First & Fifteenth: Pop Art Short Stories

by Steve Powers

With an aesthetic found on the streets (literally, as a graffiti writer and sign painter), and influenced by such great artists as Chris Ware and Ken Lum, Steve Powers has painted a neighborhood of petty criminals, pettier crimes, and a superhero who’s a couple steps away from saving the day. Sharp, funny, and clever, First & Fifteenth features brief urban stories that shrewdly straddle the line between graphic novel and work of art. With a nod to the concrete roots of graffiti and sign painting, Powers skillfully combines word and image to produce a new and unique vision in modern art. Powers’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally, and First & Fifteenth confirms his arrival as an exciting and talented new artist.

Genres: Art, Comics, Graphic Novels, Americana

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2005

Reviews

[Nate D]

Only the rarest of graffiti-originating work that can survive domestication fully intact and in possession of its essential magic.

[Karyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cool illustrations, some plot but very little actual narrative.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the short stories are more clever than others. Great artwork all around.