DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle: The Conclusion

I previously talked about how much I liked the premise of DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle, with its emphasis on creativity and character revelation. Written by Shea Fontana, it’s about having to stop comic book drawings come to life, with the girl heroes facing off against first, versions of themselves, and then, in the conclusion, other monsters (who wind up being other, lesser-known DC characters). For example, Beast Boy fights Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, while Poison Ivy battles Doomsday.

The last two digital installments, drawn by Agnes Garbowska, had a few panels that really struck me. In issue 11, Harley makes the case for how she can hold her own and contribute amongst the super-powered:

“Sometimes you need super strength, sometimes you need super brainpower. But today we need super creativity and I got that in spades!”

Then there’s the praise for editing and revision, an often-overlooked skill:

Fontana’s stories manage to do an excellent job portraying the super hero powers of her cast while keeping things relatable for the young reader with normal abilities. No one can fly unaided, but anyone can value imagination to solve problems.

Then there’s this page from the concluding issue, #12:

Not only does Harley have some good advice on not creating self-fulfilling prophecies, both she and Wonder Woman discuss that they get mental health help from a therapist, and more to the point, that it’s “nothin’ to be ashamed of!” It’s followed by this panel, which seems tailor-made to be a poster.

The print collection of DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle is due out August 2018.