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POWERS #15
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 |
As we head into the fourth full story arc of Powers, the title shows no signs of slowing down. Each case has featured something familiar, with the cops feeling like outsiders in a different world, but it has also focused on a different aspect of fame and power. This time out, Bendis and Oeming take a page from the X-Force playbook to look at a big
successful superteam and what might really be going on behind the scenes of
their carefully crafted media image. The story features the usual terrific
dialogue and moody artwork, with one of the more disturbing images I've seen in
comics to get the whole investigation started.
What impresses me about Powers, particularly this issue, are the little things
that go into making it complete. The letter columns are always a fun read, and
the addition of a career retrospective from Mike Oeming was a pleasant surprise.
Putting "Brand New Story Arc!" in bright red letters on the cover seems like it
should be Marketing 101, but advertising a "jumping-on point" that simply and
clearly is all too rare, and I was happy to see it. Then there's Bruzenak's
method of depicting the censoring beeps on television, with red "beep" sounds
overlaid on curse words.
Of course, where Powers falls down is in the small details as well. The
typos are just something you have to accept in most Bendis books, but I also
noticed some inconsistencies from page to page. The "beep" effect disappears
about halfway through the television segment with no explanation, for example.
Or Wazz's speech patterns seems to start out as an urban black man pattern and
then shift a few paragraphs in into more of an African/Jamaican thing. Or the
flow of the word balloons gets weird and hard to follow, as on the two pages
that feature Deena and Walker talking to their captain, where I couldn't follow
the exchange of dialogue or whether I was supposed to read across and then down
or down and then across. I've got the gist, but I'm still not sure I read that
page completely correct.
However, in the scheme of
things, these details are rather minor. What's important is an intriguing plot,
which we've got in the form of a murder mystery and the notion of disturbing
things happening behind a heroic facade; strong characterization, which we've
got in every exchange, but particularly in the rooftop exchange between Walker
and Zora or the elevator sequence with Deena complaining; and gorgeous artwork,
which we have on every page.
There are some really strong
moments in this issue, artistically speaking. The character expressions and
quiet moments are telling, as always, but I was really impressed by the way
Oeming moves the camera. Walking us along a vast entertainment system and into
someone's living room as we watch the background unfold on television is a
brilliant piece of visual storytelling. And the double-page spread of the murder
victim was imaginatively grotesque and powerful, matched by the powerful silent
look at the headquarters of FG-3 which is highlighted by terrific color work
from Fantasiz.
Powers never fails to make me laugh, and it never fails
to grab my attention. I remain as impressed with the book now as I was upon its
debut.
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