Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis Is Too Fractured To Be Worthwhile!

The Good: Moments of character, Some fun panels
The Bad: Inconsistent artwork, No real character development, Plot falls apart.
The Basics: Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis starts strong, but then becomes a mess as the series it anthologized abruptly came to an end.


When it comes to questionable ideas in comic books, I will be the first to admit that I thought Ame-Comi Girls had hit the conceptual jackpot for terrible ideas. The entire comic book like was created around the DC Collectibles statue/toy line that reimagined popular female characters from the DC Universe in more of an anime style for the costumes and, frankly, overt sexuality. But somehow, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray made it work with Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 (reviewed here!) and its sequel, enough that I felt the desire to actually complete the saga, picking up Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis, the final compilation of the Ame-Comi Girls comic books.

Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis picks up in the middle of the story begun in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac (reviewed here!) - in fact the abrupt ending to the story was one of the problems with the prior volume. Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis is a compilation of, essentially, three stories - Hawkgirl's entrance to the narrative, Sinestra's attack on Earth, and then vignettes featuring the Teen Hellions, Space Pirates and random heroines (White Canary and Mera) fighting as "auditions" to join the Justice League. The end of the book is a tremendous departure for Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis and in addition to losing narrative cohesion, it is there that the book loses its charm. There is an abrupt quality to the fight involving Sinestra and the resolution is hardly a satisfying one; so the transition away from the (now) familiar characters is jarring. In some ways, the last portion of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis feels like the equivalent of test marketing for the new characters!

Opening on Thanagar with Shayera Thath at age ten is rapidly becoming a streetbrawler, much to the dismay of her stepmother and father. Five years later, she is married to Katar, the boy she was protecting while fighting off older boys and the pair work together on the Thanagarian police force. The two are working together when Sinestra and her forces attack Thanagar, killing Katar and making him into a Black Lantern. While fighting against Sinestra, Shayera is rescued by Alana Strange from Rann, who reveals to her the weapon built to try to stop Sinestra - Metra, a manufactured godess.

Alana teleports the newly formed Justice League to Rann to brief them on the impending fight with Sinestra. While all life on Earth is teleported to a safe planet, the Justice League witnesses Alana awakening Metra, which evaluates them and makes them into ringbearers of her light. As Sinestra's ship draws near the abandoned Earth, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Alana Strange bring the fight to space where they are beset by Sinestra's Lantern Corps. The battle is going surprisingly well until Black Lantern Katar arrives and kills Hawkgirl, converting her to a Black Lantern and Sinestra blasts the women fighting on Earth, converting some of them. With the battle turned impossibly against the heroes, Metra enters the fray finally, resolving the fight in an unexpected way.

What follows is the Black Lantern Flash trying to adapt to life after being killed and running around as a Black Lantern, stopping crimes. She is patrolling Keystone City one night when she encounters Red Raven, a vampire, and Red Raven tries to recruit her to the Teen Hellions. Red Raven wants The Flash to accompany her, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Grrl, and Tempest on a mission to thwart her demon father, Trigon. Protecting Raven's physical body, The Flash helps the team send Trigon back to his own realm.

Big Barda leads space pirates against Empress Darkseid, which leads to Barda being reunited with Miss Miracle. Back on Earth, White Canary fights Pinky Violence and Mera and Black Manta fight one another. And then the book abruptly ends.

Alana Strange and Shayera are given backstories that are extensive enough to allow readers to care about them, though Alana's especially kills the narrative flow of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis. Obviously, the only way readers are going to care about Alana Strange is by getting her personal history, but it is revealed through several pages of exposition at a time when the main plot narrative is picking up steam. Similarly, Red Raven's sudden backstory in the middle of a fight is distracting from the flow.

Following the battle between Metra and Sinestra, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis falls completely apart. The vignettes that follow are packed with obscure characters and the artwork is very inconsistent. In fact, it becomes a labor to continue reading short stories of characters who then go nowhere.

Ame-Comi Girls Volume 3: Earth In Crisis is a disappointing ending to a series that started as a pleasant surprise.

For other big team-up books, please check out my reviews of:
Justice
Kingdom Come
The Brave And The Bold Volume 1: The Lords Of Luck

3/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Two Stories, One Book: Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac Is Mostly Fun!

The Good: Moments of character, Well-defined backstory for new characters, Wonderful artwork
The Bad: Odd story breakdowns, Short, Poor characterization of love/male influence
The Basics: Resolving the conflict of Brainiac, the gynocentric Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac then works to set up the next volume!


When it comes to my book reviews, I can think of no other work that pleasantly surprised me of late quite like Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 (reviewed here!). Based on the oversexualized statue and toy line from DC Collectibles, the Ame-Comi book was one that I picked up on a complete lark, not at all expecting it to have any serious merit. I'm a big enough person to admit when I am wrong and I was wrong about Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1. Based on the strength of the first volume, I picked up Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac.

