Power Girl: Power Trip

Power Girl is a superheroine that no one could really decide what to do with for a while. She passed from writer to writer, her portrayal, costume, and even her figure suffering inconsistency along with her backstory at one point (she went from being an alternate-universe Kryptonian to being an Atlantean from the distant past to being a Kryptonian again). Then, with JSA Classified issues 1 through 4 and her somewhat short-lived solo series, which ran right up until the entire DC universe got rebooted in 2011, DC finally seemed to decide who the heck Power Girl is and hasn't looked back since, not even during the post-reboot Huntress/Power Girl "World's Finest" series. Power Trip contains JSA Classified #1-4 and the first twelve issues of the Power Girl series--Power Girl's entire run under this particular handful of creative folk. Amanda Connor draws her art in an unusually whimsical, cartoonish fashion by modern superhero comic standards--which admittedly looks a bit weird when a familiar face such as Superman shows up, even if it fits characters like Power Girl, Ultra-Humanite, or Psycho Pirate just fine. The writing focuses on witty humor and playing Power Girl as a hot-headed, sarcastic, and entertainingly flawed character. The stories in this graphic novel, while not exactly tied together into a single cohesive arc, for the most part flow into each other to form a fun "day in the life of a superhero" routine that I find refreshing considering DC Comics' tendency to start superheros with really established lives and personalities. The exception is the first story arc in this collection, the titular "Power Trip," which is the first four-issue arc from JSA Classified and takes place some time before the twelve-issue chunk of the Power Girl series. Annoyingly, it ends with a cliffhanger that I suppose gets resolved in another series and another graphic novel collection under other writers and another artist prior to Power Girl #1. But that kind of thing is par for the course with superhero comics; it just prevents this collection from feeling as self-contained and self-sufficient as it could have. If there's one irritating complaint I have for this particular story it's that it tries too hard to justify having a super-feminine, somewhat over-sexualized character design for Power Girl by hammering in feminist messages all over the place, something the Power Girl solo series in particular never really found a good balance for until very late in its two-year run. This includes but is not limited to: people always staring at Power Girl's chest and her being annoyed by it, guys hitting on her and her friend at the movies and being sassed for being disrespectful, an entire short story arc about an interstellar manly man traveling to Earth to fake a victory over a planet-eating immortal monster to woo Power Girl (admittedly one of this collection's more amusing entries), and Ultra-Humanite being generally disdainful of female intelligence whenever he gets the chance. As with the 2009 animated Wonder Woman movie, I'd be happier with this stuff if it were dialed back. The message about women being allowed to wear what they want without being viewed as objects is particularly iffy; it doesn't translate as well when it involves a *costume* like Power Girl's as opposed to street clothes. I appreciate the attempts to be progressive, but the design of the character clashes with that progressiveness to a point where it sometimes feels like Power Girl exists to shove boobs in your face and then make you feel bad about it, especially since Amanda Conner isn't shy about drawing Power Girl or her sometimes-sidekick Terra in pretty fanservicey situations at times. Overall that's a small complaint that didn't really hinder my enjoyment much, hence the five-star rating. This collection of issues was overall more fun than the second half of Power Girl's solo run (collected in the graphic novels "Power Girl: Bomb Squad" and "Power Girl: Old Friends") and turned out to be one of the best times reading a superhero comic that I've ever had. Unless Power Girl's costume just offends you that much, I can't not recommend this one to any lover of superhero comics.

For a used book, it looks excellent. As for the story, it's a simple plot line of Powergirl as she attempts to juggle her personal and Superhero lives. The stories are fun, some serious, others lighthearted. Conner's art is fantastic here. The writers Geoff John's, Palmiotti and Gray are good. Some plots feel dragged on, such as Ultra Huminite's. But the payoff is fine.

I never really felt like I knew Power Girl before this story, but I do now. I always find it impressive when a creative team is able to flesh out a character while at the same time creating a engaging narrative with a beginning, middle and end. Also the art pops in this book which stays consistently high quality from beginning to end. This is a recommended purchase for any DC fan and a fun read for anyone looking for a light but engaging read. No prior knowledge of Power Girl is necessary and there is a full cover gallery in the back as well as other extras.

If you are picking up the PG collection books like me, you should know that there are some stories in here that are in the others--but there are also new ones so even though you get some double coverage it is still worth it to buy this. Even if only for the WW and cat story. The stories are fun and run smoothly--pay attention to the panels as there is a lot of 'sub-stories' going on through the pictures and some fun geek plays or grins in PG comics. I do like how she is portrayed in these runs, smart and funny and willing to kick ass when needed but also good hearted enough to know when to cut some breaks. She's a practical super heroine and easy to relate to with the way her life runs. Of course, there is cheese, these PG runs make me think of the Sensational She-Hulk run, these do some spoofing and a lot of self humor. More personal to the reader this way than 'normal' comics. So be warned if you are a fan of flash bang and grit and such, you might want Bats or Huntress. PG's stuff is just fun. Not that you don't get her struggles to figure out herself, the poor kid's been lied to and manipulated so much that her backstory is tangled up even for HER, and there are plenty of villains and crazy 'regular' crap she has to deal with. It's just lighter and more, I guess, comfortable? reading. She's a paradox and knows it and just goes with it. What her fist can't deal with, her sass and brains take on just fine. It is easy to like her character. Totally different from WW and such, which is entirely okay. Fun to see her act without all the pressures of the JLA or JSA and leadership. More relaxed but still just as determined.

I'm not a big reader of comics, but I had heard good things about this series, and Power Girl has always interested me (no, not because of the costume, but that is a plus) as she is a much less perfect Kryptonian than her brother Superman or her alt-counterpart, Supergirl. She struggles to keep control of her powers, battles pretty obscure villains, and just has fun. There's some dark scenes for sure, and some moments that made me actually laugh out loud. Even with her figure, and the criticism that she is over-sexualized, she never has any romantic interests, nothing cliche to bog down the story. And from the start, her message is clear. We all feel out of place, "alien" to this world at times, as an outcast, and have trouble fitting in. But that's ok, it's normal, and that time will pass. As someone who struggles with depression, this really hit home for me. Do yourselves a favor. Buy this book, and like Power Girl, just have some fun in life, and make the most out of it.

This version of Powergirl gives us more worldly interaction with our world in a fun, compelling way that balances drama, high stakes, action and Pg's sexy, witty charm.

This one is interesting. Tries to walk the line between male fantasy and girl power, and I think it does a fairly good job of not pandering too much to either. Then again, my female friend took one look at the cover and made up her mind to give it a pass, so it's up to you to decide what your tolerance levels are. This book is pre new 52 just before the change over and despite the massive amount of universe that has come before it this story is a pretty good standalone read, focusing on characters that don't usually get as much time in the spotlight. Overall I'd say that if you like stories that are not too heavy, but still have some emotional punch; stories with humor and pretty solid action, and you don't mind a tiny bit of deus ex machina here and there, I would say you should give this a try.

Amanda Conner art is amazing and great story for me. It’s nice diving in a characters psyche and learning more about them. Always loved super girl and power girl so this was a nice treat.