Power Girl #8 Review

     

      

Written by: Leah Williams
Art by: Eduardo Pansica, Julio Farreira
Colors by: Arif Prianto
Letters by: Becca Carey
Cover art by: Yanick Paquette
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 23, 2024

Power Girl #8 finds the Supergirl from Earth-2 enjoying a day in the park learning how to roller-skate when Brainiac attacks Metropolis and ruins a perfectly good day.
Is Power Girl #8 Good?

Oy! I don't know who to blame this issue on. Is it Leah Williams's subpar writing or the art team who doesn't know how Kryptonians work? Both. Let's go with both.

When last we left Power Girl, she and Supergirl overthrew a mad scientist from Earth who took over a cartoon fairytale land and used the Queen's magic to concoct a mind-control drug to enslave kidnapped humans from Earth.

Now, Power Girl and Omen spend a day in the park so Power Girl can learn to roller-skate. In between constant pratfalls, sweating from exertion (???), and Omen's egregious use of her powers in plain sight of citizens, the silly chatter between girlfriends eventually leads to talk of boys, namely Power Girl's possible attraction to Axel (Do you remember Axel? No? Me neither).

Power Girl sends Axel a flirty text at Omen's urging. Axel responds to the text in kind while he's scaling down the side of a skyscraper in full burglar garb and mask in broad daylight (a mask he promptly removes to reply to the text). Before the potential lovebirds can arrange a date, the House of Brainiac commences, and the city is thrown into chaos.

Power Girl avoids capture because her Earth-2 physiology doesn't read as a target by the Brainiac drones. Axel is taken by the drones for reasons, and Streaky the Super Cat is snatched up. When all is said and done, only Superman and Power Girl remain, along with other heroes of the non-Kryptonian variety. When Power Girl patrols A-Town to assess the damage and lend aid, she spots a Czarnian and intercepts it. However, the Czarnian is none other than Crush, who quickly subdues Power Girl without breaking a sweat.

Meanwhile, a small group of Czarnians decides to remain on Earth to commit mass mayhem after stealing some Brainiac tech during the invasion.

What's great about Power Girl #8? Regardless of the plot, the action is well done. That's about all you could say is good about this issue.

What's not so great about Power Girl #8? Just about everything else. Where's the symbiote-ship-infused Kelex? Why is Power Girl struggling to roller-skate? Why is Power Girl sweating? Why is Omen using her powers in broad daylight in front of a park full of people when Power Girl is trying to maintain her secret identity? Why do Omen and Power Girl talk like a pair of middle school teenagers? Why is Power Girl drawn like a gangly teenager? How did Crush capture Power Girl so easily? Why did the Brainiac drones take Axel? Does anyone remember Axel?

The list goes on and on and on. This issue is a clunky mix of poor writing and poor art (except during the action scenes), which shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the characters in this comic.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Power Girl #8 ties into the House of Brainiac event with shoddy character work in both writing and art. But for the knowledge that Power-Girl's Earth-2 origins saved her from Brainiac's capture, this comic is a complete waste of time.

3/10