“I’ll protect Metropolis. You go get our family back.”
After a psychedelic swords and sorcery adventure with her doppelgänger, Paige Stetler is returning to the simpler things in life: hanging with her bestie, dodging her boss outside of work, and deciding whether or not to ask out the secret agent (not that she knows that) that she’s been flirting with since the first issue. All of this is upended as Power Girl reaches crossover territory with House of Brainiac, which takes no time in sweeping her adopted world out from under her.
The tie-in largely focuses on the doomsday event of Brainiac’s arrival as he launches down the last survivors of Czarina to destroy the city as a distraction to his ultimate plan of harvesting many of the aliens and metahumans to fuel the creation of The Brainiac Queen. Aided by the ’90s-inspired style of Joshua Williamson’s Superman, Leah Williams approaches the script for this installment in true to form classic ’90s event style: rushing quickly but organically into the horror and action of House of Brainiac. In the modern world of seemingly infinite comic event tie-ins, it’s a virtue to have a tie-in that keeps pace with the event without throwing off its own story.
DC Comics
Something of note with this installment is how Williams makes sure to continue the progression Power Girl has had within this series as the script opens with the strong dynamic with former Titan Lilith Clay, as they bicker whilst navigating Paige’s romantic struggles with her new crush, Axel Gust.
While cute, the romantic subplot between Axel and Paige suffers from an sudden reintroduction of Axel’s character while on the cusp of an invasion event after his earlier nonchalant appearances in the series. Knowing Williams, the romance between Axel and Paige could grow into a fun and engaging dynamic thanks to Axel’s comedic James Bond persona he has carried since the beginning.
However, the direction of House of Brainiac leaves little control in Power Girl’s hands over those plot points in favor of teasing and setting up conflicts with the invading Czarnians, and with Lobo’s daughter Crush. She’s utilized in a way to parallel the story with Lobo’s presence in the mainline event alongside the Man of Steel. Crush’s all-around introduction and style are one of the many highlights of the issue despite her shorter appearance but help uplift the promise of a more grindhouse-inspired arc.
DC Comics
The true heart of Williams’ script this issue has to do with the action and mystery hidden deep within Metropolis as Power Girl finds herself to be one of the few Super-themed heroes on the planet left to defend the city from the last of Lobo’s brothers and sisters. Under Eduardo Pansica’s pen, the high-action fun of the story complement Power Girl’s anxious narration that fills each page with how dire the situation becomes in each panel. What helps the collaboration between Williams and Pansica shine is the new coloring techniques utilized by Júlio Ferreira as he takes a more bright and colorful approach to the book’s style and theme that feels more consistent with the previous artist, Marguerite Sauvage.
The artistic evolution in this series helps with the all-around writing style of Leah Williams, working the scripts in such a way that suits her collaborators and their varying forms of comic art. Her collaborations with Pansica are more action-heavy, while having more comedy-focused and experimental stories with Marguerite Sauvage and former Domino artist David Baldeon. A writer being this flexible and expressive with each artist she works with allows for a fun and unique collaboration with each new installment, all while delivering strong serialized stories each month without breaking the flow–a flow now tested under the pressure of a crossover.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.