Written by: Shea Fontana
Art by: Yancey Labat & Monica Kubina
Publisher: DC Comics
DC Super Hero Girls has always seemed like a good idea to me. Creating a storyline that reaches out to young girls to interest them in comics and get them reading is a concept that I am so very, very fond of. That said, this is very much not a comic for adults. Everything about the book, from the art style to the dialogue is absolutely kid-centric. That’s not to say it’s bad; the kids I read it with loved this book to pieces. Actually, both of them were extremely upset when it was over (Note: I had two little girls having mini-meltdowns in my floor because they wanted more comics). It just isn’t really engaging or very entertaining for adults on their own.
Each chapter focuses on the trouble that one girl gets into, and ends pretty promptly with a cliffhanger leading into the next girl’s dilemmas. There isn’t too much depth to the story, and it all wraps up in a pretty bow at the end, but there is a bit of good backstory in each chapter. Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Bumblebee, Katana, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn each get a bit of spotlight, and don’t stray too much from what you’d expect (while still being kid friendly). That said, Ivy and Harley both avoid being outright villains, and Harley in particular is protrayed as a party girl rather than a force for chaos. Each girl is highlighted as having a major obstacle to overcome, and each manages admirably to work through her own challenges toward a common solution.
Teenage angst? At the Kent farm? It feels familiar…
Overall, the book is cute and will probably keep the attention of a kid, but is going to be dull and feel a little forced for any adult reading it on their own. Taken as individual stories, the book excels as an introduction to comics and to each of the Super Hero Girls but when read cover-to-cover, it becomes trite and grating. The art is cartoony, and the way the story works out made me wonder why they didn’t just make this story into a TV show, since that’s what it feels like anyway.
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