Following the short story in Power Girl Special #1, Fire & Ice Welcome to Smallville is a fun and all-around interesting dive back into the world of the Justice League International. I was admittedly worried about the character development of Bea and Tora, as were others. Still, Joanne Starer proves how far her knowledge of the duo is as she plays with the simple but effective notion of forcing these two heroes into a compromising position: a life as civilians. Bea and Tora have done everything together; they’ve been models, detectives, and characters in a Tom King maxi-series, but most importantly, they’re superheroes, and that’s their life.
Starer uses this sense of vulnerability to expand on their lives with Tora’s ‘girl next door’ personality, wanting to settle down and enjoy her enforced vacay to Smallville. In contrast, Bea senses that she should be doing more as a hero and wants to revel in her life as a superhero alongside the person she loves the most.
Credit: DC Comics
As the two move into a salon, thanks to their robotic companion L-Ron, the two attempt to live out their new lives as civilians, even being greeted by fresh faces and Ma Kent. In a lot of ways, this should be the life any hero wants, but to Bea, she’s unable to relax. She demands some sense of action and wants to call upon the forces of evil to strike down Smallville and its peaceful inhabitants. She is, much to her name, a hothead, and Starer portrays that well throughout each scene. For two characters that are famously the comedic part of every roster they’re put on, their writing here aims to take them to a new and fun world that pushes them to emotional extremes with each other, whether it’s Bea’s anger issues or Tora’s sense of freedom and romance. The entire town of Smallville also shows fascination at the idea of a superhero other than Superman having a presence in their home, even if it brings trouble about, and Starer knocks it out of the park with every page.
Alongside Starer is the beautiful work of Natacha Bustos and Tamra Bonvillan. Admittedly, I’ve been a fan of Bonvillan since the days of Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora’s Once and Future, so naturally, I knew I was going to love the coloring, but her work paired with the vibrant art of Bustos takes Fire & Ice to a whole new level. Every character has dynamic expressions, outfits, and all-around personalities in ways that beat a lot of other Big Two comics being published right now, and it’s thanks to Bustos and Bonvillan showing a cartoony yet colorful side of DC in an era where darkness and horror fill the pages of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
The world of Fire & Ice adds to Starer’s character deconstruction as we see how these crazy and comedic lives Fire & Ice live through are manifested day by day whether its Fire’s inability to be normal or the calm and sweet environments that Ice inhabits throughout every scene.
Credit: DC Comics
All around, Fire & Ice Welcome To Smallville by Joanne Starer, Natacha Bustos, and Tamra Bonvillan is a fun and wild ride with strong emotional moments and a nice atmosphere that carries the humor of Keith Giffen with a modern touch. This is definitely the book to watch out for over the coming months.
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