Powers #1, Finally - A Review

Remember Powers? I kind of forgot Powers was a comic, rather than a fond memory that I dredge up every now and then when I want to recommend someone a great noir comic on the odd Saturdays I work at OK Comics. I'm not going to bitch (any more) because between Bendis (writer man) being the evil secret mastermind of the Marvel universe and Oeming (art fellow) drawing the apocalypse in Rapture (and the only slightly more cute mice of Mice Templar) I guess everyone involved's been pretty busy. I'm just glad it's back.

The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of all Time, was pretty dark and gruelling in the best possible, Walking Dead ('I don't know if I can read this right now because it hurts') kind of way. This one's a bit lighter.

Pilgrim's out of the picture for a while and (a rather sveldt-looking, he's been eating Snack a Jacks or something) Walker's still partnered with Enki Sunrise. They don't trust each other that much, but she's trying.

Anyway, as is their wont, they've got a dead power on their hands - Z. Turns out Walker knew him back in the '50s and they were part of (this is the best bit) the superhero Rat Pack. We get a lengthy flashback in which they are... I'm going to say 'complete', assholes. Not 'arseholes', 'assholes'. It is 'Merca, after all.

Anyway, reading this made me remember what I miss about Bendis out in the wild - anything can happen. I'm not saying that 'anything' does happen in this particular issue - we don't find out Enki's a robot donkey vampire or anything - but there's that sense that the story could go absolutely anywhere. And Bendis can take the Powers cast to places that Marvel characters can't, for the most part, go. I can't imagine the Rat Pack scene being as much fun in the Marvel U. I certainly can't imagine Walker's sexual activities being allowed in one of Bendis's Marvel work (that's not to say I don't love that stuff, it's just nice to see superhero threesomes sometimes).

Oeming's character work is spot on as always. He makes Enki, who is not the most likeable character thanks to her Internal Affairs background, very human and very sympathetic. There are panels in the opening chase sequence that feel a little awkward, but they are soon left behind and certainly aren't enough to put a dent in the overall quality of the art.

And, of course, the letters column is back, complete with 'No Life' and everything else, so you can have Bendis insult your mother's cat or something.

Powers should, according Mr Bendis, be on a regular monthly schedule for a while. That's a pretty good thing.

So, yeah. Powers #1 is full of win.

Oh, and there's a preview on CBR.

Powers is out now. It's written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Michael Avon Oeming