Why Isn't Anyone Reading 'Power Girl'?

How come nobody’s reading Power Girl?

This summer, Writer Judd Winick and Artist Sami Basri began their run on Power Girl after a critically successful year-long run by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Connor.

Winick and Basri have produced five issues so far, but the book hasn’t hit Diamond’s Top 100 since their inaugural issue (Power Girl #13). It’s frustrating to be a fan of comic books and not have many people to discuss your new reads with. It’s even worse when you can’t find anybody who’s reading one of your favorite titles.

Winick has always been a writer who takes good care of the characters he’s working on. Some readers really have a problem with his stories, but I’ve never understood this. For my money he’s always been true to the characters he been tasked to write (The Outsiders and Batman).

Then there’s the one two punch of Basri’s artwork. Month after month Basri presents gasp-worthy art that has been beautifully colored by Sunny Gho (Jessica Kholinne has assisted on colors on the last two issues). Basri has had the opportunity to draw the JLI, the JSA, Batman, and Booster Gold during his first five issues; his takes on these characters has been nothing less than superb.

Winick has been writing a story that appears to be tied to his Generation Lost bi-weekly series, but I’m not reading that title and do not feel the least bit lost in this series. Right out of the starting gate Winick made the choice to play with Karen Starr’s livelihood by throwing her personal life in complete turmoil. Karen’s Head of Finance Donna Anderson has disappeared (along with all of Starrware Industries’s money) and now the company is bankrupt. Power Girl is finding that the fate of Donna Anderson, her company’s financial woes, and the manufactured villains trying to take her down, are all converging into a single plot.

Power Girl has been strong on story and equally strong on humor. Power Girl's inner monologues, especially during fight scenes, are often an opportunity for Winick to throw in some quality (and apropos) laughs. At the beginning of issue #16 Power Girl is getting her clock cleaned by an unseen assailant as she runs down the list of her powers, followed by the question: “So I ask you… why, oh why do I keep getting my ass kicked?!”

Winick has also given Power Girl an Oracle of sorts in Nicholas “Nicco” Cho. Nicco quickly figures out that Karen Starr, his employer, and Power Girl are one and the same. Winick has fleshed out the character over the course of the arc—he’s smart, tough, and is able to call Karen out on the carpet if he feels so inclined.

Power Girl could easily be a throw away title for DC, but Winick is doing some really enjoyable stuff on this book. Based on the sales, I question whether DC will publish this run in trade form. Do yourself a favor and get to your local retailer and start snatching these from the back issue bin.