AME-COMI GIRLS VOLUME 3

"EARTH IN CRISIS"
Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Artists: Adam Archer, Steven Cummings, Horacio Domingues, Ted Naifeh,
Eduardo Francisco, Andres Ponce, & Ruben Gonzalez
Colorists: Randy Mayor, Wes Hartman, & Adam Archer | Letterer: Wes Abbott

Like volume 2, this third installment of AME-COMI GIRLS opens with a large-scale threat uniting all the characters, followed by some smaller pieces. This time the major villainess is Sinestra. Armed with her yellow and black power rings and an army of Black Lanterns, she invades first the planet Thanagar and then proceeds to Earth. Alana Strange, a scientist/adventuress from the planet Rann, rescues Shyera "Hawkgirl" Hol from Thanagar and together they recruit Earth'e heroines to oppose Sinestra.

The womens' ace in the hole is Metra, the first of a race of "New Gods", who arms the entire group with white power rings to combat Sinestra. They do their best but aren't a match for their foe, dropping one by one to her Black Lanterns, and it is Metra's direct intervention which saves the day in the end as she reveals that Sinestra is possessed by the Black Hand, and reborths both halves of this evil as twin planets of light and darkness.

First off -- White Lanterns? Black Lanterns? I know -- it sounds silly, but here in this alternate universe story, completely unrelated to actual DC continuity, it's a fun little diversion. Let's just hope nobody ever reads this story and gets the asinine idea to insert a spectrum of Lantern colors into the mainstream DCU! That would be... dopey, I guess, to say the least.

(This concludes the scathing sarcastic commentary portion of our post.)

AME-COMI GIRLS, VOLUME 1

Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Artists: Amanda Conner, Sanford Green, Ted Naifeh, Mike Bowden,
Santi Casas, Tony Akins, Walden Wong
Colorists: Randy Mayor & Paul Mounts | Letterer: Wes Abbott

Art by Amanda Conner

When I started my GUNDAM reviews, I noted that I'm not a huge anime/manga person, which is true. However, I do like the art style quite a bit. I even bought a few of the DC "Bishoujo" statuettes based on that style (I own one single Ame-Comi figure as well).

I've read a few things by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and generally liked what I saw, so I figured on a lark that I would check out the AME-COMI GIRLS trade paperback when it was released (it didn't hurt that exaggerated female anatomy and skimpy costumes are right up my alley as a discerning collector).

The story is a reimagining of several DC characters, set in a universe where all the superhumans seem to be women -- either female versions of male characters like the Flash, Robin, and Steel, or simply characters like Power Girl and Batgirl filling the roles of Superman and Batman, respectively.