Right off the bat, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac seemed like it was something of a misnomer; after all, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 had very powerfully introduced Brainiac to the narrative, so it seemed like readers already knew Brianiac was rising. Beyond that, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac is an anthology of the first four Ame-Comi Girls comic books to follow the introductory ("featuring X Character") series and it picks up immediately after Volume 1. As such, it is a story in progress and it is impossible to review Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac without referencing where Volume 1 left off. Unfortunately, because only the first two (of four) chapters deal with the dangling plotlines left from Volume 1, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac starts to feel like something of a cashgrab by transitioning awkwardly into the next story instead of having Volume 2 tell the whole next story. In other words, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac is an awkward bridge between two stories; the fast resolution to one and the slow build to another (without any resolution or strong character development). That fracture makes it a tougher sell than it ought to have been.

Opening with Wonder Woman squaring off against the black Kryptonite-infected Supergirl, the battle between the heroes and Brianiac's forces seems to be going quite poorly. As Batgirl, aboard Brainiac's ship, searches for a weakness, Wonder Woman finds the possessed Supergirl's weakness and utilizes the Lasso Of Truth to turn the tide of battle against her. Seeing which way the wind is blowing Duela Dent abandons Brainiac's ship. While Brainiac activates the computer at the Earth's core and sends devices up to the surface all around the Earth, the heroes fight off Brainiac's drones in Kansas. Power Girl makes it to the Earth's core, but finds it filled with giant, mechanical bees controlled by Brainiac. After Power Girl manages to communicate with the drones, she discovers that Brainiac is already in the core waiting for her!

Gaining access to Brainiac's ship leads Brainiac to shut off life support. Rising to the occasion, The Flash passes through the door and hunts down Brainiac as Power Girl fights the Brainiac in the Earth's core. After battling Brainiac, the alliance between the heroes begins to fracture when Power Girl becomes determined to save Supergirl's life, regardless of Wonder Woman's advice. Forming a Justice League to come together should another threat to Earth arise, the group splinters apart to return to their own lives.

Following the Brainiac Incident, in China, the blind mountain-climber Jade Yifei is in the middle of an ascent when she is attacked by the Flying Guillotine. Before she can hit the ground, though, she is chosen by Oa to be the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Saving her family and getting her attacker to flee, Jade takes up the mantle of Green Lantern with surprising ease. In the anti-matter universe, Parallax finds a way through to the matter universe and on Earth's moon, Carol Ferris finds a downed space ship belonging to a Star Sapphire and she becomes one of the ringbearers for the violet light. Returning to Earth, Ferris attends a party where she steals James Olsen away from Kara Jor-El, in the process revealing herself to be a Star Sapphire. After a fight between Power Girl and the Star Sapphire, Kara Jor-El enlists Avril Palmer (The Atom) to aid her in saving Supergirl's life. The volume ends with the set-up for the next major conflict with a backstory detailing the rise of Sinestra!

First off, and I couldn't truly discuss this when writing about Volume 1 as it came right at the end, the black Kryptonite is one of the coolest ideas that Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray brought to Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac. The transformation of Kara Zor-El into a villain under Brainiac's control is a cool idea that is executed fairly well in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac. In fact, Supergirl is only stopped by the Lasso Of Truth and that is treated as a temporary fix, with Kara Zor-El being in a state of mortal peril for pretty much all of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac.

I was initially disappointed that Catwoman had survived the events of Volume 1 to participate in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac. After all, the artwork in the first book made it look like dark Supergirl has snapped her neck and the potential casualty lent some weight to the somewhat light volume. In Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac, Catwoman's survival is blithely described as a function of using up two of her nine lives and that is a bit disappointing as there is nothing else in the text to indicate Catwoman had anything remotely supernatural to her. Keeping her alive is sadly pointless given that she has no substantive role in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac.

There is something thematically disappointing about Steve Trevor's role in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac. As Power Girl and Wonder Woman form the Justice League, Steve Trevor is the voice of pragmatism and reason, the only one in the room discussing the legal ramifications of non-U.S. citizens launching military-style missions from U.S. soil and the superhero team including minors (Barbara Gordon and Carrie/Robin). Trevor is also the only one who brings up the idea that members of the team could be killed and that leads to liability issues. While Trevor's counterpoints to the budding Justice League are a good place to finally address "Girls" (as opposed to "Women") in the title, it is troubling that Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac uses a male character to negotiate practical and rational elements in a female-centered super hero team. In the real world, there are enough problems with getting women to work together for their common goals; it would have been refreshing in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac to see the female characters model it well for any young women actually reading the book.

