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REVIEW Power Girl #1, uhm, I mean Supergirl #16

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Lightning

unread,
Oct 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/25/97
to

If you intend to read Supergirl #16, then stop right here, go out and
get it, read it, then come back. [This is known in the business as a

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

W

A

R

N

I

N

G

And if you've gotten this far and still haven't read it, don't say I
didn't warn you.]

1) I didn't like the big head cover. If I didn't already have an idea
about the contents, I wouldn't have bought it. The cover told me
nothing.

2) Although Supergirl fans will relish page 4, I believe the first
panel of 5 says it all: after a full force ramming by SG, PG just
casually tosses her into a wall. Now *that's* Power Girl.

3) The story itself was quite good. Peter David did a great job of
capturing Power Girl's personality: this is the factor that, for me,
always made her so much better than Supergirl. There is, I'm sure, an
ultimate meaning to the apparently meaningless carnage that Twilight had
the Extremists cause. But I won't be reading the book long enough to
find out.

4) The art was good with two minor points: a) unless they're changing
this, too, PG's hair was too long and b) while Power Girl was uhm,
bigger, than Supergirl, it was not as much as has been tradition.

5) The weakness. It was really irrelevant to the story and just pasted
in there to establish the weakness. [aside to whomever posted that
Peter David should have just ignored orders: *you* try ignoring what
your boss tells you to do and see how much longer *you* keep working.]
It's stupid and unless re-thought and re-explained will reduce PG to a
spectator in an aerobics outfit. The key word is unprocessed. Is a
baseball bat unprocessed? If I'm wearing a ring on my finger, are my
fists processed or unprocessed? It's stupid, and someone like Doctor
Fate or the Phantom Stranger should make it go away.

I really enjoyed my first DC comics purchase in over a year and a half.
Now if they would just give her, Power Girl, a series with Peter David
writing it.
--
<<Justice, like lightning, should ever appear...
...to some men hope and to other men fear!>>

from "Black Lightning" by Tony Isabella
(after Randolph)

Sean Walsh aka slw67

unread,
Oct 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/25/97
to

Lightning wrote:
>
> 3) The story itself was quite good. Peter David did a great job of
> capturing Power Girl's personality: this is the factor that, for me,
> always made her so much better than Supergirl. There is, I'm sure, an
> ultimate meaning to the apparently meaningless carnage that Twilight had
> the Extremists cause. But I won't be reading the book long enough to
> find out.
>
Huh? The Extremists?! You mean those wacky guys from the ol' days of
JLE, or their successors (from Dan Vado's tenure on JLA)?

--
"I regret that you perceive yourself persecuted...even by such a
relatively meager assemblage as this--" -Hercules
"Oh, on behalf of the Thunderbolts, thanks a freakin' lot, Herc..." -
Atlas

Paragon

unread,
Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

I agree. That was great.


>
> 3) The story itself was quite good. Peter David did a great job of
> capturing Power Girl's personality: this is the factor that, for me,
> always made her so much better than Supergirl. There is, I'm sure, an
> ultimate meaning to the apparently meaningless carnage that Twilight had
> the Extremists cause. But I won't be reading the book long enough to
> find out.


PAD was just about dead-on with PG. NO ONE in DC has done as well with
her personality as PAD. I did think it was just a touch overdone,
though. I thought she should have showed a little more compassion.
Helping SG up after tossing her thru a window would have been better,
IMHO, keeping the dialogue, of course.


>
> 4) The art was good with two minor points: a) unless they're changing
> this, too, PG's hair was too long and b) while Power Girl was uhm,
> bigger, than Supergirl, it was not as much as has been tradition.


Oh God, don't get me started on this. It was hard for me to tell,
really, until later in the story, but you are right: PG is bigger.
Thank goodness she wasn't having balance problems; I really hate it when
the pencillers do that.


>
> 5) The weakness. It was really irrelevant to the story and just pasted
> in there to establish the weakness. [aside to whomever posted that
> Peter David should have just ignored orders: *you* try ignoring what
> your boss tells you to do and see how much longer *you* keep working.]
> It's stupid and unless re-thought and re-explained will reduce PG to a
> spectator in an aerobics outfit. The key word is unprocessed. Is a
> baseball bat unprocessed? If I'm wearing a ring on my finger, are my
> fists processed or unprocessed? It's stupid, and someone like Doctor
> Fate or the Phantom Stranger should make it go away.

