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POWERS #13 (Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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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/$4.75 CAN |
This issue is a fascinating look into the world in which Powers is set, with a
clever faux-magazine framework used to explore it. It is also incredibly
frustrating, given that it comes right as the investigation into Olympia's death
is beginning and there are a lot of things that were left unsaid last issue and
I was hoping to see more of this issue. However, while I would have preferred
this type of issue as a "bridging issue" between arcs rather than a part of the
Olympia arc, I did enjoy this quite a bit, and the ending is a true shocker.
The design work here is pretty incredible,
and my hat is off to the entire creative team for the job they did in mimicking
popular magazines and ads... although it is a shame that there were quite a few
typos and repeated words and phrases in the issue, which sometimes threatened
the illusion of reading a professional entertainment magazine. I was
particularly impressed with the ads, which Oeming does a terrific job on, making
them more than just simple splash pages through the design, and Bruzenak
deserves full credit for evoking the feel of ads with letter placement and style
as well.
Most of the opening few pages are warm-up,
establishing the world and the format we're viewing this issue (although I have
to wonder if the FG-3 stuff isn't setup for a future arc) and giving a little
bit more backstory on Retro Girl and Olympia. The meat of the issue comes during
the Olympia issue, and with this clever framing device, Bendis has managed to
paint a picture of a character who is already dead. He's incredibly smooth and
clever, and Clinton's got nothing on this guy when it comes to dodging
uncomfortable questions and looking charming while doing it. But reading between
the lines tells us a whole lot about who he was and a bit more about the reality
of super-hero groupies. Oeming's artwork on the piece also helps, showing off
his heroic exploits as well as his more shadowy and questionable romantic
activities.
It's the finale that really got me, though,
a short sequence that is pretty clear but also raises questions and puts a very
sad spin on Olympia's activities. Oeming does some chilling visual work here,
with a raw depiction of violence and some very nice cinematic visual cues that
tell us all we need to know about the woman without a single caption
needed.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
