Review of 10-year-old comic book I've finally gotten around to reading, part 2

A beautiful Alex Ross cover, some beautiful retro Jerry Ordway, Bob Wiacek art. What's not to like? Well....

The story picks up from JSA 17 where the Magog-ish god-like character banishes Power Girl to ...
some manner of Pre-Crisis Earth 2. Huntress is still around, Dick Grayson is still around, and the Justice Society had merged with Infinity Inc., and it's a real kick to see these characters illustrated by the wonderful Jerry Ordway again.

But, in one of a long series (dating back decades) of Power Girl and Huntress having late-night, rooftop conversations, PG tells Huntress she feels out of place and it's pretty obvious she's the wrong Power Girl for this dimension.

They go on to break up the Joker's gang and PG even saves Huntress' life....

And then the dimension's real PG shows up, has a hostile reaction to her doppleganger and of course, a fight breaks out.

The JSA decide, with no evidence at all, that the doppleganger PG must be evil and they begin to hunt her down (despite her just saving Huntress' life not an hour earlier.)

It is then to be continued in JSA, but ... eh, who cares?

DC has this long history of contempt/neglect for Earth 2, it's hard to work up ethusiasm. Is this the real pre-Crisis Earth 2 or just one of a million deviation universes so numerous it's hard to get an emotional attachment? Either way, it will be gone soon, so just forget about it and move along.

Secondly, the "He/she must be a villain; let's beat him/her up" misunderstanding was a staple for Marvel in the 60s and 70s and let's admit, it's getting pretty tired by now.

So, it starts out as a treat to old-timers like myself who enjoyed Earth 2 stories  and the mid-80s Infinity Inc. run, and still feels the Crisis on Infinite Earths was a colossal mistake, but by the ending, most good will has been squandered.

DC Comics Presents #56

And what makes this book so special? The story is OK, (Superman, Power Girl meet, pre-Crisis, without crossing over dimensional border!), art is not spectacular, yet it makes two little moments of history.
a) the cover will parallel the cover for Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (the only difference being Supergirl would stay dead longer.)
b) It's the first/only time Power Girl would be drawn by Curt Swan, making her officially a member of the Superman family. Now, if they could only have gotten Kurt Shaffenberger and Jim Mooney to draw some Power Girl stories, how cool would that have been?

Comic review: World's Finest No. 1

Things are getting better and better. The Huntress is once again Batman's daughter. And Power Girl is definitely the cousin of an alternate dimension Superman. Things are right again in the DC Universe. Why was that so hard?

Things start with the women covering a lot of exposition. They're trapped on Earth 1 after being whisked from Earth 2, and they've spent the last five years setting up their identities. A flashback explains the circumstances of the whisking part. It's a nice touch that Helena is the one who saves Power Girl.

The bookend chapters are drawn by George Perez and the flashback is by Kevin Maguire. I usually complain about an issue having too many artists but these two are freaking icons who get better and better over the decades. It's an all-star team-up. Check out the page of Helena and Karen in their civilian clothes walking across the street. It sets up the contrast in their personalities. Tough girl Helena's in a leather jacket and jeans and the girly Karen is in this great dress which just shows curves without showing skin. Also look at Helena's face above. Just beautiful.

Writer Paul Levitz has a long history with these two characters and though I may never forgive him for they way he killed the Earth 2 Batman back in the 70s, his affection for these characters show. It's a lot of fun and am looking forward to more.

Back during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, there were a couple scenes of PG and Huntress commiserating about the ongoing drama, and I remember someone writing a letter to the editor saying that these two make a natural team, and he was right. They really belong in World's Finest.

My only complaint is PG's new costume. Give her the old one, close the Wally Wood window, and don't give her too many muscles!

Comic Review: Earth 2 No. 1

I've been asking DC for years to unchain the JSA from World War II and they've done it. Bless you DC. Now they no longer have to age while the rest of the DCU stayed the same age.

We have cameos by the young Alan Scott, Al Pratt and Jay (and Joan) Garrick, but the JSA isn't even in this issue, it's just laying groundwork for the future. The whole book features the Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman from this new Earth 2, and it's a little reminiscent in how the Earth 3 characters kicked off Crisis on Infinite Earths. I don't want to spoil it but if you read Crisis you'll see what I"m talking about.

It's a great twist that Batman Superman and Wonder Woman are the old guard and the JSA will be the new kids. This will probably preclude an Infinity Inc. return, but it might be worth it.

The future Power Girl and the Huntress hang around long enough to get blasted into Earth 1 in World's Finest No. 1 (a review on that tomorrow).

I'm a JSA purist and even though this is a total reboot, I was very happy with what they're doing here. The love of the characters and legend is there.

Great story by James Robinson, great art by Nicola Scott.