Customer Reviews

Powers Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?

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4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
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"Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?" is a welcome surprise. Brian Michael Bendis obviously wanted to write crime drama comics, but was a little trapped by the omnipresence of Superheroes. As a compromise, he did a superhero crime drama, and it is really, really good.

"Powers" is character driven and full of dry humor. The storyline is very dark, in the same tone as "Seven." The animated-style art work is excellent at portraying the serious subject matter, and the dialog between characters is perfect. I don't know another writer that has such a grasp of dialog.

The conscious use of panels is something I haven't seen since Matt Wagner's "Grendel." There are few creators in comic books that make full use of the comics medium, and most creators follow somewhat standard layouts and formulaic story lines. This is a comic for people who enjoyed Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics."

If you are a fan of fun, high-quality, intelligent comics, you should read "Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?" It is that simple.

With all the superheroes flying around, one has to wonder if the police department has a specialized unit that deals with specific crimes committed by any individual with superpowes. Enter Powers, a crime comic written by master scribe, Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spiderman, Daredevil) that details just that. Detective Christian Walker and his new partner, Detective Deena Pilgrim, are investigating the murder of well known and loved super heroine, Retro-Girl. But this case is unlike any other that Walker has been on. There's something personal about this. There's an apparent connection between Detective Walker and Retro-Girl that is unkown to his new partner (and it's not what you're probably thinking). This book is a magnificent noir detective story that doesn't pull any punches.

The artwork by Oeming is very cartoony and reminds me a lot of the character designs for the DC realted animated series (such as Batman and Justice League) but with some of the best lighting effects and shadowing I've ever seen in a comic book.

All in all, Powers is simply one of my favorite titles out there. A rich and detailed noir atmosphere that doesn't disappoint on any level.

As a side note: check out TORSO, my favorite of Bendis' adventures into crime-drama.

I recently read a Superman comic from 1991 which was a typical action-based story, exactly the type of tale that most non-comic readers probably imagine all comics to be like. Ten years on, although the traditional super-hero genre is still alive and well, there are other mainstream comics that break new ground, presenting accessible stories in a fresh and innovative style. Powers is one such comic. It's ironic, given my earlier reference to Superman as an example of the traditional style of hero, that Powers' inspiration seems to partly come from the Man of Steel himself....with a heavy dose of Hawaii 5-0's Steve McGarrett. Writer Brian Michael Bendis has transformed well-known titles including Spider-Man and Daredevil, in addition to penning his own original publications such as Alias and Jinx. Here he expertly tells the story of a former super-hero turned cop, Christian Walker, who specialises in cases involving the super-hero fraternity with the help of his fiesty sidekick Deena Pilgrim. Walker is an imposing figure, tall, square-jawed and dedicated. The artwork by Michael Avon Oeming is suitably untraditional - very cartoonish, much more so than the majority of comic books, and very distinctive. I would rank Powers alongside the Preacher series as a good example of slightly left-field but still highly readable comic book writing. Read it alongside the latest Superman while watching those 5-0 re-runs and you'll soon get the point.

I am a recent fan of graphic novels. Like many people, especially girls it seems, I had not read comics as a child. I thought they were all cheesy, concerned with flashy pictures and action, not indepth stories.

Then a friend introduced me to Brian Michael Bendis.

Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? is in the super hero genre...but not. It starts of the series with a bang, and what's most interesting about the use of super hero storylines is that it explores the strange side stories you would never hear about in an issue of Superman or Daredevil. Super heroes in the news, as regular people, their home lives, what they are before and after powers, and how what they can do would effect the "real world" around them.

This is truely a unique series and the writing of Bendis in any comic shows what the medium can really do. This was my introduction to comics and it ensured I would continue to come back.

Brian Bendis has a great grasp of pacing and character development inhis storyteling, and they shine through here. Powers is the story ofthe police officers charged with investigating crimes related tosuperpowered individuals; in this book, the death of one of the city'smost beloved heroines sets off massive amounts of mourning and anintense search for the killer. The dialogue is superb, parcelling outinfo in just the right amount, and Michael Avon Oeming's art is verygood as well, setting the mood and tone of the story. Plus, the tradepaperback includes sketches, a copy of the script to issue one, andsome other goodies. (At the moment,... this book listed as achildren's book. That is decidedly not accurate.)

