Powers (2000-2004) #1

Powers (2000) (Single Issues) #1

by Brian Michael Bendis

“WHO KILLED RETRO GIRL?” part one! Heroes glide through the sky on lightning bolts and fire. Flamboyant villains attempt daring daylight robberies. God-like alien creatures clash in epic battles over the nighttime sky. And on the dirty city streets below, Homicide Detective Christian Walker does his job. Detective Christian Walker is a special homicide officer in charge of cases that involve...powers. What is a cop's job like in a world where powers are par for the course? And what kind of cop is given the assignment?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2000

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Amy T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Powers has been on my reading list for quite some time although I instinctually knew I wouldn’t be a hardcore fan since the art, for me, didn’t live up to the overall hype of the series. Given how expensive comics are today, I’m not one to spend a lot of money on something that doesn’t deliver both on art and on story. And as much as I enjoyed the writing and humor of Powers, I felt that the illustrations were crying out for something more. More depth, detail, and thoughtfulness in execution. Something that not only matched, but also enhanced, the already exceptionally engrossing writing. As it stands, Powers’ artwork looks hastily drawn with an unappealing line weight and mediocre coloring. There are also technical problems with proportion as well as a lot of wasted space in a good number of the panels.

I’m interested enough in Powers to continue reading the series, but I’ll either buy used copies at my local bookstore or check it out from the library. Had the illustrations been more professionally executed, I would have gladly bought the graphic novels at regular price and kept them as part of my personal library.