The power to move mountains; the power to challenge armies; the power to atomize an entire city. One young woman gains absolute power, the kind that makes real anything she wishes. With that kind of power she could destroy the world. But she doesn't want to destroy it; she wants to control it. Can the genetically enhanced juveniles known as The Next Men reel her back in, or will mankind fall to her megalomaniacal whims?
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good - one of the best NEXT MEN trade paperbacks,
By H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: John Byrnes Next Men Volume 5: Power (Paperback)
Just so you'd know, there are sporadic SPOILERS.Writer/artist John Byrne's narrative stew of time travel, eugenics, and superheroics continues. Things were kinda slow in the previous TPB John Byrne's Next Men Volume 4: Faith. But, in JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN VOLUME 5: POWER, Mr. Byrne ratchets the action up again to a fevered pitch. This one collects issues #23-26 of the original Dark Horse Comics series and offers an introduction by comic strip creator Tom Batiuk (Funky Winkerbean, Crankshaft). In his NEXT MEN series, John Byrne strived to show what it would be like if superheroes actually existed in our world. For the uninitiated, the Next Men are five super-powered young adults who broke out of a government research facility, only to find themselves ill-equipped to handle life in the real world. These Next Men stories were fascinating stuff for me, back in the day, and they're still worth visiting even now. Along with the Elementals and the Justice Machine titles, the Next Men provided stories which were more adult-oriented, delved into hard-hitting issues (religion, faith, etc.), and which explored superhero themes thru a more sophisticated lens. For the past few issues Byrne had been laying groundwork for a future story arc concerning Sandy Tolliver. And, now, the time has come for fruition. Sandy Tolliver is a young employee of the Dollar Comics company, initially assigned to babysit Danny, one of the Next Men (see John Byrne's Next Men Volume 3: Fame). Sandy became infected with the trigger gene (which initially gave rise to the Next Men), and, of late, has been undergoing some weird changes. In the past 2 months, she'd grown 10" taller and gained 30 pounds. Formerly nondescript, she now looks like a million bucks. Sandy had also been having dreams of comic book characters and then waking up to realize that events from her dream had actually happened. As POWER opens up, Sandy's powers had steadily burgeoned, to a stage where she now can make her tiniest whim come true. But ultimate power corrupts... So that's the central thrust of the story. But Byrne keeps us abreast of other events. Most of the Next Men are, of course, very much intent on stopping the maddened Sandy's rampage of New York City. The one Next Man not involved is Jasmine, who is still in the hands of Control (but not if Agent Tony Murcheson can help it). Segue: Way back in issue #7 of the NEXT MEN comics, Byrne debuted a backup series, "MIV," about an android named Mark IV, or 'Mark Ivey.' In issue #23 Mark's storyline begins to merge with the Next Men's. Sandy's ability to alter the fabric of reality gives rise to guest-starring stints by other established super heroes (always a treat for we fans). As imagined by Sandy, we get to see Paul Chadwick's Concrete like we've never before seen him, and Wendy and Richard Pini's Elfquest characters clashing with Arthur Adams' Monkeyman and O'Brien. There are also sightings from the Dollar Comics stable, from the heroic Action Maxx and Blue Dahlia to the villainous mutation Dr. Trogg. In an amusing subplot, Dr. Trogg pays a visit to the offices of Dollar Comics to force his creator to write a script in which he finally wins. In this same sequence, I do believe that's John Byrne himself getting tossed around by Trogg. That, in itself, might be worth the price of admission. John Byrne goes all out with this one. The villain(ess) is about as menacing as it gets, the peril never so desperate. Compared to Sandy's powers, the Next Men are lightweights, and I was very curious to see how Byrne would resolve things. Whether he successfully pulls it off, I'll leave it for you to judge. Byrne's artwork continues to be impeccable, and his creativity a force to be reckoned with. One wonders where he would've taken the Next Men if he'd been allowed to keep on telling his stories. Because of the mid-90's comic book drought, this series was discontinued, with plot threads still very much dangling. I hope that one day John Byrne gets the urge to return to his Next Men. Until then, I guess we'll have to settle for his 6 Next Men trade paperbacks (7, if one counts John Byrne's 2112, which is a prequel or a sequel, depending on how one looks at it).
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