Super Zero (Aftershock)

[shevek]

So following up hot on the heels of reading Vampblade, may I present to you another adventure of a comics-savvy nerd girl who daydreams about becoming a superhero. Drusilla Dragowski is a high-school senior who is 19 (see below for probable explanation) and has hippie liberal parents who love her, a loyal friend, some high-school bullies, and a sweet nerd boy who worships her every move (and she knows how to use that to her advantage). Her problems are First World at best. She is also very smart and very much into comics. She wants to become a superhero, and tries everything in her power to create a secret origin scenario that will allow her to do so (I won't give any of these situations away but they are all pretty hilarious). In the meantime, she has these dreams where she is a superheroine called Paladina, who wears a reasonably cute outfit. I won't give away the outcome.

This series is written by the beautiful wife-husband team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. Amanda is the artist who brought you the amazingly sexy Power Girl - Power Trip tpb (first 12 issues of the Power Girl series) and is known for her incredible art, famous enough to have a book named after her: The Sequential Art of Amanda Conner. Jimmy has been writing for comics for a very long time, and he knows beautiful women from back in the 90s bad-girl days: he created Painkiller Jane and 22 Brides, wrote for Shanna The She-Devil, etc.Together, he and Amanda are responsible for some beautiful Harley Quinn and Starfire books, for example. Neither have any hangups about sexy hotpants, girls being naked in the bathroom, or boob windows.

Amanda Conner's cover art is great. But the artist for the rest of the book is Rafael De La Torre, whom I'm sure the duo picked because his approach
is somewhat close to Amanda's. He has an excellent technique of using light - much of his work looks surprisingly like a painting. Thumbs up on him.

Now to the reason that the main character Dru is 19. It's obvious that they did this so they could put her in adult situations without any fear of backlash. Certainly the 14+ crowd could read this book and be inspired by something worthwhile. But the core audience is definitely adults who appreciate the twisted take on the trope of the superhero origin story (which this entire book is), and there are very few punches pulled in doing so.
In the course of the book you absolutely fall in love with Dru (much like her nerd boy sidekick) and cheer for her triumphs.

Recommend this highly. Here are a few pages below you might be interested in.

Amanda Conner cover


Alternate cover- definite 90s or Love & Rockets feel


Paladina's cute outfit


Bitch fight! Yah, this is an adult comic. Even though this probably what high school kids say to each other every day on the school grounds.



Palmiotti not so subtly plugs his work in Daughters of the Dragon. Plus the new reality of comic book store nerd clerks being increasingly female nowadays (it's true in my local store..let me know if it's true in yours). And pretty much admitting why they made Dru 19 in this story.



Wonder why Kevin doesn't want to be disturbed in his room?


Dru's sister's coitus interruptus


Imaginary bondage and peril in Dru's daydream



Dru the nerd's powers of seduction


Finale issue with Paladina's Power Girl-esque cuteness on the cover


Dru's restraint-and-torture scenario in "real" life..and empowerment!





I won't give any more away. Suffice it to say that I really hope Conner and Palmiotti continue with this series because I'm sure every reader
is wondering what will happen next time.

[Elimael]

Tanks you, this comic seems excellent ! I didn't know it, but I will try to find it !

[JohnFeer]

Is this book on Hiatus or something? I've been reading it since the git-go and its been off the shelves since the spring...

JF

[shevek]

I think it is on hiatus, yes. I don't think there's anything new out yet beyond this collection.

[theScribbler]

Can you post one page of her fighting as a superheroine?

[shevek]

Can you post one page of her fighting as a superheroine?

Sure- this is the panel after she says "Stand down" and is first seen in her costume.
Although please note: in this first book, all the scenes of her as Paladina are dream sequences.
The whole book is about the trial-and-error process by which she *gets* her powers (and the dreams are part of that).