In a similar way, Star Sapphire basically uses a love potion (mind control) on James Olsen and that pulls the reader way out of the narrative. In a book filled with accomplished, powerful women (including Carol Ferris, the way she is first introduced and described by Olsen), it seems particularly lowbrow that the Star Sapphire sells herself as the best looking woman at the party. It's a shallow reason for Olsen to want her and it does no service to the concept of love that the Star Sapphire is supposed to embody. For sure, the Green Lantern comics have had trouble reasonably and consistenly defining the Star Sapphires and their powers, but Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac is not doing any favors to the struggle by picking a pretty shallow portrayal of love with Ferris obsessed with Olsen. At least Kara Jor-El is rational enough to see Olsen's near-infidelity for what it truly was and not make the book go too far in the direction of melodrama.

On the opposite side, Princess Diana is presented in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac as a refreshingly strong character. Not at all plagued by self-doubt or a sense of melodrama, she comes across as a natural leader. Similarly, Kara Jor-El is characterized well as a powerful, articulate woman not requiring the traditional trappings of stereotypical American relationships. Jor-El is not jealous and her protective nature of James Olsen actually comes across in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac as her desire to see her boyfriend not be victimized by a woman willing to use mind control over him.

The addition of Green Lantern to Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac is an interesting one and the book has a decent re-imagining of the Green Lanterns. Jade's mantra is different and her story sends the book in an entirely different direction. Her backstory is dwarfed by the extensive backstory given to Sinestra at the very end of the book. Sinestra, having once thwarted Brainiac on her own, becomes the next great villain for the Ame-Comi saga . . . right before the book ends.

Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac is somewhat sloppily written in that Kara Jor-El (Power Girl) is referenced as Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) is a scene where the artwork is clearly of Power Girl in her mundane outfit and Supergirl is still in stasis elsewhere in Metropolis.

Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac includes bonus features, in the form of rough character sketches for Brainiac at the end of the book. Between the variant cover gallery and the sketches, the bonus features are mildly amusing, but leave the reader wishing there were more story (substance) as opposed to fluff.

Despite being terribly short and broken up to sell more books as opposed to finish and begin narratives at logical places, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 2: Rise Of The Brainiac is still worth reading and a fun book.

For other books featuring characters that had Ame-Comi reworks, please check out my reviews of:
Wonder Woman: Gods And Mortals By George Perez
Superman: Brainiac By Geoff Johns
Harley Quinn: Power Outage By Amanda Connor

5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Collectibles Become Comic Books With Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1!

The Good: Good characters, Good story, Some knock-out artwork
The Bad: Incredibly erratic artwork, Fractured story at points
The Basics: Against all my first instincts, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 becomes a joy to read and a set-up graphic novel worth championing as the DC Comics Universe as re-imagined in a gynocentric way!


A few years ago, when my wife and I were still living in Upstate New York, we made a day trip to Albany. I thought it would be fun to visit the state capital and we ended up doing a lot of generally geeky things, like visiting comic book shops, trying local restaurants (okay, that's not geeky) and going to the movies. While at one of the comic book shops, I came across a Wonder Woman figure that I had never before seen. The figure was the Ame-Comi Wonder Woman, the first one which featured a barely-dressed Wonder Woman holding the head of Medusa. At the time, $39.95 seemed a bit steep of a price for me, so I passed on picking it up (which was aided by my wife staring me down and asking me point-blank, "Where the hell would you display that?!"). I did not think much about the Ame-Comi toy line, despite occasionally seeing them in my sidebar advertisements and seeing the prices for some of the figures (like that Wonder Woman I passed on all those years ago!) going quite high. But, given how intensive September is turning out to be for Marvel Comics-based reviews, I figured that I would branch out a little bit with my DC Comics reviews and that was when I discovered that there were actually comic books based upon the Ame-Comi toy line.

The concept of building a supporting work around a collectible or toy is not a new one. As much as I loved Masters Of The Universe growing up, I know that the television series was based on the toy line, not the other way around. So, DC Comics is now creating supporting materials for the popular collectibles from DC Collectibles, like Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 and a comic book based upon the DC Bombshells line of statues. Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 is the anthology of the five volumes (three issues each) of the main characters - Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Power Girl, Duella Dent, and Supergirl - reformatted for the printing and without the "To Be Continued" line at the end of the chapters that would have delineated the original issues.

Opening with Steve Trevor briefing the U.S. President on the rumors of Themyscira hours in advance of Kasnia launching an attack on the island, Princess Diana of Themyscira trains in hand to hand combat with the minotaurs on the island. When the Kasnian army invades, the Amazons easily repel them, but when Queen Hippolyta realizes that the battle was turned by Diana, she is angered. Hippolyta wants to send an envoy to the strongest, most democratic nation on Earth and have the envoy trade protecting Themyscira for the Tears Of Panacea, the elixir that grants Amazons vitality. After dressing Diana in a surprisingly skimpy outfit and charging her with becoming the Themysciran ambassador to the world, Hippolyta sends Diana off to the United States to learn wisdom and humility. While Diana speaks to the United Nations, she is attacked by Cheetah. In the process of thwarting Cheetah, Diana saves the Kasnian Ambassador and Diana learns that even Cheetah does not know who hired her.

