Review: Paradox Girl #6
The losing of superpowers seems to be a rite of passage for many superheroes. Just about very major superhero has gone through some form or another of losing their powers. It forces them to change how they do their job and the storyline usually has them becoming better people for it. This was the main premise of the first Thor movie, which depending on whom you talk to, was not what made the movie enjoyable. This is also one of the arcs in Black Panther as he loses the mantle and the powers that makes him who he is. That eventually leads to him becoming a better ruler.
In comic books this event type occurs more frequently. One of the most memorable example is DC Comics’ JLA: Act Of God, which is an out of continuity Elseworlds tale. In another JLA story, “Tower Of Babel,” Batman’s contingency plans for each of the Justice League members is hacked allowing Vandal Savage to debilitate each team member. Either way, fans gets to see their favorite character out of their element which makes for an interesting character study. In the sixth issue of Paradox Girl, we find our favorite time jumper trying to solve an issue without her powers.
Paradox Girl suddenly finds herself, by herself, as she mysteriously loses her power one day, on in which she looks to push the boundaries of being one person, versus the multiple copies she used to seeing. This is where she meets a new villain, Doctor Doctor, someone who is smarter than our heroine and makes her seem that her very presence has caused havoc across the universe. She eventually gets trapped by this new adversary, who leaves her captive for six months. By issue’s end, Paradox Girl ultimately escapes and finds out who she really is, as her powers become just an added benefit to being Paradox Girl.
Overall, a grand end to the first arc, which will leave fans more than satisfied. The story by Cayti Borquin is cracking with humor and intelligence. The art by Yishan Li is luminous and vivid. Altogether, an issue which gives a new spin on retrospectives of life and still remembers to leave a smile on the reader’s face.
Story: Cayti Borquin Art: Yishan Li
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
As someone who loves comedies, some of the best ones are parodies. As these movies both challenge the perception of the material’s audience and makes them aware of the common devices writers use in such a genre. These stories become even more resonant, when it can both make the audience laugh and appreciate the subtleties of the type of story. Some of the best parodies ever made, were movies about spies, as they sully are taken so seriously but rarely if not successfully made fun of.
Time is rather fickle. It can go fast when you are enjoying life. It can drag when life sucks. Everyone you know would love to have the power to control time. The ability to stop time is even more enticing as you can adjust to what comes next. The ability to speed up time is probably the scarier of the alternatives as you don’t know what comes next and what does come next you may not be ready for.
Undoing mistakes or correcting them, can be a difficult task depending on how much damage said blunder may have caused. Understanding that you have created an error, sometimes may be akin to the stages of grief. First, you must acknowledge that you were the main cause of the mistake, which includes a lot of face-palming. Then you may or may not fess up to the crime, and who you tell it to, determines if you will be punished for it.
There is nothing better than comedy-based comics when it is done right. This is exactly what made Mad Magazine and Cracked, so popular to read for my kids in my generation. As it poked fun at everything, no holds barred, leaving everyone a victim, pointing out some of the most absurd elements of popular culture. Any child who grew up when I did, could remember Mad’s popular parody of Rocky IV and Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, two movies that some audiences find iconic now, but were critically panned by the critics and these comic magazines. The humor in these magazines shaped what my humor for years to come and I would find this absurdist sense of humor in other comics growing up.
One of my favorite actors of all time is Michael Keaton. Growing up he acted in a more than a few movies that pretty much formed my sense of humor. He primarily acted in comedies until the two Batman movies he did, but then he moved to more dramas and other serious fare. One of his best movies after Gung Ho, is Multiplicity, one where his character gets himself cloned so he can do other things.