Twelve months ago, I was so enamored with the first issue of a title that I was motivated to write a review for it. That book was Power Girl #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts and John J. Hill. Power Girl was a breath of fresh air in my pull list at the time. It wasn’t an event tie-in, it wasn’t laden in continuity, it wasn’t overly dark and – most of all – it was fun. This is something we take for granted in recent comics. We’re so concerned with being “serious” stories with dire consequences for the whole publishing line that we’ve so often forgotten about our Superheroes being… well, Super!

Power Girl’s 12 issues were a delightful romp in the life of a DC heroine that many had written off based on her (admittedly) sexist appearance. But a few pages into the first issue and it became clear that the boobs were not an issue any longer. Power Girl was a fully developed woman behind the revealing costume with interesting relationships, enemies and experiences.

The reason I bring up my impressions of the first issue relates to the style of this issue. Palmiotti and Gray have decided to take the reader on a tour of the past 11 issues in order to tie-up loose ends before they exit the title. As a capper to their run on the book, it works really well. The feel of the book is never forsaken to squeeze in a joke to something that came before and the wrap-up does the best thing it could, leave you wanting more from this creative team. This issue touches on many of the best moments from the previous stories, but does the most for the Power Girl/Terra friendship, which has evolved naturally over the past year. The comedic moments surrounding PeeGee meeting Terra’s family were pure gold.

And of course, where would this book be without Amanda Conner? By far her art was the star of this book. Amazing work that could go toe-to-toe with some of the best “photo-realistic artists” in the biz. The subtle comedy of her work has crafted the charm of the book from subtle things like the organic way her PeeGee’s bangs move to the multi-panel scene with “Stinky” to the body language between Karen and Vartox. Amazing work.

At this point there isn’t much to say to get someone on to this book. It’s been a fantastic ride. And I heartily suggest picking this book up in trades if you’ve been reluctant to do so. A great fun read that will make you smile. I will most likely check out the Winnick issues – may hopes remain high for that – but I’ll always fondly remember the Conner, Palmiotti and Gray era on this book.