There’s no doubt this cover deserves to be displayed.
Penciller Eduardo Pansica, Inker Júlio Ferreira, and Colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. comprise the interior art team. You can tell they had a lot of fun with this issue as the wayward Czarnians bring inanimate objects to life. The action sequences are just fantastic and it’s always a treat to see a Kryptonian not hold back in a fight. There’s a comedic quality to the scenes that adds the right amount of levity to the serious tone of The House of Brainiac crossover. Not to be completely lighthearted, they reveal a new look for a recurring villain that’s appropriately monstrous. Simply put, this issue is just visually fun and exciting.
Leah Williams, lettered by Becca Carey, does a great job introducing Crush to an audience that might not know a lot about her. We instantly get contrasting interactions between Crush and Power Girl than we do with Lobo and Superman. The exposition used to explain The Holiday Girls involvement is expertly hidden within the dialogue making it feel less like an info dump and more like characters getting to know each other. Realizing the gang means well, Paige agrees to share info on what just occurred in Metropolis as the castaway Czarnians happen to cross their path. Although the stakes might not be as high for Power Girl, the threat is as serious as it is personal for Crush as innocent lives are endangered by the Czarnians’s antics. Meanwhile an old threat lurks in the shadows spelling trouble for Power Girl’s future.
(8/10) The art and writing really make this book fun and inviting. While the levity break is welcomed within the House of Brainiac crossover as a whole, I personally would’ve liked the danger to carry similar weight for Paige. Still, it’s an enjoyable read and fits well with the reimaging Leah Williams has been creating for Power Girl from the beginning.