Right off the bat, Wonder Woman is characterized as strong and sassy in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1. While training, she is a formidable opponent to three minotaurs, even if they claim she is vain and narcissistic. Despite the claims of her sparring partners, she is eager to defend her homeland and that selfless quality is one of the hallmarks of Wonder Woman. In that way, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 quickly asserts that while the art style might be new, the characters at the heart of the narrative are going to bear familiar traits. This makes sense as the volume generally tells a familiar origin story for Diana with new artwork in a moderately-altered setting.

Batgirl's origin story is second in the book and it features Barbara Gordon and her cousin Carrie heading out for a night on the town. After being seen off by the wheelchair-bound Jim Gordon, Barbara and Gordon go out as Batgirl and Robin to thwart some crime in Gotham. They do not have to go far, as Poison Ivy is in the park tormenting a young couple on their first date. While the pair is easily able to stop Poison Ivy, she is soon joined by Catwoman and Harley Quinn, who are being monitored by Duela Dent. Despite their best efforts, Batgirl is captured by the trio and taken back to Duela Dent's lair where they are joined by Cheetah. Robin has to rescue Batgirl, while Barbara does her best to learn about Duela Dent's new lair and who might be behind designing the futuristic prison she has built. While Barbara realizes that Duela has her aboard a spacecraft that she could not have possibly invented, Carrie goes to Steel (Natasha Irons) for assistance in mounting the rescue of Batgirl.

The female-dominated narrative of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 comes out very strongly in the second chapter. The reversals to the originally-established DC Comics universe are fun, like Jim Gordon being stuck in the wheelchair instead of Barbara. The idea of Barbara looking after Carrie, much like Bruce Wayne looks after the young men who become Robin is a similarly cool twist. But the Barbara Gordon chapter is either where the concept of the book starts to play as awkward or I am just out of touch. Carrie uses phrases like "the soundest crew in Gotham" and "Mom is tranquil" and dialogue like that either embodies youthspeak I have no experience with or it is intended to mimic bad translations in American comic books/Manga. Whichever, the second chapter features some truly off lines.

In addition, the Batgirl chapter has decidedly inferior artwork compared to the first chapter as the characters are rendered far more simplistically. The sense of movement, like the dialogue, is a bit off, which makes for a poor flow and a less enjoyable reading experience. How Batgirl survives being submerged in the death tank Duela Dent made long enough for the spikes to deploy makes less sense than Batgirl being able to dodge the spikes!

Duela Dent's chapter in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 offers the reader explicit backstory on the female steampunk Joker character. She is presented as the daughter of the Joker, who grew up in the twisted landmark House Dent. One night, while playing hide and seek with her father, she ended up in the attic, where she was attacked by bats and, in the aftermath, was forced to cut her hair and get rabies shots. Shortly thereafter, her father was killed (paralyzing Jim Gordon in the process) and Duela Dent began her reign of terror on Gotham City. Acting as an agent of pure chaos, Duela brought Gotham to its knees until Batgirl showed up. Duela Dent's backstory is well-conceived and illustrated enough to be captivating. It is also the first chapter clearly intended for more mature readers (as if Wonder Woman's outfit didn't make that clear in the first chapter of the book!). Duela Dent is a cunning, cruel adversary, who is surprisingly well-conceived.

Duela's chapter then flashes forward to where Batgirl's chapter ended, with Duela and her lackeys cornering Batgirl on the ship. After incapacitating Batgirl in a futuristic trap, Duela demands fealty from her crew. Catwoman resists and the two fight, leading Catwoman to be jaded when Duela reveals her ally. Duela Dent is working with Brainiac, who intends to reduce humanity (outside Gotham City and Atlantis) to savages before abandoning the planet for a few million years. While Duela revels in her plan to rule the world (or the ashes of it), Catwoman frees Batgirl and tries to get her off the ship.

The third chapter greatly expands the scope of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 by introducing Brainiac and The Flash (Jesse Quick). The artwork is erratic, but still better than the second chapter. While the character arc for Catwoman is fairly predictable, it works because many, many DC Comics volumes have been written on how super-villain societies have a tendency to fall apart because villains do not work well together. Catwoman is characterized as smart enough to understand the human desire for respect, whereas, Duela Dent is a somewhat monolithic agent of chaos who demands fealty. While the plot of Duela's chapter is somewhat predictable and a little fractured, it progresses the overall story of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1.

