DC Super Hero Girls: Date with Disaster!

The latest DC Super Hero Girls comic is just as good as rest of the series! DC Super Hero Girls: Date with Disaster! stays true to the high school concept by setting the action around a coming winter formal dance.

First, though, Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Bumblebee, and Poison Ivy have to save people from a lab explosion in a high-rise downtown building. We also get significant roles for reporters Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Ron Troupe, as well as Catwoman, transformed from a cat burglar to a nocturnal solo investigator. Poison Ivy fans will also want to see her origin (in this story setup), as well as more about her deep friendship with Harley Quinn.

Frost (with freezing powers) and Katana (skilled sword-wielder) are providing ice sculptures for the dance, while Batgirl is trying to find a suitable date for her dad. That plot’s a little weird, but it’s handled well, and it expresses common feelings of concern for a single parent. I was more involved in the story about the value of honest reporting (because “the public needs to be able to make informed decisions”) and the argument against those who think they’re better and smarter and so deserve to make decisions for others.

I’m always impressed by the lesser-known DC characters reinvented by writer Shea Fontana into a kid-friendly setting. Here, it’s Rampage, aka Dr. Faulkner, as well as Giant Turtle Boy! I would never have guessed we’d see him again in modern stories.

Artist Yancey Labat does a fantastic job keeping the characters friendly, approachable, and active, with a strong sense of movement and easy to read flow. Plenty of characters and plotlines are interwoven so the story has lots going on, with the various threads pulling together for a satisfying conclusion. As always, this is a fun superhero read with great characterization for all ages.