Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Tom Derenick/Eddy Barrows
Inkers/Colorist: Tom Derenick/Eber Ferreira/Ruy Jose/Allen Martinez/Hi-Fi
DESPAIR
“But now you know what it feels like to get left behind all the time…”
Stargirl, with some aid from Manhunter, was able to defend herself and escape from Deathstroke and his team of supervillains. Very unhappy with the fact that Manhunter is stuck in her head going through her memories, Stargirl was able to separate him from her mind and is now going back home to L.A. leaving a weakened Manhunter to save the Justice Leagues by himself.
The Ups: The more and more I read this story arc, the more of a fan of Stargirl I become. Kindt is making it clear that Stargirl has struggled with being the lesser hero and always trying to prove that she is just as capable as anyone stronger or more known than her. There are also some hints dropped her past that might have caused her to be more defensive towards Manhunter making her a little more deep than we realize building for a more complex and interesting character. With such a large art team it is no surprise this issue was so wonderful to look at, Derenick and Barrows keep very consistent being styles never hurting the ongoing action throughout. The color team did a fantastic job with the two main fight scenes in particular making everything pop and put it’s all in your face.
The Downs: While the story is starting to pick up, I feel it is moving way too fast. One minute they are in Gotham fighting Clayface because Manhunter had something to find out there and the next page they both fly elsewhere almost like there was no purpose for Stargirl and Manhunter to be in Gotham in the first place. Even though it’s clear that Manhunter wants to save the Leagues and Stargirl wants to go home to her family, only until the end of the issue does the story show where it is headed and what was going on before just felt forgotten in order to push another part of the story immediately, which was a little disappointing.
Overall: The ending leaves us with a cliffhanger that will definitely bring you back for more. The art team brings such a realistic vision of a world in complete chaos and the heroes trying to put it back together. The story might have been bumpy but it’s still worth picking up.
Grade 3 of 5
ComicsRefueled 