Issue(s): Power Pack #39
Cover Date: Aug 88
Title: "Lights, camera, action!"
Credits:
Louise Simonson - Writer
Sal Velluto - Penciler
Mark Farmer - Inker
Marc McLaurin - Assistant Editor
Carl Potts - Editor

Review/plot:
Per the cover, with this issue we have a new format with more story, fewer ads, and better printing (and a 25 cent price increase). The book remains on a six week release cycle and was already direct market only, so i guess this was another way to keep the book alive for a small but dedicated audience. The book has been losing its charm with more recent issues. That's in part due to fill-ins (which are especially momentum killing considering the reduced schedule) and Sal Velluto's art (even with the increased production values and Mark Farmer on inks, it's not looking so good).

(That "I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk" poster - quote from the Maltese Falcon - will show up a few times.)

But i'd also guess that Louise Simonson was stretched pretty thin at this point thanks to X-Factor and New Mutants and it doesn't seem like she had a plan for what to do with the characters since switching their powers. The biggest running thread is whether or not the kids should tell their parents about their powers and we'll see that kind of resolved with a dud at the end of next issue. But next issue is also Louise Simonson's last, and then after a fill-in, acclaimed artist on this series Jon Bogdanove will return as a writer-artist, starting with an Inferno tie-in that will get more eyes on the book. So it's not dead yet (although in retrospect it really is).

This issue continues the story of Rebecca Littlehale that was interrupted with last issue's fill-in. You may recall that on the entry for issue #37 i had some continuity/placement concerns due to a newscaster referring to the events of #36 has having happened "yesterday", but this issue puts my mind at ease on that front, because a newscast in this issue refers to the events of #37 has having happened "last night" even though later the events of that issue are referred to as having happened "last week". So clearly the news is getting to the Power household on some type of time delay. Maybe they record all the news on their VCRs to watch later.

(Even later this issue, the events of #37 are referred to as having happened "last issue". The fill-in really threw things off but the "last week" reference makes it seem that some half-hearted attempt at editing was made.)

Anyway, Rebecca's mutant-hood is a topic of conversation in the Power household, which prompts the Mom to say that she doesn't even believe that kids can have powers.

Wow. If you wanted to do a kind of psychological analysis of the Power parents at this point, you could imagine that Margaret Power is well aware that her kids have powers and is just in deep denial about it.

After Mom leaves, the Power Pack kids get a call from the guy that's been harassing them lately. This time he tells them to stay away from Rebecca, which of course will have the opposite effect. Rebecca and her family, meanwhile, are getting a lot of attention from the media, and by "attention" i mean that reporters are straight-up clubbing her in the back of the head to get her to demonstrate her powers.

Power Pack show up as the Littlehale's home is firebombed, and they have to help rescue the protestors.

"Do Your Duty, Help a Mutie" has got to be the most patronizing "Pro" protest sign ever.

During the fire fighting, a man in a power suit floats above the scene, hoping to lure Rebecca to him with a light (Rebecca automatically teleports to the brightest light source). It's unclear if he's the one who started the fire.

He's funded by The Right (even though he intends to betray them), and has also taken lessons from the Wicked Witch of the West.

Power Pack follow, and it's confirmed that he's the Bogeyman, aka Douglas Carmody.

The Bogeyman manages to escape with Rebecca, and as promised, he retaliates against Power Pack by attempting to expose them to their parents.

Alex manages to disintegrate all the photos except one of him and Jack hanging out of a window without their costumes on. But it's still enough to get the kids re-grounded.

Also, in this issue, this is happening:

Sometimes i wonder if behind the scenes the Power parents have been indoctrinating their kids with some really retrograde and puritanical rules of engagement with the opposite sex, and that's why poor Alex is always acting like a kid in a 1960s sitcom when it comes to Allison.

In the lettercol for this issue, in response to someone asking to see Leech, it's said that he can be found in a miniseries called GENETIX by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove. This is in addition to the X-TERMINATORS miniseries, which is also mentioned in the column. To my knowledge there never was a Genetix series (at least until the unrelated Marvel UK books in 1993), but Leech will appear in X-Terminators.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP places Marvel Fanfare #55, which features a team-up between Power Pack and Magik and Warlock of the New Mutants between this issue and next. There are some unresolvable problems with Marvel Fanfare #55 (Power Pack's costumes and the fact that both the Fanfare issue and New Mutants #40 seem to be the first meeting between PP and Magik) but i think it's better to have Power Pack #39-40 read as a single story with the Fanfare issue placed before (see my comments there regarding their two "first meetings" with Magik). However, i'm keeping the Power Pack issues in individual entries to hedge my bets. But since i'm having this issue continue directly into issue #40, this has to take place after New Mutants #66 and before New Mutants annual #4 due to the New Mutants appearance in #40.

References:

• Rebecca's appearance on the television talk show happened "last night" and the call from Carmody happened "last week". Both are from Power Pack #37.
  
• The topic of mutants is also being discussed by Julie's friends, since one of their classmates was touched by Pestilence during the attack in Power Pack #35.
  
• Power Pack wonders why the Bogeyman would come after them after the Asgardians warned him in Power Pack #15 that Thor would come kick his ass if he ever bothered them again. But then they realize that's why Carmody was warning them to stay away from Rebecca's. Since they are technically bothering him this time, he's not in violation of the Asgardian edict. I doubt Thor would bother with the distinction, but it's not like they can just contact him anyway.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I'd imagine Alex's behaviour towards Allison (aside from just being a sign of his inexperience with girls) is partly due to Comics Code restrictions. The Power Pack kids are young enough that any sort of 'romance' storyline for them would have to be kept pretty darn innocent. Even in this day and age we still see occasional letters or message board comments from people upset about the sexuality in teen books like YOUNG AVENGERS or AVENGERS ACADEMY, etc.