Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Stargirl: The Lost Children #1 Review

   

   

Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Todd Nauck
Colors by: Matt Herms
Letters by: Rob Leigh
Cover art by: Todd Nauck
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: November 15, 2022

Stargirl: The Lost Children #1 begins a new adventure for the titular character when Stargirl and Red Arrow stumble upon a pattern of disappearances claiming nearly every young sidekick from the Golden Age of superheroes.


Is It Good?

Stargirl: The Lost Children #1 is excellent. This is a simple, clean, fun, wholesome superhero storytelling at its finest, proving yet again that Geoff Johns is still one of the best superhero comic writers around. Except for one confusing spot, you couldn't hope for a better way to kick off a new mini-series.

If you're watching the CW Stargirl show, this comic is cut from the same cloth. The characters and locales are almost identical in every practical way. We begin with Courtney Whitmore, aka Stargirl, struggling to maintain a home/hero life balance when one of her hero friends, Emiko, aka Oliver Queen's sister, aka Red Arrow, keeps pulling Courtney into an investigation to find Wing, a Golden Age sidekick who everyone thought was dead but may be alive.




The setup is the one down point of the issue because it relies HEAVILY on events from the Stargirl Spring Break Special, so if you've never read that issue, you'll struggle to find your footing.

Through an excellent flashback scene centering on another Golden Age sidekick, Dan the Dyna-Mite, we learn that most of the Golden Age sidekicks have mysteriously disappeared over the years. Courtney and Emiko's investigation into Wing crosses paths with Dan's investigation to find his missing colleagues, and away we go.


 

The pacing, plotting, dialog, and narration are practically perfect. The mystery is intriguing, the flashback to Dan the Dyna-Mite's early adventures brims with Golden Age nostalgia goodness, and the cliffhanger is an instant hook.

If that wasn't enough, Todd Nauck's art is pristine, detailed, and gorgeous. There's not a single panel in this comic that looks hastily sketched or unpolished. If every DC title had this level of art quality, their sales would be much better (writing quality notwithstanding).

 


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.


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Bits and Pieces:

Stargirl: The Lost Children #1 is pure, wholesome superhero fun from start to finish. Johns's writing lays out a near-perfect setup for a larger mystery that spans decades, and Hauck's art is spectacular.

9.5/10

 

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