Advance Review: Powers #27

Reviews

Advance Review:

POWERS # 27

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Michael Avon Oeming

Marvel Comics

Powers was originally a creator owned indy title that got Brian Michael Bendis noticed. The first three or four trades are excellent and it’s easy to see why Bendis attracted note. Since then, he has apparently taken over a third of Marvel’s writing chores (with Brubaker on another third, the rest split by everyone else) and the quality has suffered greatly across the board. Still, it’s been a while since I gave Powers a shot, so since it’s been awhile, and is now Marvel published, I figured I’d give what was one of my favorite books another shot.

Alright, so, I’m an idiot for giving up on this. Bendis is really, really good at street level stories. His Daredevil run proved that if nothing else. Powers is about cops dealing with criminals in a world with super powers. The characterization is subtle, but strong, while knowing the characters from earlier in the series adds worlds to their motivations and reactions. There is a tendency to over-talk everything in this book, but that’s a common Bendis trait and besides a few speeches, good enough to not be an annoying quirt.

This issue is about the hunt for a serial killer who’s killing little girls. The cops are in an uproar, as is the public. There is a well-reasoned search going on with several promising leads until several old faces show up to complicate matters. The issue chosen to get everyone in an uproar is something so obviously horrible that all the reactions within are justified. The progression of events is handled very well. The book threatens slowness a time or two, but each time catches on with a major event well before sinking into tedium.

The art here is and always was A+ material. Oeming’s angular work and heavy inks fit the tone perfectly, leaving the book with a noir feel. Considering how often the issues within fit Noir’s shades of grey storytelling, that’s perfectly appropriate.

This might be Bendis’s current least read book. That’s a shame because it’s certainly his best. The plot is intriguing, the characters breathe and move like real people, even here when hardly given time to breathe, and the plot moves along quickly. Be sure to check this out, but do yourself a favor and begin at the start of an arc, or better, with the first trade Who Killed Retro Girl?

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.