Stargirl: The Lost Children #6: Who is Behind the Curtain?

Stargirl: The Lost Children #6 concludes not only this miniseries but also a chapter in Geoff Johns’s narrative in his corner of the DC Universe. Unfortunately, some of the events in this issue were spoiled by the announcement of some solo JSA titles, such as The Flash: Jay Garrick. The synopsis for that series spoiled a significant plot point about the conclusion that made it an anticlimactic read. This is not a criticism of the issue but more of editorial and marketing for not being aware of the book’s release schedule. But, outside of that, this issue does a fine job of concluding what’s been set up, although it does it in the most Johns’ way possible.

The reveal that Hourman was behind everything was shocking when it was first revealed. This is a character that fans of Johns’ original JSA run would be familiar with, so seeing him appear here as a villain was not expected. Stargirl: The Lost Children #6 finally reveals this character’s motivations, and fans of Johns should have seen this coming. It turns out that there is yet ANOTHER unseen force in the universe that is manipulating Hourman, which will be explored later on. This plot runaround has grown tiresome, and fans are bound to be exhausted from everything. It seems like every one of Johns’ stories is ending in less than satisfactory ways, so he can continue to set up other stuff he is working on. This turned what was supposed to be a self-contained miniseries into some more significant part of continuity for which there is no definitive road map.

Character-wise, the titular Stargirl doesn’t seem to get the spotlight as much as you would think. She looks more like a ride-along character than the focal protagonist. The plot seems to exist around her, and she is just experiencing things to justify the narrative value for the audience. The narrative is about the greater DC continuity tales that Johns is exploring, which, like the Hourman reveal, is barely furthered in this miniseries. Unfortunately, the end of this series proves that its only existence is to explain a plot point that will be the focal point of the next series Johns is working on. This narrative leapfrog puts a sour taste in the concept, retroactively hurting the excellent character work and art from previous issues.

Todd Nauck and Matt Herms finish this series with the same robust and consistent art that has carried previous issues. New characters like Boom (the forgotten daughter of Jay Garrick) are ultimately sold to the audience purely based on her character design. Nauck’s art has an anime influence while feeling reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons. The characters are full of life and emotion, although the narrative does little to build on this. Herms colors vibrantly explode on the page, giving all of the children their own identity. This art team does a great job of building excitement around all the characters featured in the background. Comic book fans know that the first way to sell a new character is through a fun and unique design… we are looking at you Spider-Gwen. 

Rob Leigh’s letters at face value may seem typical and standard for what you would expect in a DC comic. But Leigh’s importance here is underestimated when his job is multiplied by having to space out all of the expository dialogue that explains some of Johns’ more convoluted concepts. Leigh’s speech bubble layout makes all this palatable and easy to read, something you wouldn’t even realize without seeing examples of lousy lettering.