Stargirl The Lost Children #5 from DC Comics pulls all the plot points, explosions, and colors together for a final standoff. Geoff Johns writes this issue with Todd Nauck simply blowing me away with pencils and the George Perez-style panels of dozens of junior characters. Matt Herms pumps out more color than the eye can handle as this issue is like catching rainbows in the summertime, which is a great thing. Rob Leigh lays out the hot red name tags, the sheer load of dialogue and words with military precision.
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Stargirl The Lost Children #5 begins with a perfect one-page recap of Stargirl’s origin, her intentions, and how far she’s come. Then, the bombs drop. You’d think this issue was World War II with the Justice Society battling Hitler, tanks, and robots. Well, almost. It’s their junior versions, the time-lost kids in costumes taking on egg bots and each other to storm the Childminder’s castle. They’re out to save Red Arrow and any other kids the old lady’s got cooped up inside. But first, they’ll have to get past the eggs and overcome long-repressed animosities. Meanwhile, Red Arrow is mentoring the Boom (Jay Garrick’s daughter and my fave of the Lost Children) to break free.
Everything about this penultimate issue is played big right from the start. Nothing is low-key here. Nauck hits us with a Golden Age revival of characters making great heroic moves across the page. Johns manages to control this chaos and even gives most of the kids their own brief moment to shine, state their powers, concerns, etc. Childminder is rightfully creepy here.
My sole gripe about this series is the introduction of the future Hourman, a JSA member, as what seems like a villain role. While it hasn’t been proven completely (he’s arrived to buy the kids for his mysterious owner), there’s enough here to make him bad, and that doesn’t sit well with me. As fantastic as Stargirl The Lost Children #5 is, the Hourman as the bad guy knocks it down a notch. I hope things turn around, but we’ve got one issue left.
Nauck’s art is lots of big doe eyes and matched with excellent bodywork. The kids look like kids or teens, not stunted adults. The nesting egg bots are very retro, and I love the SFX on the Boom using her powers. I don’t know how Herms managed to get this book to look 100% more DayGlo than any other comic, but gosh, is it fun staring at the hues. I’d argue you should buy this issue for the colors alone. When you need to spew out a lot of words and SFX to match, you call in Leigh. He finds the way. The artwork here is simply joyous. I would love for this series to become an ongoing one. DC, do not let these kids become lost again.
Introducing one new character is hard. Dozens is just asking for trouble. But maybe not. Johns has effectively dropped a small army into the DC Universe and made it look like child’s play. We have engaging children, a bit of maturity for Stargirl and Red Arrow along the way, and we’re waiting to see whatever is wrong with Hourman. There’s a lot to take in, and a ton to enjoy. If you want new heroes to read about, DC has a busload for you right on these pages, with a zingy story to boot.
Stargirl The Lost Children #5 is available wherever comic books are sold.
Stargirl The Lost Children #5
TL;DR
Introducing one new character is hard. Dozens is just asking for trouble. But maybe not. Johns has effectively dropped a small army into the DC Universe and made it look like child’s play. We have engaging children, a bit of maturity for Stargirl and Red Arrow along the way, and we’re waiting to see whatever is wrong with Hourman. There’s a lot to take in, and a ton to enjoy. If you want new heroes to read about, DC has a busload for you right in these pages, with a zingy story to boot.
