Well, that was just a hell of a lot of fun. Goyer and Johns give this issue over to a spotlight on Power Girl, with a new villain whose motivations and attitude make him far more comic relief than actual danger, and not only do they provide a funny and action-oriented story, they manage to give us some insight into Power Girl in the same story. The comedy/action side of the book falls on the shoulders of the artist as well, and guest penciller Patrick Gleason (late of the excellent Noble Causes) steps up to the plate and delivers a home run, with artwork that is actually better than his previous work, which certainly wasn't too shabby in the first place.
My first encounters with the character of Power Girl came in the Justice League series by J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen, so I expect her to have a certain personality and a certain humorous element to her. Johns and Goyer capture this personality, without taking her to the over-the-top extremes of anger and haughtiness that defined her Justice League persona. In fact, Power Girl has a great sense of humor to go with her great power, and her reaction to Da Bomb is not much different than the one I had as a reader. And the closing speech of the issue shows a great understanding of the character and what role she fills.
Da Bomb could easily be played straight, as a super-powerful and psychotic stalker whose mind isn't quite in tune with reality. However, he's even better when played as a lunatic without a chance, and I loved seeing him go up against Power Girl. His speech, littered with only the most amusing slang and delusional self-image, made for a lot of laughs, and this issue served as a great introduction for the character as much as a spotlight on Power Girl.
Gleason impressed me with his work on Noble Causes, but I was even more happy with his work on JSA. Some of his work, particularly the design for Da Bomb, reminds me of Chriscross's sharp anatomy and clean lines, and I thought that blended very well with a somewhat cartoony approach to facial expressions which was perfect for this issue. In addition, his action choreography is fantastic, giving the real sense of two super-powerful opponents in a knockdown dragout fight. There were some uneven moments, including some weird-looking perspective on Power Girl's first appearance in the book, but in general this was an impressive performance.
While I've long held up JSA as the model of a good super-hero team comic, I didn't expect an issue to be as funny as this one was. Johns and Goyer have written character spotlights before, and their affection for and understanding of the team members is a big part of what makes JSA work, but this particular issue stands out as one of the strongest single-character spotlights of the book so far.
