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POWERS: Who killed superhero comics?

By: MaGnUs

* Superheroes invade the (real?) world.


As I've commented on previous occasions, particularly when I wrote my article on Rising Stars, during the last few years, end of the past decade and the first years of the current one, there's been a marked trend to set fantastic comic books, (mostly superhero comics, but also with other supernatural elements, like magic) in worlds as similar as possible to the real world.

This means that I'm not talking about crime or police comics, or comics that deal everyday life, of which there are plenty of examples, but specifically to the integration of realistic settings with comics that are, basically, fantastic. I'm not talking, either, about European or underground comics, but about American mainstream comic books.

This trend is, perhaps, the awaited echo of a host of similar books that were published during the latter half of the 80s, like Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Question, Hellblazer (yes, even with heaps of magic, this is the one cornerstone of that eighties boom that is still being published) and several others.

The majority of these books were published by DC Comics, in a sort of foreboding of what would become their Vertigo line. Regrettably, this wave of mature comics, mainstream, of course, except for examples such as Hellblazer, was stopped by a sort of dam, which on its wall had a huge letter "X".

I love X-Men comics, but in the early 90s the boom they had (which I've mentioned before, with thing such as X-Men #1 selling a million copies) caused that, to compete with Marvel, other companies, mainly DC, poured their money into other kind of comics.

To be fair, the "realistic wave" of the 80s also found an end in the 90s by merit of its own weight. Writing "mature" comics turned their authors, like Alan Moore and Frank Miller, into great successes with the critics, and got them Eisners and other awards, and noticing that, other authors tried to imitate them.

Their imitations were poor, and in the early nineties, along with the X boom, the mature themes were confused with making heroes as violent and dark as possible, a trend that was later known as "grim and gritty".

Very few comics escaped these two trends, the grim and gritty and the X boom, with some even combining both, such as X-Force, where Cable organized the former New Mutants into a paramilitary proactive force, where everybody wore combat fatigues and carried BFKs (Big Fucking Guns), instead of bright superhero spandex.

These two trends did give us two important things: an outstanding parody in Lobo, and the definitive instauration of mainstream creator-owned comics, with the birth of Image.

But, this is not what this article is about, we're here to talk about the mainstream comics with realistic settings of today mainstream comic books. Before going on, however, it's fair to say that other mainstream comic books, without converting fully to this trend, have tried (with success in many cases) to absorb some of its elements, so as to not left behind.

This lenghty introduction serves to hightlight the good stuff in these comics, with examples such as Rising Stars, The Authority, and the subject of this article, Powers.

Rising Stars explores the impact caused by a group of children, and later adults, received superpowers in a world where such things did not exist before. The Authority delves into what would happen if a group of heroes, instead of just stopping supervillains, took in their hands the destiny of the world, deposing tyrants, attacking oppressive governments, etc.

The former, Rising Stars, in my opinion, is too epic, too superheroic... it's superbly done, but it still adheres too closely to the conventions of the superhero genre. The Authority, on the other hand, parts with many of said conventions of the genre, but it parts with them to such extent, that too often it's just a simple acid parody, with punctual elements of sociopolitical criticism. To put it plainly, when it's not funny and outrageous, it's dense and propagandistic.

* Higher Powers


Powers, however, takes a middle road among these extremes, being even more realistic than our two examples, Rising Stars and The Authority. The protagonists are, basically, two regular persons, who see things from a, well, a normal person's point of view. Their conversations are normal conversations like the ones you can have with your co-workers. They don't get powers all of a sudden and have to deal with it, they didn't already have powers and decide to use them to really change the world... no, they're regular people, doing their job.

The interesting part of this is that their job is that of police detectives, of the special homicide division known as Powers. Powers is what this world calls people (or beings) with superpowers, putting under the same header mutants, guys with hi-tech armors, aliens, godly avatars, people with lab-accident granted powers, etc.

Starting with this basic concept, one can already sense the everyday feeling of this comic, as instead of using such a pretentious word as "metahumans", they use the simple and direct term "Powers" (we'll use a capital "P" to refer to the people, as opposed to the abilities). Back to the comic's plot proper, Powers revolves around the work of two detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, that work for the Powers section of the Homicide division of the city's police.

The Powers section investigates homicide involving powers, whether as perps or victims. The premise is simple; this is not a superhero comic, but a crime comic, where, as background elements, superpowered individuals, both hero and villain, exist.

