World's Finest #8 - A Review

World's Finest #9 offers us three pencilers this month and - strangely enough - regular co-artist George Perez seems to be the odd-man-out artistically.  This is not to say that Perez's artwork is bad.  It is not.  All of the artwork in this issue is top-notch.  But Perez seems to be playing against type with his assignment this time around and the issue suffers somewhat as a result.

Renowned for his big, bold classic superheroic style, Perez's pencils seem out of place depicting the solo adventure of The Huntress that opens this issue.  It looks good but it doesn't look RIGHT, to my mind at least.  Perez's pencils seem somewhat over-inked - perhaps an effort to make the scene appear darker.  The colors by Hi-Fi don't help matters, presenting a bright "shadowy" rooftop that lacks any shadows. 


Hi-Fi also provides the colors for a series of flashback pages, drawn by Cliff Richards.  These pages depict Huntress's past, thinking back on her training under her father and mother - the Earth 2 Batman and Catwoman.  Here the bright colors are somewhat less intrusive and Richards' inks are more appropriate to the setting.


The final portion of the book, focusing upon Power Girl is illustrated by Cafu with the coloring duties performed by Rosemary Cheetham  I've enjoyed Cafu's recent work on Action Comics and Green Lantern Corps and the pencils here are typical of his fine work.  I think it might have been better had he and Perez switched sections, as Perez's work depicting Power Girl of late has been excellent.  


The script by Paul Levitz is a call-back to his recent Huntress mini-series.  Helena's actions there resulted in a price on her head and - finally - someone is trying to collect.  After a close-call with one group of assassins, Helena recovers and thinks back on her past as her best friend Power Girl starts dealing with the organization that placed the hit.

Despite this tie-in to a previous story, this issue is a good jumping-on point for those who have yet to give this wonderful book a chance.  The story is fun and action-packed.  The artwork is all-around excellent, despite my quibbling about George Perez being out of his comfort zone.  All in all, this is one of DC Comics best titles right now.

World's Finest #6 - A Review

World's Finest is one of my favorite books.  Month after month, I can always count on it to give me several excellent and exciting action scenes, some amazing illustrations and leave me laughing at least once.  Such are the wonders of this book that it can make even the horribly annoying Damien Wayen tolerable, though I suspect that's because his visual depiction, as drawn by artist Kevin Maguire, puts me in the mind of a tween version of Namor The Sub-Mariner.


The main focus of this issue is upon Huntress - Batman's daughter on the alternate world of Earth Two - having it out with Damien Wayne, the current Robin of Earth One.  The former has been stealing from Bruce Wayne to finance her activities in this strange new world.  The later is intent on stopping her, little caring about any connection they might have despite some curiosity about her mixing the fighting styles of Catwoman and his father.

The other half of the issue, focusing upon Power Girl, follows Karen Starr - the more fun-loving and wild of our two protagonists - as she continues to work toward finding a way back to their home world.  This section is a lot more fun than the extended fight scene between Huntress and Robin, though the later bits of it do hint at something deadly serious to be coming soon.  Paul Levitz balances both storylines perfectly.


This book has the single greatest art team of any book on the market right now.  I don't know now long DC Comics can allow not one but two great artists of the caliber of Kevin Maguire and George Perez to work together on one title but hopefully it will be for many years yet.  Both artists have crisp, clear, classic superheroic styles but are different and definitive enough for their sections to be distinct and enjoyable on their own merits.  I can't recommend this book enough.