Yes, this has got to be the stupidest thing going. What a huge
weakness! I could see it if they made it very specific. A certain metal
or something. I don't know. This weakness leaves her too vulnerable.
She better get her secret ID back and just retire at this rate.


>
> I really enjoyed my first DC comics purchase in over a year and a half.
> Now if they would just give her, Power Girl, a series with Peter David
> writing it.

Yeah, I bet PAD could give her a better and more sensible "weakness" if
DC insisted on doing that to her.....


> --
> <<Justice, like lightning, should ever appear...
> ...to some men hope and to other men fear!>>
>
> from "Black Lightning" by Tony Isabella
> (after Randolph)


d

l

hron...@vaxxine.com

unread,
Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

In article <34528D...@magicnet.net>,

Paragon <cyb...@magicnet.net> wrote:
>
> Lightning wrote:
> >
> > If you intend to read Supergirl #16, then stop right here, go out and
> > get it, read it, then come back. [This is known in the business as a
> >
> > S
> >
> > P
> >
> > O
> >
> > I
> >
> > L
> >
> > E
> >
> > R
> >
> > W
> >
> > A
> >
> > R
> >
> > N
> >
> > I
> >
> > N
> >
> > G
> >

(snip)

> > 4) The art was good with two minor points: a) unless they're changing
> > this, too, PG's hair was too long and b) while Power Girl was uhm,
> > bigger, than Supergirl, it was not as much as has been tradition.
>
> Oh God, don't get me started on this. It was hard for me to tell,
> really, until later in the story, but you are right: PG is bigger.
> Thank goodness she wasn't having balance problems; I really hate it when
> the pencillers do that.

Uhmmm, I'm not sure I understand your reply. Are you saying I drew PG too
big or not big enough?

Just curious. I like to get feedback on my work wherever I can. :)

LJK

-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet

hron...@vaxxine.com

unread,
Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

In article <62tta5$a7g$1...@206.230.70.77>,

Lightning <lightn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> If you intend to read Supergirl #16, then stop right here, go out and
> get it, read it, then come back. [This is known in the business as a
>
> S
>
> P
>
> O
>
> I
>
> L
>
> E
>
> R
>
> W
>
> A
>
> R
>
> N
>
> I
>
> N
>
> G
>
> And if you've gotten this far and still haven't read it, don't say I
> didn't warn you.]

(snip)

> 4) The art was good with two minor points: a) unless they're changing
> this, too, PG's hair was too long and b) while Power Girl was uhm,
> bigger, than Supergirl, it was not as much as has been tradition.

A) I was a little ticked with this myself. At the time I drew the book,
the most recent Power Girl reference given to me was a cover for
Sovereign 7. I remember her shorter haircut and wanted to draw her that
way, but the cover showed Power Girl with longer hair. It was only after
I already finished drawing the book that I saw later S7 art that showed
PG with shorter hair (although still not as short as it used to be).

Frankly, what bugged me most was that while DC put her back in her white
outfit, they did away with the cool cape design she used to have where the
rope
on the top ran over one shoulder and under the oposite arm. I always liked
that. :(

B) Unfortunately, there hasn't really been a standard for PG's body type.
I've seen her drawn where she looked like anything from a world class
bodybuilder to a mutated Barbie doll on steroids. I was shooting for
something in between. :)


> 5) The weakness. It was really irrelevant to the story and just pasted
> in there to establish the weakness. [aside to whomever posted that
> Peter David should have just ignored orders: *you* try ignoring what
> your boss tells you to do and see how much longer *you* keep working.]
> It's stupid and unless re-thought and re-explained will reduce PG to a
> spectator in an aerobics outfit. The key word is unprocessed. Is a
> baseball bat unprocessed? If I'm wearing a ring on my finger, are my
> fists processed or unprocessed? It's stupid, and someone like Doctor
> Fate or the Phantom Stranger should make it go away.

I'm not too thrilled with this new weakness, myself. It is WAY too vague.
I'm
hoping that TPTB will get rid of it, eventually.

Padguy

unread,
Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

This just in: Power Girl's new weakness is going to be--

Tapioca pudding.

Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
only with, tapioca pudding.

PAD

Jim Smith

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Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

Padguy wrote:

> Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
> only with, tapioca pudding.

Hot dang! I'd better get to the grocery before anyone esle gets wind of
this! Nee-haw!