The series has a tone and rhythm similar to TV shows like Law & Orders or CSI, but with elements that constantly remind you that here superheroes exist. During the first issues, the reader is given hints that allow him to form an idea as to how this world works: in the police precinct two uniformed cops walk in a handcuffed giant gorilla with a laser cannon on its head; the interrogation rooms have devices known as "drainers" that deactivate a detained power's abilities; in the midst of a street scene, in the background a guy in a cape flies by and nobody does a double take on him, etc.

But apart from all these little details, as the series progresses, you're shown how Powers are treated in this world. On one hand, there´s the government's policy, which at least in the USA (where it's clear the story takes place, although you're never to which city it's in, it's not New York, and it has a certain Chicago or Detroit feeling to it) is one of control, forcing Powers to register, as if they were guns, to be allowed to operate as superheroes (or not, just to exist with Powers and not register yourself is a crime).

On the other hand, there's the attitude of the general public towards Powers, which, as in Rising Stars, is what would naturally happen: they're idolized. IF in the real world we sing praises to people whose talent resides in playing the guitar or kicking a ball, imagine what would happen with guys who can move mountains, fly, or bounce bullets of their chests.

The Powers on the side of good do publicity for perfumes and cars, there's magazines and gossip shows about them, there's conventions, action figures, t-shirts and, of course, comic books, amongst an infinity of products. Also, as it's explored in one of the story arcs, the Powers attract fans that want more than just an autograph or a picture... that is, groupies.

* Meanwhile, in our dimension.


Let's stop for a moment, to give real world data on Powers. The series is written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Michael Avon Oeming, both of whom are registered as the series' creators, although as it's usual, it's likely that the original idea was Bendis' alone, with a great amount of feedback on Oeming's part once he joined in on the project. The color, a very important part of many comic books and of his one in particular, is given by Pat Garrahy (who also handles the lettering chores) up until the eleventh issue of the first series. Then, Peter Fantazis takes over the coloring duties and Ken Bruzenak assumes the lettering job for the rest of the first series, and what's been published of the second one (fourteen issues).

The first series, comprised by 37 issues (plus one annual and a Wizard 1/2 issue), was published by Image, under the MOB banner, a line that included the works of Bendis, Oeming and David Mack.

After the end of the first series, which was already announced as the end of the first volume of the story, Bendis and Oeming took their book to the new Marvel line for creator-owned projects, Icon (without leaving MOB), starting little over a year ago. Apart from the Icon logo on the cover, where the Image logo used to be, the new series is virtually indistinguishable from the first... except for the contents, of course, since this is the continuation of the story started in that first volume.

* Not just Powers, but people.


Let's speak briefly about the main characters of the show and the supporting cast. The stars, as I mentioned before, are detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim. Their names (a "christian walker" and a "pilgrim") might have been chosen by their symbolism, or perhaps just to cause those who look for symbolisms to dwell upon them.

Walkers a stoic cop, an attitude he needs for the kind of work he does as a homicide detective. He's seen it all, from how power corrupts, up to how fickle the "hero" tag can be. His fellow cops admire him for his able work, but they avoid him because of his asocial behavior.

It's not Christian doesn't get along with people; he straight up tries to avoid dealing with them, and although his detective work is excellent and his police career is unquestionable, he hides big secrets under his stoic façade. Walker has a very close relationship with several of Powers and he's heavily affected by the death of Retro Girl, the first case we see him investigate in the series. Slowly, each mystery about Walker (who can be thought of as the main character of the series) are revealed, in small doses, as if to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Deena Pilgrim comes into the picture filling several clichés of the police genre, starting with the fact that she's the novice detective assigned to work with the veteran partner (Walker, while not exactly old, is experienced). After that, she kills two clichés in one punch (never better said than in her case): she's the tough, violent cop, and she's the female cop who wants to prove to her male counterparts that she's as good a cop or better one than they are.

On the other hand, Deena is also the example of a young generation of cops who don't let Powers intimidate them, or attempts to understand the mystical or cosmical bullshit that surround them, they just do their job.

There's a lot of supporting characters, like the captain in charge of the Powers division, or Kutter, the arrogant and backstabbing detective who works in the same section, but the real background stars are the Powers, of course.

