Power Girl [Paperback]

Geoff Johns (Author), Paul Levitz (Author), Paul Kupperberg (Author), Various (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401209688
• ISBN-13: 978-1401209681
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Many Lives of Power Girl, June 14, 2006

By 

Steve Fuson "comics geek" (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Power Girl (Paperback)

When I started reading comics Power Girl was a member of Justice League Europe. I fell in love with the character immediately, not because of the way she looks, but because she was fallible. She was insecure, had problems with men, was unsure of the history of her life. I could identify with her more than with any other character.

(Spider-Man, the character most people associate as the character with real-life problems was Marvel's biggest character, guest starred in everybody's books, and was married to a red-headed supermodel by the time I started reading comics)

Power Girl's history is complicated. When the DC Universe consisted of a number of alternate Earths, Power Girl was an alternate version of Supergirl. For some reason, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC kept the character active, but in order to do so they gave her a new origin in which she was actually from ancient Atlantis sent forward into the future with her memory altered for her protection.

Over the last few years Power Girl has been appearing in JSA, written by Geoff Johns, who has been dropping hints that Power Girl isn't actually from Atlantis. Then in JSA Classified # 1-4 (part of this collection) he finally explains her origin. But first he messes with us. Not only is there the possible Kryptonian and Atlantean origins, but added to the mix is a possible connection to the Legion of Superheroes!

Being a Power Girl fan, I read the monthly issues as they came out, and I was taken on a roller-coaster ride of possibilities. The writing is good, but it definately helps to know Power Girl's background in order to follow the story. Amanda Conner's artwork is excellent, beautifully capturing character and action and drama. There are no generic drawings here (you know, how some artists draw the same pose over and over?). Every panel has a feeling of life to it, even when the characters are just sitting there talking.

Possibly because Power Girl's background is so complex, this volume also collects some of her past exploits and origin stories. Still, it helps if you know about DC's multiple Earth history, and if you've read Crisis on Infinite Earths. This story is also a good prelude to Infinite Crisis, a sort-of sequal to Crisis also written by Johns.

If you love Power Girl like I do, this is a must have. If you don't love her like I do, this is still a good read.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Power Girl's historical housecleaning, June 18, 2006

By 

Babytoxie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power Girl (Paperback)

Over the years, Power Girl has had one heck of a convoluted history. Beginning with her pre-Crisis appearance in 1976, she was Kara Zor-L, the cousin of the Earth-2 Superman, who had also been sent to Earth, albeit in hibernation, and on a slightly longer path. Post-Crisis, her origin was altered to inexplicably connect to Arion of Atlantis. Since then, it's been anybody's guess as to where she really comes from. The POWER GIRL trade paperback collects several stories that are essential to explain who she is and where she really comes from. Honestly, this book does a good job towards setting the record straight, and while it didn't answer every question I had, it did enough. JSA fans should be very happy, as you can find what you need right here! Writers include Geoff Johns, Paul Levitz, and Paul Kupperberg, with artists Amanda Conner and Joe Staton, and several beautiful covers by Adam Hughes

The collection begins with SHOWCASE #97-99 (1976), which details Power Girl's pre-Crisis origin. This is a great Earth-2 adventure, written by Paul Levitz and with art by Joe Staton. It features Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Brainwave, and other classic DC characters before the Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped their timeline out of existence. SECRET ORIGINS #11 (1987) provides her post-Crisis origin, in which writer Paul Kupperberg replaces her sensible Kryptonian origin with her being the granddaughter of the sorcerer Arion of Atlantis. Yes, it's just as inexplicable as it sounds - this is truly the nadir of Power Girl's story. It also highlights one of the major problems I have with the effects of the Crisis: the fact that many of the characters were afterwards keenly aware that their original timelines had been eliminated. In this case, the beginning of the story features Power Girl lamenting that Earth-2 is gone; therefore, she has no origin or background. What sense does this make? If all the parallel Earths have been merged, and you are aware that your timeline has been eliminated, well, then your origin is that you are still Kryptonian, just from ANOTHER Krypton that from this point onward, does not exist! No need to go seeking for a new origin! Luckily, writer Geoff Johns recognizes the problems that Kupperberg's Power Girl origin presents and alters it yet again to fit more comfortably with the original Earth-2 timeline (along with a few surprises) in JSA Classified #1 - 4. This final story is a wonderful multiple earth tour-de-force that hearkens back to Grant Morrison's reality-altering work on Animal Man... and yes, it even features the Psycho Pirate. It also brings to mind The Kingdom: Planet Krypton, which is another book that deals with the remnants of the multiple Earths in a very interesting way. I swear, Geoff Johns has single-handedly fixed so many continuity problems for DC, they should just give him the keys to the building.

So what is Power Girl, really? Read this collection, and get the final word (for now).

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars featuring a new(hopefully,definitive) origin for Power Girl!, March 29, 2006

By 

bOoKwOrM (usa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Power Girl (Paperback)

Features issues #1-4 of JSA Classified, featuring a storyline that centers on Powergirl(a.k.a Karen Starr), a strong and independent female superhero. The writing is okay, but the artwork by Amanda Conner is superb(her version of Power Girl just might be the best)!
This collection also features some of her older stories, like Showcase #97-99 & Secret Origins #11