Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: The “Bobo the Kitten” Gambit
Written by: Kurt Busiek
Penciled by: Tom Grummett
Inked by: Prentis Rollins, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Al Vey.
Colored by: Rob Ro
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Steve Wacker
Publisher: DC
Although this is a review of Power Company 14, page 2 from issue 13 serves as a great recap as to who all the players are and why we’re all here in the first place. So, to use Busiek’s own words “They are the Power Company — the world’s foremost supplier of professional superhuman services. The indomitable Josiah Power. The energy-channeling Skyrocket. The mystic Witchfire. Manhunter, tracker without peer. Striker Z, the living battery. The man-monster Bork. The gem-shielded Sapphire. And their newest associate — Firestorm, the nuclear man. PREVIOUSLY… Josiah Power and Witchfire are down, hospitalized. Old enemies stalk Manhunter. And Dr. Polaris and the Cadre, after a string of technology thefts, have made their final strike…”
At the outset, not much has changed since issue 13. Dr. Polaris has the Power Company in the palm of his hands, while in the thick of the battle, Manhunter is stalked by two figures from his past — Christine St. Clair and Sensei Asano Nitobe from Archie Goodwin’s and Walter Simonson’s classic 1973-1974 Manhunter saga. That tale was first published in the back-pages of Detective Comics, from issue 437 through to a full issue tale in issue 443. Manhunter is by far one of the real gems in the DC pantheon and, because YOU should know, this brilliant Goodwin/Simonson saga has been collected a few times since the 1970s. If you don’t have the most recent collected edition, 1999’s Manhunter: The Special Edition, do yourself a favor, and pick it up. It truly is one of the best-written and drawn stories of any medium.
Anyhow, back to Power Company 14. It’s unfortunate that Kurt Busiek doesn’t possess Geoff John’s ability to make old lame DC villians menacing and relevant (although John’s has had some missteps, for the most part, his character revamps have worked). Dr. Polaris is just about as boring and unoriginal as a character can get. This current incarnation of the character, from the pages of Green Lantern I believe, is a weak DC attempt at making one of their dud characters into a Magneto-level arch-villain. DC: Marvel already has Magneto. Do something original with your magnetism villain!
What Busiek is good at is panning DC’s river of history and pulling out some cool story ideas. Issue 14 showcases a Controller from the old Darkstars series, two characters from the Goodwin/Simonson Manhunter run, and some great lines from DC legend Firestorm. Firestorm’s perspective on superheroing for cash, and Earth’s role in the cosmos (pg. 22) is a nice way to end this issue.
Overall, this isn’t the best issue of Power Company I’ve read, but its still a fun read.
I’m also particularly anxious to read next month’s Manhunter vs. Batman clash in Gotham City. Should be a great encounter. If Kurt Busiek is listening, and I hope he is, a future clash between Deathstroke: The Terminator and Manhunter would be just too cool. And…for you Deathstroke fans out there, pick up the current issue of Nightwing, for the beginning of an arc guest-starring Deathstroke.
My overall score for Power Company 14 is higher than it probably should be, but that’s only because I REALLY enjoyed the Manhunter subplot.