The fourth chapter introduces Power Girl to the narrative as the Kryptonian Kara Jor-El rescues James Olsen from pirates he wants to interview off the coast of Kenya. After rescuing Olsen, Power Girl returns to Metropolis, the city of the future that she has built based upon Kryptonian technology and environmental practices. While giving a tour of her facility, she is attacked by the Silver Banshees who out her as an alien and attempt to kill her. The Silver Banshees are armored women working for (presumably) Lex Luthor, who has built a giant mech to lay waste to Metropolis, kill Power Girl and (in his mind) prevent a Kryptonian invasion. No sooner has Kara saved Metropolis than a ship carrying her cousin, Kara Zor-El, crashes down in Smallville . . . with Manhunters right behind!

The artwork of the fourth chapter is more stylized than the earlier chapters, with the pirates having bodies with proportions that are noticeably off. Similarly, after Power Girl melts their firearms with her heat vision, the guys keep holding the red-hot weapons, which looks utterly ridiculous. Ironically, Power Girl herself looks the most similar to her non-Ame-Comi rendition, which might be a statement in and of itself. In fact, Ame-Comi Power Girl might have more of a costume - whatwith her somewhat pointless leg armor - than her mundane comic counterpart. What does an indestructible woman need with armor? That is not made clear in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1. Power Girl's chapter is such a disconnect from the other chapters that it makes Barbara Gordon's shock at aliens influencing Earth seem nonsensical as Kara is out and about as an alien in love with humanity. Fortunately, just around the time the reader is thinking "How are the Manhunters so bad at their job that they arrive in force to stop Kara Zor-El, but not Brainiac?!" Brainiac's ship arrives and reduces that qualm as the Manhunters recognize the Coulan ship instantly. The female Manhunters are well-rendered for the gynocentric reinterpretation of the DC Universe - their fire hair is pretty cool.

The final chapter of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 is Kara Zor-El, Supergirl's, chapter. Opening with a brief flashback to Jor-El and Zor-El appealing to prevent the destruction of Krypton (it's not clear why those characters weren't female scientists instead of Power Girl and Supergirl's fathers!), before they are condemned to the Phantom Zone, the story flashes back to exactly where the prior chapter ended. The Manhunters agree to pardon Power Girl and Supergirl in exchange for their aid in arresting or destroying Brainiac, which they set about to doing right away, much to the chagrin of Duela Dent and her team aboard Brainiac's ship. As Brainiac sends a legion of androids to slaughter Supergirl, Power Girl and the Manhunters, Earth's metahumans take a stand against them!

The final chapter of is a cliffhanger, which promises a change in format from the character-centered chapters that defined Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1. In many ways, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 is a set-up that brings together, essentially, a female-powered Justice League. It also raises the stakes in the final chapter by apparently killing one character (it would be hard to believe a mere human could survive the beating from an extraterrestrial!) and creating a new villain for the next book. And, while there is something troubling about the word "bitch" being used in such a pro-woman book (it comes up twice in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1, the final time out of Wonder Woman's mouth, which is just disturbing!), for the most part, the book has a strong respect for girl power themes.

Somewhat understandably, Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 is a series of origin stories. Duela Dent's is the most concrete and explicit and, given how she is more or less unique to the narrative, inherently interesting. The explanations for Power Girl and Supergirl together is handled well-enough to accept. Supergirl and Wonder Woman's origin stories are familiar and bookend the volume well. Indeed, Supergirl's story being infused with the story of Brainiac makes for a compelling introduction of Kara Zor-El.

The artwork in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1, like the statues and toys upon which they are based, is fun, at the very least. I noticed, however, that the artwork became less detailed as each chapter went on. There are panels, for example, of Wonder Woman's fight with Cheetah that lack the richness of detail that were present in her fight with the Kasnian forces on Themyscira. By contrast, Duela Dent's chapter starts with amazing artwork to explore the architecture of her childhood house to further her characterization in a compelling way. By the time Power Girl's chapter ends, though, it is hard not to acknowledge that Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 is very much a graphic novel for people who like breasts. That's not a dig, but the artists are pretty obsessed with rendering large-breasted women and somewhere there is a young teen geek who has a copy of Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 stuffed between their matress and boxspring!

I was not entirely prepared to like Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 when I sat down to read it. The statues upon which the book was made seemed exploitative and over-sexualized (which is fine, but that being a gimmick to rework characters from seemed like it would lead most naturally to a porn parody as opposed to a serious, compelling, work) and the artwork in Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 mirrors that, especially in the final chapter. But Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 isn't just softcore with a story; it is surprisingly character-driven and against all odds, it works. In the Ame-Comi incarnation of the DC Universe, Earth and Krypton are mere creations of Brainiac's and she is coming to Earth to feast and that raises the level of threat in the book far beyond Duela Dent or Cheetah.

