“I thought I was the flying one?”
Star Power #13
(February, 2016)
“Star Power And The Mystery Of The Zel Dux Dynasty” part 3
WRITER: Michael Terracciano
ARTIST: Garth Graham
Visiting the third temple is easy. The administration heard about what happened on the previous two worlds and realized the potential advancement, speeding up their time examining the temple. The people of Gelveries are also thrilled with getting to take pictures with Star Power, not easy for the introverted Danica. At the temple the team manage to decipher two of the riddles since this challenge is mental rather than the physical and moral challenges previously. However, they’re stuck on the third. The others have noticed Beena’s current attitude and she overhears Grex making fun of her for it, misinterpreting the reason for Danica’s laughter. To finally make amends between the two, Danica takes Beena flying in the sky, dancing being how Beena relaxes. While up there she finally figures out the meaning of the final riddle. While our heroes celebrate getting the third key, the Void Angels manage to catch up with Danica, and take Beena hostage!
What they got right: There’s a lot in this comic but nothing overwhelms the rest. Danica and Beena’s friendship, the backstory involving both the Countess and the running backstory of the Zel Gux’s early appearances that’s tough to put into a review (but I link to the web version of the comics so hopefully you’ve been reading those because I suspect it’s important to the arc), the continued issues with the Void Angels, and the search for the Third Key and the riddle they need to find all fits well within the allotted space. The riddle and the friendship are the main things but we’re also learning more about the history of the Star Power Sentinels without the worldbuilding overshadowing the story. We also see Danica’s concern for Beena and Mitch, the latter wondering why the signal has gone into hiding. It’s a lot of different elements but it blends much better than other stories I’ve read that have more ongoing plotlines than your average soap opera (what few remain). I also like the racoonish (ferret?) designs of the locals.
What they got wrong: I know Burke is about to become important to the subplots eventually but right now the stuff with the Void Angels, or at least Skyle and Bug (is her name Bug?) are just a distraction even if it doesn’t overpower.
What I think overall: This is still a great showing for how to do a superhero comic, though I personally miss the idea of a secret identity. I know that’s a dying concept in superhero stories lately but it’s one I rather like for various reasons. The best part of this issue is how the worldbuilding and character moments don’t take away from the story.
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