JSA Presents: Stars And S.T.R.I.P.E. Vol. 1

August 7, 2007 | Trades

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JSA Presents: Stars And S.T.R.I.P.E. Vol. 1
Geoff Johns, Lee Moder, Dan Davis
DC Comics
$21.99/$17.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)

Sure Superman and Wonder Woman can kick some super-villain tail, but they never had to worry about being called “brace-face” while doing it.
Such are the challenges facing Courtney Whitmore, a.k.a. The Star-Spangled Kid, a regular teen girl facing life in a new town and at a new high school after her mom and step-dad, Pat, move her to Blue Valley, Nebraska.
While unpacking, Courtney opens one of Pat’s boxes and discovers he was boy sidekick Stripesy alongside the original Star-Spangled Kid. Donning a red, white and blue uniform, along with the Kid’s cosmic energy belt, Courtney aims to embarrass her step-dad, but instead finds herself fending off an attack on her school — until the cavalry arrives in the form of a giant suit of robotic armour named S.T.R.I.P.E., piloted by Pat.
As both heroes chafe at their partnership, they try to piece together where the attacks are coming from and how they’re tied into the recent disappearances of a bunch of local teens.
Stars And S.T.R.I.P.E. was the first comic book work by acclaimed writer Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Justice Society Of America) and it displays some of the fine pacing and sharp dialogue that have become hallmarks of his work. In the years since this series was first published, both Courtney, now known as Stargirl with the JSA, and Johns, have gone on to bigger and better things, but seeing how it all began for both of them is a really fun time.

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