Jim Smith
http://www.wworld.com/users/5smith/jim/

Sheik Elmo of Araby

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Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

pad...@aol.com (Padguy) writes:
> This just in: Power Girl's new weakness is going to be--
>
> Tapioca pudding.
>
> Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
> only with, tapioca pudding.

Real tapioca only, or will the imitation stuff that's passed off as tapioca
pudding nowadays do the job?

Frankly, a weakness to tapioca pudding (or diet cola) makes more sense
than the "unprocessed natural materials" crapola. (This is why every
scripter needs Elmo(TM) Brand Pseudoscience--my crack team of
technobabblers would have caught this long before it made it to print.)
--
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction".--Pierre Pachet,
Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

elmo mor...@physics.rice.edu
http://www.bonner.rice.edu/morrow

Ravyn

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Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

David wrote:
>

> But if they give her a new weakness, they should balnce the scales by
> giving her a new strength.

It seems they did: Instant Healing Factor!

Since there was no sign of a big bloody wound after she'd been skewered,
it looks like she's now gained this new power that effectively cancels
out her new weakness.

Which begs the question: Why bother?

Colour me confused.

-Ray

--
Ray Randell ~ Kingdom Come: The Art of Alex Ross ~
ra...@portal.ca http://www2.portal.ca/~ravyn/kc-gallery.htm

Ravyn

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Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

hron...@vaxxine.com wrote:

>
> Uhmmm, I'm not sure I understand your reply. Are you saying I drew PG too
> big or not big enough?
>
> Just curious. I like to get feedback on my work wherever I can. :)

Hey! I thought you drew her perfectly.

Her proportions were more buxom than the slimmer Supergirl's, without
being obvious. I think it's actually the first time I've seen a
well-built female character depicted in a comic without being a
gravity-defying spectacle. Thanks!

You even squared-off her jaw a bit, which I think fits her very well and
distinquished her nicely from Linda.

If anything, you could have made her a bit more obviously muscular, but
she was definately more built than Supergirl, (most obviously in the
two-page-spread at the end where they are standing together), and she
hasn't looked so good in years!

(Nice boots with the huge cuffs too, very distinctive.)

Come to think of it, the whole issue was a treat for the eyes - you've
got the Extremists down perfectly, and the scene with Supergirl ripping
the robot's arms off was chilling.

Ravyn

unread,
Oct 26, 1997, 2:00:00 AM10/26/97
to

hron...@vaxxine.com wrote:

>
> A) I was a little ticked with this myself. At the time I drew the book,
> the most recent Power Girl reference given to me was a cover for
> Sovereign 7. I remember her shorter haircut and wanted to draw her that
> way, but the cover showed Power Girl with longer hair. It was only after
> I already finished drawing the book that I saw later S7 art that showed
> PG with shorter hair (although still not as short as it used to be).

A short-to-longish bob has always seemed to be her standard, but you
seemed to give her a bobish curl in the front which effectively
differentiated her from Supergirl.


> Frankly, what bugged me most was that while DC put her back in her white
> outfit, they did away with the cool cape design she used to have where the
> rope
> on the top ran over one shoulder and under the oposite arm. I always liked
> that. :(

I miss that too - it gave her a rakish air and was very distinctive. It
was present in Kingdom Come and I'd hoped that since she looked so
incredible there that the look would be re-adopted in the present. And
even though it's not at all PC, I still liked the 60's-ish circle
cut-out. It was also very unique (to say the least!) and it was how I
first saw PG way-back-when.

On the other hand, you did great with what you were working with - the
nice broad belt (instead of the skinny thing some artists saddled her
with), the nice big cape, the great gloves and boots with the big cuffs,
the solid straight line of her collar between her cape clasps, - all
projected a sense of forcefullness about her personality.

The cape clasps themselves could have been a bit bolder and larger,
since they effectively stand in for an "S" logo as a visual contrast
element, but then so would her old oval cut-out. :)


> B) Unfortunately, there hasn't really been a standard for PG's body type.
> I've seen her drawn where she looked like anything from a world class
> bodybuilder to a mutated Barbie doll on steroids. I was shooting for
> something in between. :)

And you did a great job. You depicted the difference in the ladies'
body-types without making PG's attributes the focus of the scenes she
appeared in. Very nifty.

>
> I'm not too thrilled with this new weakness, myself. It is WAY too vague.
> I'm
> hoping that TPTB will get rid of it, eventually.
>
> LJK

Considering that the Riddler could now easily take her out with one
punch, I tend to agree.

