DC Comics reviews 5/9/23 – Green Lanterns #1, Superman Lost #3
Stargirl and the Lost Children #6
Geoff Johns’ return to DC Comics has been long overdue. It’s not just because of his elite level storytelling, but also his rarely rivaled for world and universe building while tying into the lore of the DCU.
That’s been evident throughout Stargirl and the Lost Children. For most of the series, Johns was content using Stargirl as the audience avatar, but with this final installment Johns puts her front and center in the battle against Childminder and Hourman III. Stargirl and the JSA characters have been neglected since the kickoff of DC Rebirth and this series has been a terrific reminder of what’s made Courtney Whitmore such a great character.
The new additions of the Lost Children was a risk that drastically impacting the Golden Age JSA heroes, but Johns pulled it off by making them such likable characters. Johns’ world building isn’t limited to the heroes as he establishes new villains that can pose threats in future stories.
Continuity in DC is still an issue so there’s the minor hiccup of certain characters being around even though they’re not in the regular timeline right now.
Todd Nauck’s artwork paired so perfectly with these characters that it’d be a true disservice for him to not continue working with them. Nauck gives the characters an appropriately youthful look and draws them like kids and teenagers would move slightly gangly, awkward and a little unsure of themselves.
Color work from Matt Herms, who is starting to establish himself as a top-tier colorist at DC, is exquisite with deep reds, yellows and oranges while letterer Rob Leigh gives characters unique fonts and word balloons.
Stargirl and The Lost Children is an example of DC at its best — acknowledging and celebrating its lengthy past while establishing new directions to take for the future. The best news is DC has some plans for Stargirl and her friends beyond the end of this limited series. Hard to ask for much more than that outcome.
Rating: 10 out of 10