Worlds' Finest (USA) di P.Levitz

[Azrael]

LEVITZ REVEALS EARTH 2 DETAILS ABOUT "WORLDS' FINEST"



Da CBR

[Green Hankey]

interessante......

[Azrael]

Preview: Worlds' Finest #1



Variant:

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[Azrael]

Call it a one-two punch — after you check out the sweeping epic of Earth 2, get your fill of catchy characterization with Worlds' Finest, a slickly-drawn buddy-superhero book with a great sense of humor and a knockout punch of girl power.

From the first page, writer Paul Levitz does something interesting — he teases us with the potential continuity snarl that is Earth 2, and then reminds us on what's really important here: namely, defining Helena and Karen by their personalities. Their eyes are up here, boys, Levitz is essentially saying, we'll get to the continuity gymnastics later. And that's exactly the right call. Helena and Karen — better known as the Huntress and Power Girl, the former sidekicks of a parallel universe's Batman and Superman — are just plain fun in their own right. Confident, self-assured and quick with the jokes, Helena and Karen's dynamic is far different than the traditional Superman/Batman adventure. (Even the apostrophe in Worlds' Finest shows their bravado — these ladies are the best not just of one world, but two. And who knows — maybe more.) While there was always a hint of animosity with Bruce and Clark, Karen and Helena are defined by brashness versus (relative) subtlety, and more importantly, by optimism versus pessimism over their shared situation. And the one-liners are great: When Karen gets knocked through a wall, Helena helps her up with only a hint of a smirk. "He's ugly and glowing... and strong," Karen says. Helena's response: "Doesn't sound like your usual date..."

Speaking of one-two punches, the art in this book will nail you right between the eyes. I've praised editor Wil Moss on juggling multiple artists over on the dearly departed T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and he continues his Midas Touch with Worlds' Finest. George Perez focuses on the mostly talky present-day scenes, and it's his skill with drawing a dinnertime conversation that is perhaps even more impressive than his detailed action beats. Perez's characters are beautiful, but not in a trashy or unrealistic way (and the one semi-evocative scene in the book Perez and Levitz save with a cocked eyebrow and the best line in the book). But I think Kevin Maguire might impress me even more, as he draws Helena and Karen's traumatic trip out of Earth 2. The inking is so smooth it just might lift your wallet, reminding me a lot of Ryan Sook, and the way that Maguire composes his shots he really sells the Robin, Supergirl and (especially) the Huntress costumes. Looking at the detail in Helena's armor as she dives through a skylight — it's utilitarian rather than arbitrary, with a wonderful sense of heft and depth. At least at first blush, I could watch Maguire draw a Huntress book for months.

Yet I'd argue that the most important thing about Worlds' Finest is that, like Gail Simone's Birds of Prey before it, these are some three-dimensional, personality-driven female characters that aren't defined by sex appeal or directed by their make counterparts. It feels more appropriate to call them Helena and Karen rather than Power Girl and Huntress, because those are the people we know and we root for. I've never been a die-hard Paul Levitz devotee like many Legion fans, but here he delivers an important lesson on accessibility and reader investment: Character first, costumes second. Talk about making a good impression — the Worlds' Finest may live up their name yet.

9 out of 10

Da Newsarama

[Darko]

Power Girl con questo costume ha perso qualcosa. ._.

[Azrael]

Power Girl con questo costume ha perso qualcosa. ._.

Secondo me, più che aver perso qualcosa lei siamo noi ovvero i nostri occhi 

[Darko]

Power Girl con questo costume ha perso qualcosa. ._.

Secondo me, più che aver perso qualcosa lei siamo noi ovvero i nostri occhi 

[Azrael]

Will Power Girl and The Huntress come to terms with being stranded on Earth Prime?
The good
If you followed Paul Levitz's THE HUNTRESS mini-series like I did, then you probably wondered which version of The Huntress was the star of that series. Was it Helena Wayne or Helena Bertinelli? When it was announced that DC would be launching a "Second Wave" of books focusing on the Earth 2 characters and concepts, most of us assumed that the Huntress in Levitz' book was Helena Wayne -- and we were right. Within the first page of this book Levitz confirms what we already assumed. Helena Wayne had been posing as Helena Bertinelli and using her old passport and identity, thus making Bertinelli's character virtually moot. This wasn't the only big reveal in this issue, however.