Paragon

unread,
Oct 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/27/97
to

hron...@vaxxine.com wrote:
>
> In article <34528D...@magicnet.net>,
> Paragon <cyb...@magicnet.net> wrote:
> >
> > Lightning wrote:
> > >
> > > If you intend to read Supergirl #16, then stop right here, go out and
> > > get it, read it, then come back. [This is known in the business as a
> > >
> > > S
> > >
> > > P
> > >
> > > O
> > >
> > > I
> > >
> > > L
> > >
> > > E
> > >
> > > R
> > >
> > > W
> > >
> > > A
> > >
> > > R
> > >
> > > N
> > >
> > > I
> > >
> > > N
> > >
> > > G
> > >
>
> (snip)
>
> > > 4) The art was good with two minor points: a) unless they're changing
> > > this, too, PG's hair was too long and b) while Power Girl was uhm,
> > > bigger, than Supergirl, it was not as much as has been tradition.
> >
> > Oh God, don't get me started on this. It was hard for me to tell,
> > really, until later in the story, but you are right: PG is bigger.
> > Thank goodness she wasn't having balance problems; I really hate it when
> > the pencillers do that.
>
> Uhmmm, I'm not sure I understand your reply. Are you saying I drew PG too
> big or not big enough?
>
> Just curious. I like to get feedback on my work wherever I can. :)
>
> LJK


Actually, I have to thank you. It was perfect. Just the right size for
my tastes. At least smaller eliminates all the "oh my God, her breasts
are HUGE" posts that would show up.....

f


f

Dwight Williams

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Oct 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/27/97
to

Padguy (pad...@aol.com) writes:
> This just in: Power Girl's new weakness is going to be--
>
> Tapioca pudding.
>
> Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
> only with, tapioca pudding.

Ouch.

Ladies, gents and others, I think we(myself included) may have been
*asking* for that one. Especially knowing that this "weakness" business got
dropped on PAD by another book's crew. And we(me included) dumped on him
for something he wasn't responsible for.

Again, my apologies, Peter.
--
Dwight Williams(ad...@freenet.carleton.ca) -- Orleans, Ontario, Canada

Bradly E. Peterson

unread,
Oct 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/27/97
to

fch...@ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu (Mike Chary) done said this here
deal:

>Padguy <pad...@aol.com> wrote:
>>This just in: Power Girl's new weakness is going to be--
>>
>>Tapioca pudding.
>>
>>Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
>> only with, tapioca pudding.
>>

>With raisins or without?

Without! Weren't you listening?
heh...

Bradly E. Peterson, Psychodrama Press
(Remove SPAMBLOCK from address to reply)
<http://www.fastlane.net/homepages/drama>

"I stared long and hard into the abyss...
... and saw myself staring back"

"Great spirits have always encountered
violent opposition from mediocre minds"
(Albert Einstein)


K Scheffler

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Oct 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/27/97
to

David <dwal...@concentric.net> writes:

>Absolutely!!! Power Girl should get her own series, by someone like PAD
>or Garth Ennis.

PAD I could live with, but Garth Ennis? Erk! What did you have in
mind, a PG/Preacher crossever? Perhaps you were thinking of Warren
Ellis? Y'know, that could actually work...

Toodle pip,
K.

Elayne Wechsler-Chaput

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Oct 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/27/97
to

Peter David (pad...@aol.com) wrote:
: This just in: Power Girl's new weakness is going to be--

: Tapioca pudding.

: Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
: only with, tapioca pudding.

And diet soda. Don't forget the diet soda. :)

- Elayne (aspartame is evil, it's all so eeeevillll...)
--
"Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both
unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort.
If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat
something sweet and the feeling will pass." - Fran Lebowitz

David

unread,
Oct 30, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/30/97
to

> > PAD I could live with, but Garth Ennis? Erk! What did you have in
> > mind, a PG/Preacher crossever? Perhaps you were thinking of Warren
> > Ellis? Y'know, that could actually work...
>
How about Frank Miller? We could have PG in Sin City!!

Aaron Thomas

unread,
Oct 30, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/30/97
to

Padguy <pad...@aol.com> wrote:
>This just in: Power Girl's new weakness is going to be--
>
>Tapioca pudding.
>
>Yes, that's right, the Maid of Might will be be able to taken down with, and
> only with, tapioca pudding.
>
Mmmmmmmmm...

so what about rice pudding?

Aaron Thomas, who has pondered the seeming lack of difference between
the
two since the seventh grade. :-)

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