Customer Reviews

Powers: The Definitive Hardcover Collection, Vol. 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful collection of an amazing series. Bendis is at his best in this series and Oeming's art is excellent. The only reason this collection didn't get 5 stars is because of the binding. Because it is hardcover some of the art and word balloons are cut off. It wasn't that big of a deal for me because I have read these issues previously but if you haven't you run the risk of breaking the binding when you try to open the book up to see the complete pages. Still well worth the price!

I really like this story but there are some major execution issues with the collection. The binding, as said in other reviews, is despicable and honestly makes some parts of the story impossible to follow. Also the actual story content is pretty thin and makes up only slightly over two thirds of the page count. If these problems aren't addressed in the printings of the future volumes I will probably move to paperback collections.

I was looking forward to reading this, but I can't read it because of the way some of the pages are bound. I got to page 9 and had to skip over stuff because over half the dialogue is missing because of the binding.

This comic it's the aproach of the normal person and how he look this super human people, it's about a detective that he is specilized in superher-superhuman crimes, the art it's interesting (like Batman The animated series from the 90's) and Bendis delivers a relly interesting desconstruction of the superhero myth. In 2012 it's going to be a TV series.

I am of the school that usually holds Ed Brubaker and Brian Azzarello as the modern comic masters of noir and crime stories. Bendis however, pulled this one off with an original subset in the Image universe. Working in law, there are admittedly a few tiny distractors in the Retro Girl story arc of what cops can't/won't do, but to focus on those would be too much, and perchance that's why Bendis only tells from the POV of the police and not the lawyers.

I sincerely thought I would have a problem with somebody who isn't Tim Sale or Darwyn Cooke producing this artistic style, but Oeming latched it into my brain, and as he says in the appendices, Oeming's art is an homage to Tim Sale and Sale's influences.

The art of a story goes a long way towards driving the arc and championing the mood and everything else of the story. Most impressive to me is Oeming's Eisner-like fascination with shadowing. It never ceases to distract when even the best artists don't pay attention to lighting.

Both stories in this collection are far above the curve. The art is an excellent companion to Bendis's writing. You also have included a short story, imagining fellow writer Warren Ellis in a ride along with Det. Walker, as well as the preview comic strips in an attached appendix.

Perhaps my one complaint is yes, this is a 400 page book, but nearly half of those pages is bonus material. I am not the kind of comic fan who lives to see how they are made, I don't care about scripts. Letters pages are usually funny, and these are, but that's my only gripe, but I still stick on 5 stars as these gripes have nothing to do with the stories.

I bought this hardcover collection even though I already owned the Who Killed Retro Girl TPB, it collects the first two major story lines and the previously uncollected issue 7 where comic writer Warren Ellis rides along with Walker. But more importantly it has some of the BEST extras ever collected. A series of promotional comic strips, the complete script from the first issue, the Powers coloring book and also a "best of letter pages" segment.

A definite must buy for all fans of powers.

Taking a new slant on the superhero genre, by looking at them through the eyes of two cops who solve superhero-related murders, Bendis and Oeming have created one of the finest comics to date. This oversized collection collects the first eleven issues in order of original publication as well as a great deal of extra material, including the best of the letters page.

There is about a story and a half of a graphic novel here. I cannot for the life of me understand why they collected this the way they did. Having never read Powers before, and going for value, I purchased this and wasn't disappointed until I reached about the half way point. The first story is actually pretty good, serving as an introduction to the slightly warped, super power infested world of powers as well as the characters roles in them. I would have really liked to read more, but unfortunately most of this collection is filler.

You get a bunch of "Bonus Content" which is basically coloring book pages and other things that I don't find particularly interesting. There is also a 4th wall breaking issue with the author as a ride-along character that should not have been included at such an early stage. Also, they decided to include an issue that ends on a cliff hanger (and feels like 1/4 of a plot arc) rather than include the entire story.

Overall I'm extremely frustrated with this collection. I would just like to buy Powers as a collection without any of the filler. I feel like the story in Powers could be pretty great, but unfortunately this collection only gives you a very small sense of it.

This hardcover collection has a lot of bonus material from Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Avon Oeming including the letters pages from each issue, original sketches, original script, and also POWERS #7 which features Warren Ellis riding along with the main character. THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ANY COMIC BOOK FAN!

Brian Michael Bendis has outdone himself! This book is incredible. This series is responsible for restoring my faith in comics and getting me back into my local comic shop. Spot on, man, spot on!