It also makes for a strong adventure where young women are working together for common purpose to save each other and the world. Regardless of the artwork, it is hard not to champion that. Ame-Comi Girls Volume 1 is a decent set-up that makes for a fun read and makes the reader eager to continue with the story . . . for more than just the appreciation of the costumes and boobs.

For other books that contain the characters that the Ame-Comi versions are based upon, please visit my reviews of:
Wonder Woman: Blood By Brian Azzarello
Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection By Gail Simone
Supergirl: Death & The Family By Sterling Gates

6/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Concluding In Apocalypse: Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four Puts The Final Crisis In Motion!

The Good: Resolves the story, Moments of character
The Bad: Much of the artwork, Not all the tangents pay off as well as they ought to.
The Basics: Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four has all the major players in the storyline pushed to Apokolips for the multiverse’s great destructive event that the story has been building to.



The very title to Countdown To Final Crisis foreshadowed how the massive crossover event would end. Obviously, the entire saga was building to Final Crisis (reviewed here!) and with Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four, it finally gets there. The fundamental problem with Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four is how the storyline gets to where it is going. Building directly on the momentum from Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three (reviewed here!), Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four finally explains what Darkseid’s endgame is and what the story has been building to.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four finally resolves the disparate plotlines of the Countdown event, but it does so with almost no real character development and without fully justifying the full range of the cast that was used in getting to the end. In other words, the resolution hardly seems worth the effort and it seems to include a pretty huge plot hole.

In Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four, the secondary characters in the DC Universe are focused on, with all of the main characters that have been a part of the Countdown books ending up on Apokolips – Darkseid’s home world – for the first part of a climactic showdown that comes through a use of force that hardly seems epic. Indeed, with so many characters who have the ability to think their way out of problems, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four comes down to a frustratingly brawn-related solution and the near-end “fake out” is both unsurprising and unsatisfying.

With the Challengers – Donna Troy, Jason Todd, Kyle Rayner, and Ray Palmer - teleported to Apokolips, Darkseid’s endgame begins. They discover Jimmy Olsen and when Holly Robinson, Mary Marvel, and Harley Quinn help liberate Themyscira from Granny Goodness, Darkseid recalls one of his most important pieces back to Apokolips. There, Darkseid tells the remaining Monitor, Solomon, that he is preparing to wipe out the multiverse and create the Fifth World. When the Karate Kid’s body is riddled with the Morticoccus and Brother Eye goes to war with Apokolips, it seems like Darkseid might get his wish to rewrite all of reality.

Mary Marvel is given the chance for unlimited power again, a trade that Darkseid is willing to give with only one favor as his price. The price is Jimmy Olsen’s life; a price that, if paid, will release all of the New Gods’ powers to Darkseid. When the multiverse travelers see firsthand just what Morticoccus can do, the remaining heroes realize they must stop Darkseid from getting unlimited power at any cost!

The big plot hole in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four comes late in the book, but it is worth noting. Morticoccus is a tremendous virus that mutates so profoundly and fast that it actually becomes a giant creature briefly. It does so right near Jimmy Olsen after he finally learns that he is a receptacle of all the powers of the now-killed New Gods. So, why doesn’t Ray Palmer figure out that to destroy the Morticoccus, he just needs to infect Jimmy Olsen? The godly powers within him should have been enough to kill even the Morticoccus. Gods don’t get sick; Jimmy Olsen has all the powers of a number of gods, therefore the faux-apocalypse should have been averted pretty easily.

Beyond that, the story is more dull than audacious. The resolution to the story does not seem nearly as complicated as the set-up and some of the elements – most notably the Pied Piper’s part in the resolution – seem ridiculously and ambiguously presented. Piper plays his potentially final song which blows up a location . . . which is seen pages later intact with no explanation.

Also missing from Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four is genuine character development. Mary Marvel makes her choice for no particularly clear reason (undoing the development she made in the prior volume). Jason Todd seems like a jackass the nature of which does not seem to be a natural evolution from having been Robin. Ray Palmer hardly seems like the smartest man in the world.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four has mostly good artwork, but it finishes poorly. The later parts of the book actually have the most rushed artwork in the series. There is almost no sense of movement in the panels themselves and between the panels there is little action as well, so this book has a stiff visual quality to it. Some of the later chapters actually have much sketchier artwork and given how, in many of those chapters, there is a troubling mix of familiar and unrecognizable characters, that is problematic.

Here at the climax, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four is not at all an engaging story, though it brings about an end. The end leads into the poor Crisis event in an indirect fashion and fans who are obsessed with the DC Comics Universe will find it an unnecessary crossover.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
52 – Volume 1
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

3/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Loping Toward Coherency, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two Is Still Engaging!

