Stargirl: The Lost Children #4 – Geoff Johns, Writer; Todd Nauck, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: One of the best books coming out of DC right now, Geoff Johns’ and Todd Nauck’s series started as a teen adventure and has turned into a thrilling journey through time and space. Courtney Whitmore has found herself among a lost generation of teen heroes, taken from their place in time by a deranged villain named the Child-Minder—who has also kidnapped Courtney’s good friend Red Arrow. The only hope to get her back and leave the island might lie with Corky Baxter, the egomaniac pint-sized Time Master who was involved in Bruce Wayne’s recent escapades in the Flashpoint Universe. With a mysterious second villain coming to collect the children from Child-Minder, Corky develops a plan of action to get everyone back where they should be in time—but the only problem with that is that for some of them, that might be right before they were supposed to die.
Johns is obviously building off of decades of acclaimed stories here, but Nauck has history with these characters as well—including the return of the mysterious Secret, the ghostly girl who was one of the core members of the original Young Justice team. I guess we know why she was the only original member not mentioned in the recent miniseries. Another key character here is Judy Garrick, a new addition to DC continuity and the first young speedster. Her pain as she starts to realize what was taken from her by Child-Minder’s scheme is extremely powerful, and the tension builds and builds until a truly shocking reveal about who the real villain behind the scenes is—and it’s not a figure I ever expected to see again. While Johns’ new JSA book got the most hype leading up to this new era, this is the one that best recaptured what made him the top voice at DC for well over a decade.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
