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A review by rhganci
Supergirl: Power by Norm Rapmund, Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill
3.0
So what we have here is a decent volume that does a few things well, but comes off as an uneven collection, and ultimately is far less enjoyable than the origin story that we find in Loeb's work with Turner in Batman/Superman. While it would be easy to lampoon this collection on the artwork alone, there are some storytelling beats that also drive down the quality in this follow-up of the origin of the Maid of Might.
But it is the artwork that hampers this collection the most, on the basis that Churchill's model and study of Kara is rather irresponsible for the character at the center of this story, especially considering the background they're developing for this new direction. While it's clear that he is working to follow up the distinct work of Michael Turner, Churchill does so less comfortably than does Turner, relying on an immodest uniform and an embarrassingly impossible likeness for Kara throughout the collection. These artistic choices really diminished my enjoyment of the collection on the whole.
The story wasn't half bad, but neither did it advance or develop Kara's new role in the DCU. Power is ultimately the same sort of story as is the origin this is spinning out of, with Kara trying to find her own identity as others try to manipulate or control here. The internal conflict gets a different look--because in this collection, Kara literally battles herself--but there's not a lot of development to her character, nothing but one hurried conflict after another.
We'll see where this goes as Joe Kelly and Amanda Conner take over in the next collection (Candor!), but I hope to see a better, more conservative effort on the part of the artists, and a better, more progressive effort on the part of the writers. Like most Superman-family books, balance remains the most elusive aspect, and it is the key thing missing from Power.
But it is the artwork that hampers this collection the most, on the basis that Churchill's model and study of Kara is rather irresponsible for the character at the center of this story, especially considering the background they're developing for this new direction. While it's clear that he is working to follow up the distinct work of Michael Turner, Churchill does so less comfortably than does Turner, relying on an immodest uniform and an embarrassingly impossible likeness for Kara throughout the collection. These artistic choices really diminished my enjoyment of the collection on the whole.
The story wasn't half bad, but neither did it advance or develop Kara's new role in the DCU. Power is ultimately the same sort of story as is the origin this is spinning out of, with Kara trying to find her own identity as others try to manipulate or control here. The internal conflict gets a different look--because in this collection, Kara literally battles herself--but there's not a lot of development to her character, nothing but one hurried conflict after another.
We'll see where this goes as Joe Kelly and Amanda Conner take over in the next collection (Candor!), but I hope to see a better, more conservative effort on the part of the artists, and a better, more progressive effort on the part of the writers. Like most Superman-family books, balance remains the most elusive aspect, and it is the key thing missing from Power.