If you are planning on picking up this issue and diving into the Earth 2 books, I recommend reading James Robinson's EARTH 2 before you get into this issue. EARTH 2 sets the stage for the story you will be reading here and introduces both Helena Wayne and Karen Starr, the two stars of this series. After a war that left many of Earth 2's heroes dead, Helena Wayne and Karen Starr become displaced and land on Earth Prime. They have no idea where they are and are mourning the loss of their loved ones as well as their feelings of being displaced on a new world that is both similar yet very different from the world they knew. It's an interesting story, and Levitz does a great job writing these two characters' interactions. They lean on one another for support and it feels as if they are close friends, which is nice.

Although a lot has changed, some things remain the same. Karen Starr still owns Starr labs and has recently acquired new technology that may aid in transporting the two girls back to their home: Earth 2. It's an interesting story that Perez is weaving, and he depicts a really fun and entertaining interaction between these two girls. I really enjoyed reading this issue -- it's a lot of fun.

I think one of the things I really found compelling in this issue was Helena's resilience. After losing her father, falling into a worm hole that landed her and Karen Starr on Earth Prime; she still managed to pull Starr out of the water. She still struggled to survive so that she wouldn't "lose her (Karen Starr) too." It's a great moment that really reflects Wayne's character.

I'm not a huge George Perez fan, and although I did like his pencils in this issue, I wasn't crazy about it.

The Bad
I totally understand that comics are supposed to be "unbelievable" but leaving a "black card" on a restaurant table because Karen Starr already "has so many" is just really, really silly. And I still really can't get over how much I am not into Power Girl's new costume. I think she looks ridiculous.

The Verdict
Now, I've never been a huge Helena Bertinelli fan, but I could totally see how by having Helena Wayne pose as Helena Bertinelli could be seen as a slap in the face to Bertinelli fans everywhere. Yeah, we realize that this character appeared in over 580 comic book issues, but we're going to do away with her character anyway. I understand the argument that you don't need both Huntresses and having two characters who are so similar can be confusing, but I kind of liked Bertinelli and her back story, so I am a little bit sad to see her go.

4 su 5

Da CVine

[Green Hankey]

si è beccato pure 4,5 su 5 su CBR 

[Azrael]

"Worlds' Finest" #1, in addition to having legendary creative talent filling the pages and incredibly popular characters running through said pages is also, inexplicably, saddled with the worst, most unimaginative cover logo in comics today. Just as unexplainable is the fact that Huntress' creators are acknowledged in the credits for this issue, but there is no reference to Power Girl's progenitors anywhere.

The story opens with the two ladies plotting out the next chapters in their respective lives. They happen to be in a restaurant in Japan and their conversation warrants the attention of some of the folks around them before Karen Starr receives a call about one of her local investments. Paul Levitz uses the first three pages of "Worlds' Finest" #1 to deftly identify the main characters and clearly define their voices and motivation. Rather an odd location to set a passport aflame, but it gets the story rolling forward.

George Pérez draws thirteen pages, all set in the "current" timeline. The artwork is the superior, hyper-detailed, realistically-illustrated work we've all come to expect from Pérez. It works wonderfully to set the background and visually define Karen Starr and the woman formerly known as Helena Bertinelli while making the world around them believable and nearly real. Huntress and Power Girl appear on the scene of a fire at a hi-tech research and development laboratory and it truly looks like a hi-tech lab. Granted, it's the over-the-top sort of tech that is currently only feasible in comic books, but that's what this is, right? Hi-Fi colors the details with utter brilliance and leaves nothing undone.

