POWERLESS

Teen girl superheroes tangle with a blackout.

The Super Hero Girls are a formidable team of teen heroes: Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Zatanna, Green Lantern, Supergirl, and Bumblebee fight crime by night and go to high school by day, all the while doing their best in both spheres. But after the city’s power grid fails and the cloud-computing technology gets knocked out, the band of heroes must face a startling new foe: a complete lack of technology. No smartphones! No gadgets! A cafeteria that only takes cash! The breezy graphic novel captures the tone of the popular TV series perfectly. Fans will be delighted, but newcomers will find plenty to adore here as well. The bright colors and sharply composed panels present the humor and action the brand is known for perfectly. The characterization of each supergirl isn’t particularly strong (all the girls speak in the same bubbly tone), but the diversity of skin tone is a welcome change from other DC teams that are almost exclusively white. (Batgirl, Supergirl, and Zatanna are white, Green Lantern is Latina, Bumblebee is black, and Wonder Woman has olive skin.) With mangalike stylings—in particular, enormous eyes—that give these teens a distinctly juvenile look, this is a comic ideal for younger readers, particularly those keen on the DC heroes but not ready for the more mature YA fare. It may not be great literature, but it’s great fun.

A rush of energy and charm.