Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?

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.

Powers is yet another attempt at making those with "powers" more realistic and is a compilation of a series from Image (collecting the first 6 issues) that has been turned into this great graphic novel, continuing the marketing trend towards targeting the twenty and thirty-somethings who grew up reading comicbooks and who are thus more open-minded than the average reader. Powers reminded me of Alan Moore's Top Ten in many ways, but this isn't a bad thing! The Powers story arc presented revolves around the murder of Retro Girl (cool name by the way), an all-American girl who is pretty, spunky, and superpowered and thus beloved by the people. Lucky for her she wasn't a hunchback pygmie I guess. The main character is a stoic detective named Christian Walker, who is actually a nice guy (think Clark Kent as a cop) and this was very refreshing as I think we've all seen the mean uncompromising tough cop routine wayyyy too many times already. He is partnered with a diminutive female detective who's personality varies from being a nosy you know what to an effective yet idealistic cop. There's also a hilarious little girl that Det. Walker has to take care of who keeps asking him what a clitoris is. Bendis writes some of the best natural dialogue I've encountered. People stutter, make jokes that are sometimes lame, and the characters don't all sound the same. This is what has been lacking in other similar works in American pop culture. The story centers around the death of Retro Girl, but there are sub-plots that mainly help the reader learn more about the world that Det. Walker and company inhabit. There is, for example, an interesting Ironman/Tony Stark-like character who has a past connection to Retro Girl and is considered a suspect. There's the strange yet eclectic criminal element that adds spice to this rich world. There are only a few credible leads for the detectives to follow up, but the story never gets boring. We also get the now common use of tv commentary and news segments that Frank Miller started back in his original Dark Knight series in 1980s. Bendis keeps things moving and interesting you'll find yourself done in a matter of hours. Aside from the 6 issue story, this graphic novel contains an interesting script of the 1st issue and this could prove useful to those people looking to become writers of graphic novels and are looking for a superlative example of the medium. There is a short promotional strip that appeared and a gallery of characters and the evolution of how the characters were given their current appearances. Kind of superfluous if you ask me, but fans will appreciate I imagine. This graphic novel comes with a hefty price tag though (I got lucky and got it used less than half the price), but this one's kind of worth it, especially considering its immense entertainment value. Highly recommended.

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.

"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.

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.)