The Powers concept is to write a detective story, with normal human protagonists, but with a twist: superheroes exist in the world. The target audience is the adult (or at least older teen) market; the stories are gritty, and action sequences are sparse. This story, reprinting Powers numbers 1 through 6, details the investigation into the murder of Retro Girl, the world's pre-eminent super-heroine. The strength of the story is the characters; the leads (the detectives) are great. The mystery itself (with requisite big revelation at the end) is only so-so.

Seeing the name Brian Michael Bendis on a graphic novel is a pretty good indicator of quality. This maxim recently led me to the Powers series, and once again, it paid off.

The story takes place in a city filled with costumed superheroes and villains, but the stars of this book are homicide detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim. The lines between flashy supertheatrics and flatfoot investigating blur when popular heroine Retro Girl is found dead in an alley.

Coupled with art by Michael Avon Oeming, the story flows in a blocky, noirish style that is dark, angular and atmospheric. Monochromatic washes over some panels add to the mood.

The series won the Eisner Award for best new series in 2001 for material collected here, and it's easy to see why. In a market glutted with the flash of superheroics, this title is invigorating.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

Powers is a very interesting graphic novel, i really enjoyed the overall style, the writting and the art work, the coloring is beautiful. But i wasn't really impressed with the story, i don't know really, it isn't juicy enough may be, it isn't that deep. I felt that Bendis had run out of time or paper so he just finished off the story with a very weak arrest of the murderer! i just hope the rest of the series develops in a better form. Although it is worth the read and worth getting to know Powers.

For a few years now, there's been some fascination in the comic book world with fusing law enforcement stories with superhero exploits, merging the world of mundane but dangerous police work with metahuman action. To my way of thinking, this got kicked off with the underrated and dark "Marshal Law" series from Marvel's Epic line back in the late '80s. And of course, "Judge Dredd" laid some of the groundwork. More recently, we've seen "Sam and Twitch" spin off from "Spawn", and Alan Moore has given us the great "Top Ten".

"Powers", the first few issues of which are collected in the trade paperback "Who Killed Retro Girl?", is another step in this direction. The premise is that there are significant numbers of super-powered types flitting about, some good, some bad. There's a substantial media genre devoted to covering their deeds and misadventures, but in many ways, their existence is just taken as another fact of life. The cops, in particular, are for the most part rather blase about co-existing with these uber-vigilantes and high-powered punks.

This matter-of-fact attitude amongst the police force is one of the strengths of this book, giving us hilarious scenes where the bored cops stand by and watch a pair of dueling arch-nemeses while providing world-weary snarky commentary and complaining about having to miss the ball game while waiting for the super-brawl to end. Sure, some of the officers are a little starstruck, but only by the big names in the hero game. Since not all of the metahumans can be a Superman-level hero, though, there are all too many of them that are essentially punks poncing around in tights, endangering the populace and getting treated by the police force like any other perps.

The art is rather stylized (shading more towards the "cartoon" end of the spectrum than the super-realistic "Alex Ross" end) but works well for the most part, though a few panels end up being so murky and poorly laid out that it's hard to fathom what's going on. The main plot itself isn't altogether that terrific, but it's engaging enough. The real treat is the dialogue and the characters. Deanna Pilgrim and Christian Walker (gee, could the names be any more heavily freighted with symbolic import?) are well-developed protagonists with unique voices, the more so in the case of Pilgrim, who is the more flippant and excitable partner, largely in reaction to Walker's stoicism.

This is a solid and entertaining tale and a great introduction to an intriguing and ongoing series. (The second collected volume, "Roleplay", is rather a disappointment, but the current monthly issues are quite good.) A lot of background is established here, supporting characters are introduced, and the requisite hints at backstories are planted. For fans of this sub-genre of comics, this is definitely worth the time.

Powers scores major points for providing a fesh look to the super-hero genre. Brian Michael Bendis' sharp dialogue, coupled with a healthy dose of hip-cleverness, gives readers insight into what it would like to walk the beat in a town filled with super-heroes. The only thing that keeps this book from being rated higher is that one story thread - the one involving the young girl - doesn't quite reach the dramatic pay-off it was intended to reach. Nevertheless, Powers is a book worth looking at if you got the time. Not a classic but a notable contribution to the genre.