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POWERS #20
(Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Image Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colors: Peter Pantazis
Letters: Ken Bruzenak
Copy Editor: KC McCrory
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Wow. I did not see that coming. This issue is the wrap-up to the "Supergroup" saga, possibly the best Powers arc yet, and it answers a
few questions, both major and minor, as well as setting up one hell of a "where
do they go from here?" cliffhanger ending. Bendis is ruthless about putting his
characters through the wringer, and this issue provides just one emotional
suckerpunch after another for Detective Walker, as well as hinting at future
elements of the story to be explored. And Oeming and Pantazis are in fine form
as always, delivering a moody and powerful art performance to back up a very
strong story.
Throughout the main story,
Bendis and Oeming have scattered "Powers pop culture" tidbits to make the world
feel a little more real. Using a movie review of the FG-3 film as a way to
introduce some of the backstory and set the scene for the issue was a stroke of
genius, and it provided more than a couple of laughs as well. In addition,
there's a great payoff to the talk show element of the story that has been
showcased in this arc.
However, the main story is
focused on Walker and his reaction to the events of the last couple issues.
There's a revelation in this issue that makes the events all the more tragic,
and it took me by surprise. It also made Walker's devotion to the case more
clear, and his decision in this issue pretty much the only way he could have
gone, regardless of consequences. Those consequences also being a big surprise
of the issue, making me wonder where the story is going to go next.
All of this soul-searching
and media examination wouldn't work without artists who can convey what's going
on, and once again Oeming and Pantazis deliver. Whether it's the haunted, almost
destroyed look on Walker's face, the shadowy settings where the FG-3 situation
is shuffled under the rug or the bright lights and ultra-colored style of the
television sets, the mood of this book couldn't be any clearer. And the closing
sequence, with its mixture of melancholy and hope, was as powerful visually as
it was in dialogue.
This issue is a surprising and somewhat downbeat conclusion to the "Supergroup" saga, with further exploration of Walker's past and relationships from that past, as well as some serious developments in the status quo of the series. I defy anyone reading Powers to pick up this issue and then not be counting
the days until the next one.
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