The Powerpuff Girls #2 follows a similar setup as the comics’ debut issue (or any Powerpuff Girls episode ever, but that’s a great thing!), this time pitting Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles against their arch-enemy Mojo Jojo. The sinister simian erects a giant statue in the middle of Townsville, but strangely, it’s not wrecking the city or making any threats. Once the Powerpuffs investigate, things take a weird turn…and readers will learn about their dreams.
As she did with the first issue, Kelly Thompson uses this story as a way to peer inside the Powerpuffs’ heads and explore what drives them. With Blossom, her position as the leader – and the “responsible one” – takes the form of a series of doors, each one unlocking a different secret. For Bubbles, it’s a massive tea party full of stuffed animals. For Buttercup? Endless punching. Thompson knows how to write stories that play to characters’ strengths, and that continues with The Powerpuff Girls #2. She also strangely gets Mojo’s weird, twisty way of talking, which is no mean feat.
The issue sees a change in artists, with Karen S. Darboe, Helen Berti, Carlo Lauro & Guila Lafrancheschina stepping in for Paulina Ganucheau. Good news for Powerpuff Girls fans: this new team keeps the same visual language as the animated series, including bright, vibrant colors and insane action (especially where Buttercup is concerned; her dreams feature her pummeling Mojo to a pulp against a verdant green background.) I do wonder why Darboe only illustrated the first two pages. Don’t get me wrong, these are great pages showcasing the scale of the Mojo statue and the Mayor of Townsville’s reaction to it. Lauro & Lafrancheschina also have a grasp on the animated antics, though I hope Darboe gets to illustrate more Powerpuff stuff in the future (I say this as a fan of her work on Bloodline: Daughter of Blade.)
The Powerpuff Girls #2 also keeps up the trend of standalone stories, which is no mean feat when series have grown more serialized over the years. It’s just another way that this comic keeps true to its inspiration, as anyone can pick up any issue and get a great story. No matter if the art team changes or the story shifts, The Powerpuff Girls comic is shaping up to be both a great read and a title worth adding to your pull list.
The Powerpuff Girls #2 is available wherever comics are sold.
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