Stargirl: The Lost Children #5 // Review
Courtney finds herself on an island of lost and forgotten sidekicks. They’ve been stranded in time, but she’s going to try to save them in Stargirl: The Lost Children #5. Writer Geoff Johns reaches the penultimate issue of his mini-series in an action-packed chapter that is brought to the page by artist Todd Nauck and colorist Matt Herms. With all of the initial exposition out of the way, the story has a chance to dive headlong into the heart of the action. It’s an issue-length fight scene with action happening in multiple locales. Johns and company switch it up enough that it never gets tedious.
Courtney is having doubts. She thought that she and her friend could simply save everyone. They’re both reasonably experienced heroes. It’s a bunch of lost sidekicks. There really shouldn’t be any problem, right? Of course, things are always going to be a bit more complicated than they seem at first. Particularly as it ended up being as many of them as there were. And particularly as what was keeping them captured was powerful enough to contain them all. All it takes is the right momentum, though. And with the right inspiration, Courtney might just lead them through it all.
Johns is juggling a great many heroes here. None of them really get the kind of time on the page that they deserve. It’s a big jumble of action. And it never manages to be quite satisfying for anyone. That being said, he has developed a wide enough spectrum of interesting characters. Given the right momentum, they could develop into something if they were allowed to breathe a little more on the page. It would be nice to see this particular team actually develop into something if this is, indeed, what Johns is planning. As it is, the action in the fifth issue is too much of a jumble to feel satisfying.
Nauck does quite a job of making it all seem appealing when it could be hopelessly messy. He has just the right balance between detail and open space. It never feels too busy. It always hits the page with the perfect amount of impact. It’s a big jumble on the page, but Nauck keeps it all straight with explosive action that is illuminated beautifully by Herms’s colors. It may not have a chance to develop much emotionally, but the action certainly has quite an impact on the page. And through it all, Courtney’s emotions are well-rendered, even if the rest of the story feels like a bit of a mess.
Johns’s idea is really interesting at its core. A big group of sidekicks that have been pulled out of time could have a lot of potential if they ever get off the island and enter the mainstream timeline. A contemporary girl working with a bunch of superpowered 20th-century kids to try to get them to adapt? Could be a lot of fun. Right now, it’s just kind of a mess.
