Symbol Pending - A Power Girl Blog

T his was originally an introduction to the classic All-Star Comic #58, but it grew to the point that it seemed better as a post of its very own! On the 24th May 1940 the first issue of All Star Comics (All-Star came later), it was an anthology comic in which stories of Hawkman (Carter Hall), Sandman (Wesley Dobbs), The Flash (Jay Garrick), The Spectre (Jim Corrigan) and Hourman (Rex Tyler), alongside Red, White & Blue and Ultra-Man (no not that one, but a standard Future Cop story). Issue second added the Green Lantern (Alan Scott) and Johnny Thunder, though the third though still not abandoning the anthology format added a new twist making them part of the first team the Justice Society of America! Oh and the Atom (Al Pratt) making the classic JSA lineup, and also technically the first female superhero in the form of Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel) though it's hardly the shining hour for anyone... Through the issues, and the addition of Batman and Superman (issue sev...

The Doppelganger Gambit Justice League of America #220  Cover Date:   November 1983 Released:   4th August 1983 This is a Black Canary story! No, really there are other scene's with the JLA and JSA but this 20th-anniversary team-up issue is to "fix" Black Canary going forward. I wonder if this was an attempt to move the JLA away from the JSA, what with their comic having been cancelled almost six years before. It would make sense what with they'll decide to do in just three more years! (the shadow of Crisis seems to be following us now!). We start strong with Power Girl rushing off to battle one group of the three teams of villains. before Red Tornado stop her to suggest they split into teams and have a plan of action. She properly miffed as well looking to bust some villains heads, she's also more or less definitely flying here, which makes sense with how long she's been doing this now. Then Sargon turns up and despite being a hero we get probably the most fo...

Crisis in the Thunderbolt Dimension! Justice League of America #219  Cover Date:   October 1983 Released:   7th July 1983 Sometimes the star aligns and things work out perfectly, such as the case here where the last two JLA/JSA team-up happen to fall at the end of 2021. When I picked things back up this year I didn't expect to have such a (near) perfect run of weekly blogs running so long, and even then I didn't know this was the last crossover of the two teams. The inevitable Crisis of Infinite Earths is starting to be a looming presence over the comics, something that I'm sure that people of the time wouldn't have known back in the 80s. Even then I've a good six months or more before we get there. For fairness, there is a much reduced JSA/JLA cross over in '84, with not Power Girl, before we start to transition into JSA Detriot! I also must admit here that it's only at the end of them that I've noticed that these crossovers happened every year for the ...

Death in a Dark Dimension! DC Comics Presents #56 Cover Date:   April 1983 Released:   6th January 1983 Well, this is a cover image that will take a very different meaning in a few years for a different Kara. As seems to be a pattern now Power Girl does it first before the rest of the Super Family! Talking of being a Presents we open with Superman dealing with a show of plasma over Metropolis, as it's his team-up book he gets the splash page in a slightly goofy-looking pose. Catching the plasma balls in his indestructible cloak he shoots up into space to dispose of the dangerous material, all the while being watched by evil-looking eyes... Meanwhile, Power Girl is dealing with a mysterious wormhole sucking energy generated from the Metropolis Power Plant. Showing some smarts she figures it all out and quickly stops the generator from providing the energy being sucked into the hole. Whilst being watched by those mysterious eyes again... We get a repeat of this with Supes fighti...

Let Old Acquaintances Be Forgot... Justice League of America #209 Cover Date:   December 1982 Released:   2nd September 1982 Normally I don't comment on the covers, but I've got to say I love the shock faces on all the floating heads on the cover, except Robotman (and you know maybe Dr Fate) who seems particularly chill about the whole situation. Anyway, for those that skipped All-Star, we get a summary of the events of that comic in about two pages, including a handle chalkboard of who we've got and who's still to be stopped. then we get a quick recap of the whole plan. That's about five pages before we get the story proper.  Then we cut to Geneva Switzerland where Commander Steel, Firestar and our Power Girl, the whole reason I'm here at least, are after the next bunch of missiles. After the local Burgomeister try to stop our heroes, and I'm proud to say I knew it would be a Burgomeister without the text before the baddies just open up on our heroes with a...

  Master of Worlds and Time All-Star Squadron #15 Cover Date:   November 1982 Released:   26th August 1982 The first few pages, obviously working on the idea readers of All-Star Squadron don't read the JLA, sum up the story so far as told by the big bad of the story Per Degaton. It does start with a lovely splash page of the three teams, though they're not standing quite with how the captions explain the two teams. As usual, it seems Firestorm is hitting on Kara again, alas we don't hear the pitty putdown it looks like she's about to deliver. The explanation cuts to the heroes as the JSA explains how they went from the future 1986 back to 1942 and how the nuclear explosion threw them about and needed reusing in the last issue. We then get the President explaining that unless the heroes can find all the nuclear missiles they'll have to surrender to stop the millions of casualties that the attack would cause. And after all that we're now off and onto the plot. As ...