Kevin Maguire's seven pages of flashback span two worlds and roughly deliver the method of transport the two ladies experienced to become displaced from Earth 2. Maguire teams with Levitz to begin defining the ladies' adaptations to their new homeworld and draws up the made-to-order Kevin Maguire expressions. From heart-breaking despair to satisfied relief, Maguire is able to draw it all on the faces of the leading ladies, even throwing in some fast-paced action scenes. Rosemary Cheetham's colors add an emotional resonance to Maguire expressive figures. The purple hues of twilight and the heavy glare of explosions come into play over those pages thanks to Cheetham. There's a slight shift between the tones Hi-Fi uses and those Cheetham works with, but it is ever so slight and actually plays to the shift in time and memory.

There's a heavy borrowing and lending of storybeats, plots and character development presumed to follow between this title and "Earth 2." That's not all bad, mind you, as it weaves the fabric of the "new" DC Universe tighter, but it does leave me with the feeling that the story I'm reading here is incomplete. Yes, it is the first issue, I realize that. No, I don't expect it all to be played out in the first twenty pages of "Worlds' Finest," but reading across two references to "Earth 2" (issues #1 and #2) over that twenty-page span just leaves the overall story less than full.

That said, the story itself is wildly enjoyable and this book definitely moves up in my must-read list. Levitz writes to the strengths of both of his artists, who certainly deliver. Maguire and Pérez draw beautiful, vibrant characters that are feminine and attractive, but not cheesecakey or anatomically malproportioned. Power Girl and Huntress are the characters this comic focuses on, but the rest of the world around them is well constructed and solid. Quite simply, this book is worth the money for the imagery alone. The actual words for the story are simply an added bonus.

Huntress and Power Girl might not be my favorite characters, but the creative team for this book sure doesn't care, they're doing more than enough to open up an enjoyable adventure of a pair of friends who only want to make things better. I'm all in for that.

4,5 su 5

Da CBR

[Azrael]

DC makes their New 52 Universe a little bigger this week with the introduction of Earth 2 and World's Finest #1 — and it is definitely for the better. Although both Karen Starr and Helena Wayne/Bertinelli have already made their appearances in the New 52, World's Finest #1 explores their origin and sets them up as a pair of friends and characters all their own. While there is some serious exposition and a few editorial notes, Paul Levitz never lets the story feel labored, really taking the opportunity to explore the relationship between Huntress and Power Girl. These fan-favorite characters have long deserved their due on the stands, and Levitz provides for those who have missed these two beloved characters. Although George Perez's pencils are still as good as they were back on Crisis on Infinite Earths, the flashback scenes by Kevin Maguire really stand out, leaving the book all too soon. Perez might be a better fit for the book given his history with these characters and the DCU, but Maguire definitely leaves you wanting more. With DC introducing the concept of another Earth and parallel characters, one might wonder if they are working themselves into the same corner that required a reboot (see Crisis on Infinite Earths, Final Crisis). However, Worlds' Finest compliments what's already there, and actually provides a fun female team book that doesn't insist on a lot of history lessons of DC Comics past.

8 out of 10

Da Newsarama

[Buddy Baker]

4,5 su 5 e 8 su 10? Io gli avrei dato 2,5 e 5, soprattutto visti i voti data ad altri albi di questo mese.

Comunque per me è un numero scialbo, la sola parte interessante è quella presa pari pari da Earth 2 di Robinson

[Azrael]

WORLDS' FINEST #4
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by GEORGE PEREZ, KEVIN MAGUIRE and SCOTT KOBLISH
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ
1:25 B&W Variant cover by GEORGE PEREZ
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Hakkou, the Irradiated Man – the mysterious bad guy who might have a connection to Earth 2 – has grown to monstrous proportions. It's up to Power Girl and Huntress to stop him – from destroying Tokyo?!
• Huntress learns how crime works on this Earth in the mean streets of Rome!
• Plus: Learn what the heroic duo have been up to in the five years since they arrived on this Earth!

[Bruce Wayne]

Preview: World's Finest #2

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[Green Hankey]

Perez  e Maguire non deludono