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THE POWER COMPANY JOSIAH POWER #1
"Career Opportunities"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Keith Giffen
Inks: Al Milgrom
Colors: Carla Feeny
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical of the idea of launching Power Company with a whole bunch of one-shots, but it does seem to give Busiek a lot of time to establish his starting cast. Of the first two stories, Josiah Power stands out as the stronger one, with the familiar attention to continuity that Busiek has always brought combined with a compelling and different character and some really nice work from the rarely-seen Keith Giffen. While Power Company does look more conventional than Busiek's work on Astro City, there are some unconventional takes on the super-hero and
super-villain to be found here, and I suspect that fans looking for something
new from him will not be disappointed in this story.
Josiah Power is the heart of the basic Power Company concept, which means he has
to be a compelling character. Happily, the story of a driven and professional
man who was sidetracked by the acquisition of super-powers is both unusual and
quite engaging, and Power comes across as a believable organizer without the
tinge of inevitable corruption or unbelievable idealism that often fits into
that archetype. Spending most of the issue with Power in a situation not of his
own making helped to reinforce that he can be challenged, but his failure to
crack reassures the reader that he is confident and capable.
The DC Universe in recent years has focused much more on its venerable icons, but it was only a few years ago that their bit players took on much more prominent roles. Busiek uses the time shifted element of this origin to provide readers with a glimpse of that DC Universe, the one that dealt with the Invasion rather than Our Worlds at War, where the JLA
included Blue Beetle and Mr. Miracle instead of the seven big guns.
Getting Keith Giffen and Al Milgrom to do the artwork was a great choice in light of that setting, as their work was a big part of Invasion and that era of Justice League, and it doesn't seem out of place on Firestorm's guest appearance either. Giffen's work is terrific, more reminiscent of his strong work on Legion of Super-Heroes than his work on Lobo or Trencher, and he does some particularly nifty designs
for the various thugs working for The Agent or on the appearances of DC heroes.
In general, I'm not a fan of the idea that Superman inspired yet another hero or team in the DC Universe, but his conversation with Power, serving to spark the Power Company, was a very nice touch, and tied the team more deeply into the DC universe in a clever way. I also enjoyed that Busiek struck a good balance between Power's appreciation for Superman and his own strength of personality. It remains to be seen whether Power Company will take off or not, but the central
figure in the company is intriguing enough to pique my interest further.
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