  The Bomb-Blast Heard 'round the World Justice League of America #208 Cover Date:   November 1982 Released:   5th August 1982 We open with the best of all team up cliche's, the misunderstanding fight between the two groups of heroes. The JLA ( Aquaman,  Firestorm,  Hawkman,  Superman,  Zatanna ) newly arrived in 1942 deck it out with the All-Star Squadron ( Commander Steel,  Liberty Belle,  Johnny Quick,  Firebrand,  Robotman) from the era, who want to know what happened to the JSA. Supes eventually gets fed up enough to literally shout for everyone to stop acting like bickering kids, with Robotman agreeing with the sentiment. I know it's mostly my biases, but being used to the Doom Patrol (TV version) this reasonable version of Robotman is weird . Apparently, all it takes is for supes to mention he's from the future to make everyone cool allies, they even had a little get together to celebrate. Though I could have done without Fi...

Crisis Times Three Justice League of America #207 Cover Date:   October 1982 Released:   1st July 1982 This is the twentieth crossover between the JSA and JLA, though I've only done the last four, so we get an epic three-part series! We're still a good four years from the idea of the sprawling multi-part epic, so four issues will have to do for now. Being an anniversary issue we start with all the usual beats with the two teams being excited about the annual team-up. We quickly cover that Zatana is the chairman of the JLA, Firestorm has a thing for Power Girl and a reminder that Helena is Bruce's daughter even if Batman isn't in this one. And as seems just as traditional the beam is intercepted and they're whisked away somewhere else. We then get a lovely splash page as the JLA face the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3! Apart from the silly-looking costume of Owlman, and the obvious reason Batman and Green Lantern are elsewhere, we get a fairly good fight where the Syndic...

Countdown to Chaos Wonder Woman #293 Cover Date:  July 1982 Released:   8th April 1982 The first thing here to comment on is this is a Wonder Woman comic so it's her show, though all the other female heroes get something to do, more or less. We however start with our last female heroes to join the quest, Starfire, Wonder Girl and Raven from the Teen Titans. Raven has a major case of the premonitions so they fly off to Paradise Island to get some help from the Amazons. And like any good hero burning a message into a panel so the boys know where they have gone! The one thing that really strikes me looked back is just how tiny Starfires costumes is, more or less a sparkly bikini, especially the back which for some reason we see a lot in this issue. I've nothing against skimpy costumes now and again, but with almost everyone being more dressed and the cheesecake on how it's drawn it really stands out here. Anyway Korri and Donna go to help stop the final horseman on another Ea...

  Seven Against Oblivion  Wonder Woman #292 Cover Date:   July 1982 Released:   8th April 1982 Previously on Wonder Woman a cut-price alien Celestial has come to Earth to render judgment on humanity. Finding us lacking across the multiverse he's using a Disco Ball to summon the Four Horsemen to somehow destroy the Earth(s). Wonder Woman and Zatana stopped famine, but we still have three more to go... All this is summed up nicely on the splash page before Diana and Lois Lane, because obviously, it'd be Lois, have a moment together. And this Lois is pretty amazing sharp and on the ball, but also pretty supportive. Looking into his magic disco ball our alien looks at the options, in some lovely trippy panels, and decides to send Plague to Earth-2. And I got to wonder at this point why this is going on across the multiverse, apart from the fact that Huntress is a backup strip. If we're going to look at Earth's worth destroying for not being up to speck Earth-3 and Earth...

 The problem with sites like Mikes, to balance with my previous gushing, is that you get to know every appearance however bit or small. And as it happens we have two issues where Power Girl gets just a single panel appearance. So here are two examples that helpfully come one after another. Targets on Two Worlds Justice League of America #195 Cover Date:   October 1981 Released:   9th July 1981 Power Girl turns up in the traditional JSA / JLA meeting, with her brushing off the advances of Firestorm (again). It's a shame as the rest of the story is a solid one about villains from Earth-1 and 2 slowly teaming up in a plot to take down the heroes. It's a great looking and solid story, just with no Kara in it.   ⋅   Writers:  Gerry Conway  ⋅   Pencilers:   George Perez   ⋅   ⋅   Inkers:   John R. Beatty  ⋅     Colourists:   Carl Gafford   ⋅   ⋅   Letterers:   Ben Oda   ⋅   Edit...