The Good: Moments of character, Artwork, Generally interesting plot progression.
The Bad: Largely secondary characters who do not captivate one’s full attention, Huge gaps in the storytelling.
The Basics: Continuing the countdown crossover event, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two finds the minor characters in the DC Universe moving toward the potential end of the Multiverse.


With so many recent major crossover events in the DC Universe dealing with the potential end of the universe, it is somewhat surprising to me that the company did not use one of their many Crisis events as a way to reboot the DC Universe for the New 52. It seems like Final Crisis (reviewed here!) could have conceivably been an intriguing end to the story of the main DC Universe. So, knowing even as I read Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two that this was not actually leading to the end of the DC Multiverse, I found it hard to be as engaged as – I am sure – readers were when it was originally released five years ago.

In leading up to Final Crisis, the Countdown event acted as a second transition between the main crossover story that was coming - 52 followed up on Infinite Crisis and as the title suggests Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two continues to lead from Infinite Crisis into Final Crisis. I had a big problem with Final Crisis in that it had huge gaps in its own narrative, especially near the resolution, and Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two does not seem to be leading as directly into Final Crisis as one might hope as it remains firmly focused on peripheral characters in the DC Universe. Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two picks up where Volume One (reviewed here!) left off, but because so many plotlines were left dangling at the end of the first book, it is unsurprising that Volume Two is scattered, though as the book progresses, it does begin to take some focus.

In Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two, the secondary characters in the DC Universe are focused on, save brief cameos from the Flash, the Justice League and Wonder Woman (with Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern becoming more important as the story progresses).

Just as in the first volume, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two has multiple threads, none of which are fully developed. Some, like the inclusion of the members of the 31rst Century Legion Of The Super Heroes, are entirely under-developed and when they pop to the forefront of the story, they are at a completely different place (often with additional characters) than they were when they were last seen.

The bulk of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two is in four main plotlines. Mary Marvel continues to be edgy and she makes her way to Zatanna’s domain where the magician begins to teach Mary how to use her powers. Unfortunately, Mary quickly loses patience and Zatanna exiles Mary Marvel from her magical home. Feeling isolated, Mary Marvel goes in search of power and an easier way to use the abilities that are no longer easily accessible to her (her word-based magic was taken away). She ends up in a secret magic market in China where she confronts a new adversary who wants some of her power for its own!

This incarnation of Mary Marvel continues to be edge and more of a butt-kicking wet dream as opposed to a naïve girl who is used occasionally as comic relief. This version of Mary Marvel is essentially lost and she falls prey to those who recognize her power and want to take it for their own.

Just as Mary Marvel struggles to define her new powers, Jimmy Olsen continues to try to find out what the limits of his own powers are. He keeps putting himself in danger and after failing to join either the Teen Titans or the Justice League Of America, he turns to John Henry Irons to learn what is going on with him. Unfortunately, his quest turns toward the unfathomable as he heads toward CADMUS Labs and becomes a target from powerful enemies.

Continuing to progress through Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two, the Pied Piper and The Trickster run for their lives from all of the heroes in the DC Universe. The heroes fall back after the pair ends up at the mercy of Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, and Batman. When the Wally West version of the Flash returns (not at all explained in this book), they try to convince him that they were working undercover to foil a plot surrounding the wedding of Oliver Queen and Black Canary. The two men go completely rogue to flee both heroes and villains alike.

One of the other major plotlines in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two focuses on Donna Troy and Jason Todd in the Palmerverse. Along with the Monitor, Bob, they are joined by Kyle Rayner (and lose Ryan Choi) and they leave the submicroscopic Palmerverse in favor for the Multiverse. As targets for the Monitors, who believe that because Todd, Troy and Rayner should not be alive in the main DC Universe, the small band of heroes flees to an alternate universe where they are prey to the alternate universe’s Justice League!

Elsewhere, Holly Robinson and Harley Quinn survive an Amazon Battle Royale to get a chance to emigrate to Paradise Island. At the same time, the Karate Kid continues to search for why he is back in the 21rst Century and he learns that he might be carrying an evolution of the OMAC virus!

Despite never settling on a single actual plotline or truly developing the characters involved, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two has consistently good artwork. The characters look good and – outside the fact that several are b or c string characters seen in these pages out of costume/make-up – are generally recognizable. Some of the new characters, like those in the Multiverse or Palmerverse sequences, look good and continue the quality level for modern character designs.

In the end, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two finally pushes the stories along in ways that makes one feel like the Final Crisis the various plotlines are leading to might actually be worthwhile. Still, given how many gaps there are in the storyline that forces the reader to accept jumps in the plot and characters between sequences, this book does not hold up on its own as well as readers trying to get the whole story would want it to.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

5/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Counting Down From The Second String, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One Is A Lackluster Start!

