The ongoing Power Girl premieres later this year

Announced by DCU Executive Editor Dan DiDio last weekend at New York Comic Con, Justice Society chairwoman Power Girl has been awarded her own ongoing title from DC Comics. The long-awaited solo series of Superman’s cousin from an alternate universe will be written by Jimmy Palmiotti and frequent collaborator Justin Gray (Jonah Hex, Countdown to Final Crisis) while Amanda Conner will provide the artwork, following up on her acclaimed four-issue, Geoff Johns-penned, Palmiotti-inked Power Girl story from 2005’s JSA: Classified #1-4, available now in the Power Girl collected edition.“I think the most important thing to give Power Girl, besides great knockers, is a lot of personality,” Amanda Conner told CBR News. “Part of it is her kicking ass, obviously. Of course, it has to be about her kicking ass because that’s what makes it fun. But a lot of it is also what she is up to when she is not kicking ass. She goes home, and she is hardly ever home, and her cat is pissed off at her and shits on the bed. I think it is a lot about what she is doing when she is not kicking superhero behind. I think it is a lot about what she is doing when she is not kicking superhero behind. “For me, if it was just about kicking ass, I would get really bored. There are so many parts of people’s lives that I found so interesting. Kicking ass can be interesting but if it’s all the time, it’s like what else is out there. That’s why I am excited to be working with Jimmy and Justin because I think they are going to put a lot of that in there.”

Classic Power Girl tales including Johns and Conner & Palmiotti's JSA: Classified story are collected in the Power Girl trade paperback

Jimmy Palmiotti confirmed the Power Girl ongoing would be new reader-friendly and requires no previous knowledge of the character’s sometimes convoluted past to jump in and enjoy the new series. “When you read #1, and if you have never read her before, you’ll get it,” Palmiotti told CBR News. “You can go in raw and you will understand it because we are going to explain her completely and set her up in her own book. It’s her own story. We are going to create new villains for her, there will be some from the past, but we are going to create her own rogues’ gallery. It’s going to be big and over the top, just like she is, literally!”In the series’ debut arc, Palmiotti, Gray and Conner introduce Power Girl -- real name Kara Zora-L -- to audiences and give her “a big problem to solve.” “We also set up her world and her personal life and her secret identity,” said Palmiotti. “It’s an establishing story, book-ended with a massive amount of action. We are definitely looking at it as an introduction for anybody who hasn’t read her before but at the same time, if you read [Justice Society of America], it follows right after that.” Indeed, even though Power Girl stars one of the most popular characters of Geoff Johns & Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham’s Justice Society of America, Palmiotti and Conner said their book should not be considered a spin-off title. “The JSA don’t show up every issue. We are trying to keep it as her own book, said Palmiotti. “I’m not saying that they are not going to be in it at some point, but it doesn’t make sense to launch a new series and have it become a crutch for another series. It’s Power Girl all the way.”

Original JSA: Classified covers by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti

Palmiotti is a long-time fan of Kara Zor-L, and is pumped to be writing Power Girl. “I like that she has a vulnerable side to her and that she is looked at by everybody differently. For us, it’s about getting to the core of who Power Girl is and that’s the fun of it.“Actually, I liked [Power Girl] when I was younger, when [she appeared in] Ric Estrada, Wally Wood and Gerry Conway’s [All-Star Comics],” he added. “And when Amanda and I got the gig to work with Geoff on JSA: Classified, I fell in love with the character again.”Palmiotti said the book’s potential success received a significant bump when Conner agreed to pencil it. “It’s awesome. Once we got Amanda to commit, which took a little arm-bending, it all fell into place,” said Palmiotti. “We knew how we wanted to write it but we had to find somebody who could draw it. We kept saying, maybe we can get Amanda. And she was busy and finally she said, 'Okay. I can do it now.’”

Original JSA: Classified covers by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti

Conner said there is a lot of pressure drawing a character who boasts such a rabid fanbase. “It is a little daunting being that she had been waiting for her own comic for so long. I know back in the 1970s, she did her own thing but it wasn’t exactly her own comic,” said Connor. “So this is a big deal and it’s a little intimidating. So you have to do it right because there are fans that want it done right.” The artist is psyched to draw the big action but also wants to explore Power Girl’s personal side too. “She has some friends who aren’t superheroes. She doesn’t have a social life but and she’s trying to get one. She’s got no family. The JSA buddies are her friends and family. She’s trying to be a bit more normal but she can’t be normal, she’s Power Girl.” Now discuss this story in CBR’s DC Comics forum.