DC Comics: The Sequential Art of Amanda Conner

Conner is an excellent choice for an "art of" book, since her style, full of good humor and refusal to take anything too seriously, carries through regardless of the strength of the story it's supporting. The contents of this volume range from longer, relatively complete stories%E2%80%94three issues about Oracle and Black Canary from Birds of Prey and a four-part new Power Girl origin story%E2%80%94to short pieces including Black Canary and Green Arrow's wedding. A reason to get this kind of anthology collection is a few pages of illustrated fan mail from the Legion of Super-Heroes, the kind of light-hearted content that shows off Conner's facility with comedy. Fans should be aware that although the book was originally promoted as behind-the-scenes information, the only extras are some sketches and a mini cover gallery. While the stories that have concrete conclusions entertain, no further insight into Conner's work is provided. For that reason, it's unclear whether she tends to work on female heroes out of her own choice or that those are the works offered. Either way, the book is a wonderful reminder of how strong these characters can be when they're given a chance to shine under a talented artist's pen. (Nov.)