by Randy Lander

THE POWER COMPANY BORK #1 "Vulnerability" Recommended (7/10) DC Comics Writer: Kurt Busiek Artist: Kieron Dwyer Colors: Carla Feeny & Digital Chameleon Letters: Comicraft Editor: Peter Tomasi Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN Busiek has tackled the notion of ex-con super-villains in Astro City's "Tarnished Angel" story, so it's no surprise that he has an entertaining take on the super-powered convict known as Bork, who will be serving as Power Company's strongman. Like all of the "Powersurge" one-shots, this story is a bit on the predictable side, but it introduces a character who will no doubt work very well in a team setting. Kieron Dwyer's work here is also impressive, working better for the gritty story of Bork than it does on the grand-scale Avengers, at least so far, and Bork stands out as one of the better "Powersurge" one-shots so far. More than any other character so far, Bork's one-shot seems important to the character. He was clearly a very different person in his early days, selfish and mean like most super-villains, and it will be interesting to contrast his reformed personality with the somewhat typical super-villain we get in this issue. I enjoyed that Busiek doesn't really hint at any kind of potential for reformation in most of this story, waiting until late in the story to spring it on us instead. There's also a certain joy, as with the other "Powersurge" stories, in seeing the DC Universe from a few years back. It was fun to watch Barry Allen and the more team-oriented Batman working together against a common foe, for instance. And Busiek, as always, does a nice job of taking old continuity and massaging it enough to make it less goofy but still charming with Bork's origin. Linking his powers to the one good thing he did was also a good way to foreshadow that he could change, even if his motives for doing the good deed were selfish at the time. Dwyer turns out to be the perfect artist for this one-shot, as his style meshes well with a dark and "street" approach. His strong anatomy helps to contrast the monstrous nature of Bork against the normal people who surround him, and he does a convincing portrait of the prisons, junkyards and low-rent houses that make up Bork's world. So far, the characters we've been introduced to for the Power Company have had a heroic bent, even the ones with dangerous streaks like Witchfire or tendencies toward staying out of action like Josiah Power. Bork is a contrast to those characters, someone who is obviously going to have to work at being good, and while his origin story is sort of traditional, he promises to be an interesting part of the book when the Power Company series begins. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.