My pick of the week isn’t a comic-book series or a graphic novel. It’s the delightful DC Super-Hero Girls Special that premiered on Boomerang a couple weeks back. I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time I watched the one-hour presentation. I’m pretty sure I giggled with glee a few times during that hour.
DC Super Hero Girls has been around for several months. Wikipedia describes is as a “super-hero fashion doll and action franchise” with the basic premise as “At Super Hero High School, well-known DC heroes attend classes and deal with all the awkwardness of growing up with the added stress of having superpowers.” I knew it was out there, but it never quite penetrated my conscious mind. It took a mention in TV Guide to catch my attention.
Thirteen short animated episodes of the series were posted on the DC Super Hero Girls website and YouTube. This first season ran from October of last year through February of this year. These episodes introduced the concept, showed Wonder Woman coming to the school, and featured over two dozen other DC characters. Most of the heroes were re-imagined as teenagers.
In the special, the newly-arrived-to-Earth Supergirl enrolls in the school and faces some real challenges from the get-go. But she also makes friends like Barbara Gordon (who becomes Batgirl during the special), Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Harley Quinn and Bumblebee. One of the neat things is that, as principal Amanda Waller says, this is a place where gifted teenagers learn how to be heroes and that seems to include characters we normally think of as villains, such as the Cheetah. Some of the faculty might also given you cause for pause. For example, Gorilla Grodd is on the staff.
The show has terrific voice actors, including Grey DeLisle (Wonder Woman/Lois Lane, Anais Fairweather as Supergirl, Mae Whitman as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Tara Strong as Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy and many more. In a nice touch, Dean Cain and Helen Slater voice Pa and Ma Kent. The character designs are vibrant with the animation and storytelling also being first-rate. I love this series.
The special will continue to air on Boomerang for the time being, so you’ll get no further spoilers from me. But I recommend you give it a viewing at your earliest opportunity. It will leave you with a good feeling in your heart and your head. I liked it so much that I immediately bought Wonder Woman at Super Hero Hire [Random House; $13.99], the just-released young readers novel by Lisa Yee. Expect a review of that book in the very near future.
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I don’t think there has ever been a better time in the comic-book world for super-women of all ages. Of late, it seems many and maybe most of my favorite comic-book titles star female characters. The partial list includes Ms. Marvel, The Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl, DC Comics Bombshells, Bandette, Harley Quinn and Lazarus. That many of these are the work of the new wave of female creators who’ve gained prominence in the industry is no coincidence.
Joining this sorority of super-heroes is Faith [Valiant; $3.99 per issue] by Jody Houser with art by Francis Portella and Marguerite Sauvage. Faith, a telekinetic psiot who can fly and create a field allowing her to carry and move objects, has been a member of both the team called the Renegades and the government-sanctioned Unity. She’s on her own now, trying to live up to her idea of what a hero should be. Oh, yeah, and she’s one of us. A fan.
Faith Herbert is hitting the comic-book heroics in a manner which makes me worry that she’s heading for disappointment. She’s adopted a secret identity as online pop culture writer Summer Smith, which sort of speaks for itself. She has super-hero dreams. Even though her ex-boyfriend Torque has revealed himself to be a colossal jerk, she hasn’t lost all faith in him. I love this young woman and hope the world will not be too cruel to her.
Even though the Valiant Universe is fairly dense, Houser makes it easier for those of us who can no longer remember all the ins and outs of the multiple fictional universes we follow. Her stories are well-crafted with a nice blend of action and quite moments. Both of the two issues I’ve read have had compelling cliffhangers drawing me to the next issue. Her dialogue is as natural as it gets in the unnatural world of super-heroes. This is top-notch writing.
I’m also loving the art. Portella does the “real” sequences, which are the bulk of each issue. Sauvage does the “fantasy” sequences. The storytelling, by which I mean the panel-to-panel and page-to-page progression, is excellent. The drawings themselves are equally so. Color artist Andrew Dalhouse adds vibrancy without overpowering the drawings. Letterer Dave Sharpe is one of the best in the comics business.
Faith is a terrific series and I recommend it to all lovers of good super-hero comics. You know, make that great super-hero comics.
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I also read the first two issues of Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat by Kath Leth (writer), Brittney L. Williams (artist) and Megan Wilson (color artist). The first issue opened with our heroine describing her plans for “Super-Temp: the Patsy Walker Agency for Heroes and Other Cool Friends What are In need of Work.” Patsy had me at “So, waddaya think?” even as I was slapping my forehead in regret that I hadn’t come up with that idea first.
The second page of the story summed up Patsy’s history in a manner funny and succinct. I believe I love Leth in a fatherly or perhaps grandfatherly way. Yes, I am ancient.
The two issues continued to amaze me. Patsy tries to work retail. Believably banter between characters. Lively art and storytelling. Telekinetic roommate. Poor broke Patsy becoming a celebrity because rival Hedy Wolfe holds the rights to and is republishing the Patsy Walker comic books created by Patsy’s deranged mother when the kid was a teenager. An old enemy on the horizon.
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat has what most super-heroes comic books lack: joy. I read an issue. I feel happy. I don’t get that feeling from enough comic books. One more reason I recommend this title to all of you who want to enjoy their super-heroes and not just wonder where they went wrong.
I’ll be back next week with more reviews.
© 2016 Tony Isabella