The Good: Moments of character, Artwork
The Bad: Largely secondary characters who do not captivate one’s full attention, Huge gaps in the storytelling.
The Basics: With Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One, the DC Universe begins its transition from 52 to Final Crisis in a pretty blasé way.


When it comes to the major DC Comics crossover events, I often find myself at odds with popular opinion. I find myself in the awkward position of actually reading the book in front of me, as opposed to reacting to the hype of a crossover event. The difference, sadly, is all the difference, especially when it comes to the major crossovers. The transition events, however, are not immune to the problems of presenting incomplete stories to the reader. This comes up for me at the outset of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One because there are exceptional gaps in the story. Had I not previously read Amazons Attack! (reviewed here!) as part of my Wonder Woman Year and The Flash: Fastest Man Alive – Full Throttle (reviewed here!) as part of my Flash Year, I would have been completely lost. I am sure there are Catwoman, The Atom, and Shazam stories that filled in other gaps in this story.

The point is that Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is not a single, complete story. In fact, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is not a single, cohesive narrative but more than that, the story elements that are included in this book are lacking in background information and key parts of the story, some of which are not alluded to in a strong enough way to truly resonate with the reader.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One follows up on 52(Volume 4 is reviewed here!) and takes the first steps into leading to Final Crisis (reviewed here!) . Fundamentally, one of the problems with Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is that (having read Final Crisis) only two of these plotlines – a series of vaguely-related scenes that focus on Darkseid and another focusing on the Monitors – are actually directly related to the oncoming crisis. Final Crisis might be a universe-encompassing event, but it focuses on the big three and their role in the event.

Obviously, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One does not get to even the heart of the oncoming crisis, though it does have a smattering of scenes that illustrate that Darkseid is building a massive army that he might use to attack Earth (and possibly Earths across the multiverse).

Like 52, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One begins to tell a story that focuses on the supporting heroes in the DC Universe. Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One has multiple threads, none of which are fully developed. Some, like the inclusion of the members of the 31rst Century Legion Of The Super Heroes , are woefully under-developed and when they pop to the forefront of the story, they are at a completely different place (often with additional characters) than they were when they were last seen.

The meat of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is in three main plotlines. Marty Marvel awakens from her coma. Shocked and bereft of her powers, Mary does the exact opposite of what a fortune teller advises and she makes a journey to Gotham City. There, in the ruins of an old building, she is met by Black Adam. After many threats of death, Black Adam slowly comes to believe that Mary arrived there by random chance and she is truly devoid of all her super powers. Black Adam transfers his powers to Mary, creating a darker, more edgy version of Mary Marvel. She spends the rest of the book trying to figure out her place and the extent of her powers.

The Mary Marvel in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is unlike Mary Marvel in any other book I have read that features her, even as a peripheral character. Instead of being naïve and inexperienced – even in her powerless mundane form – Mary is worldweary and just a young woman who is lost. In her new super-power form, she wears a shorter, flared out, black version of her usual garb and it is designed to look anything but innocent. In fact, it wavers at the bottom in a way that is entirely intended to titillate the readers. This is a leggy Marvel Woman (she’s no girl!) who is busty and butt-kicking.

As Mary tries to figure out who she is now, so too does Jimmy Olsen. Olsen is investigating the death of Deula Dent, the Joker’s daughter. In the process, he is attacked in Arkham Asylum, but comes to no harm because he exhibits all the properties of Elastic Man. Confused, Olden brushes it off as a dream or fatigue until he experiences two more instances where he manifests super powers. Taking his cue from Superman, Jimmy Olsen creates the super hero Mr. Action and begins cleaning up the streets of Metropolis.

A far more compelling a-plot in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One has the Pied Piper and The Trickster running for their lives. Having been a part of the posse that killed the Flash, both men – who has previously gone legitimate – flee from the superhero community in hopes of finding a place where no one would look for them. Taking refuge with the Penguin, they find themselves in more peril than even they initially predicted!

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One also includes a plotline with the Amazons, which overlaps with their attack on Washington, D.C. There is a storyline that focuses on Donna Troy and Jason Todd as they begin a search for Ray Palmer (the Atom) in an attempt to get an ace-in-the-hole for the upcoming crisis. As one might predict given how many plotlines there are in the limited space of the first book, this does not create a wealth of opportunity for the characters to truly develop and change. Jimmy Olsen and Mary Marvel spent the most time pontificating on character and how they are changing, but the rest of the book is exceptionally plot-focused.

For all its problems on the story front, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One has consistently good artwork. The characters look good and – outside the fact that several are b or c string characters seen in these pages out of costume/make-up – are generally recognizable. Some of the new characters, like Forerunner, look good and continue the quality level for modern character designs.

Ultimately, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is a beginning and were it not for my already being invested in the direction of this massive crossover, there would not be enough in the book to recommend it.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

5/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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