All these characters have been created specifically for the series, and they're confined to strictly supporting roles, even those who are antagonists. Many times they're even dead when the story starts. The Powers part of the series is based in the simple and well-known basic elements of the superhero genre, and not in confusing and complex continuities and origins.

Being created specifically for the series doesn't mean, however, that the characters can't be homages to comic book icons the creatores have enjoyed as readers. Thus, Retro Girl is a tribute to Supergirl and the values she represented, Jackhammer is clear homage to Iron Man, Supershock and Mr Olympia reflect different aspects of Superman, Diamond is a mix between Batman or The Shadow with Superman, and Johnny Royale is a third-class Lex Luthor or Kingpin.

In fact, Mike Allred's Madman (one of the most succesful independent comic books of the 90s) appears in a cameo. It's very fun, in the first or second issue, to see a two page spread where Pilgrim and Walker question, first heroes and then villains, about the murder they're investigating, and each questioning is just one small panel with the answer of each character, and the reader can play the game of guessing which character each Power is a homage to, or from which characters some elements are drawn. Or, straight up, laugh at the fact that Madman appears in one panel with no alterations.

* Who's got the superpower to write this?


Truly, the Powers writer, Brian Michael Bendis seems to be a veritable human writing machine. He's the author of acclaimed independent comics such as Jinx, and has written Hellspawn and Sam & Twitch for Image. At Marvel, he kickstarted the Ultimate line, with his Ultimate Spider-Man, and has stuck his nose into several aspects of that line, today being the writer for Secret War (yes, no plural), Avengers and Daredevil, among other things. Particularly, he's at the helm of the latest crossover to change the face of the Marvel Universe; House Of M.

Bendis' main strength are dialogues, all his dialogues a realistic, be it detectives Walker and Pilgrim at a crime scene, Peter Parker and Mary Jane at high school, or Hawkeye, Wasp and She-Hulk at Avengers Mansion.

Realistic, however, does not mean characters say "fuck" or "shit" every five minutes, or that Mary Jane says her musical idol is Britney Spears. No, the curse words are only said when they'd be said in the real world, and from the mouth of who would say it (for example, Deena Pilgrim has a "potty mouth" and barely utters a phrase without a swear word, while Walker is a stoic and silent kind of guy who only uses a curse word when he's extremely frustrated or angry). The pop culture references are only there to remind you that the characters live in a world as similar as possible to ours.

Even if dialogue is Bendis' strenght, that doesn't mean his story lines (which in the case of Powers probably include many ideas from Oeming, the artist, who writes his own comics) are simple or weak. Absolutely not, although each Powers arc is a story io itself, the background elements are woven together to creat a bigger story, which is complex, but not confusing.

Powers also features sex and violence, in a pretty explicit way (like good Americans, the later is more explicit thatn the former), but no just a sales gimmick, not just to call attention to the comic and being graphic just for the sake of being graphic.

Powers is a crime comic book, a homicide story, and the crime scenes are show like they are... by the same token, if in a story, like in the Groupies arc, sex is shown as part of a decadent lifestyle, or as part of a key dream a character has, it's got to be shown, and it's shown. It's not a matter of lack of taste or simple pornography, it's a matter of necessity, of something the story asks for.

* Visual powers.


Art in Powers is the province of Michael Avon Oeming, an artists who's recently received an Eisner Award as revelation, which was funny for him since he's been working quite a few years now. Apart from Powers he's drawn Young Justice, Judge Dredd y Superman for DC, he's writing Thor comics for Marvel; besides writing and drawing his own series, Hammer Of The Gods, and inking and co-writing his other creation, Bastard Samurai.

Oeming's art has been defined as comic art deco, and at first glance, it's reminiscent of the work of Bruce Timm, the person responsible for the look of the Superman and Batman 90s animated series. However, after that first glance, the difference between Oeming and Timm's art are evident.

His style is such that, while still being cartoony and simplistic, is more realistic than Timm's. Timm, without downplaying his talent, seems to be content with defining muscles as just a couple of lumps under clothing, extremely simplifying the human figure, or even clothing itself (Batman's cape notwithstanding), as clothes don't tned to have folds or other details, appearing as if painted over the character's bodies.

On his part, Oeming seems to take more time to humanize his characters (even those who aren't human), detailing their musculature in concordance to real proportions (but still within his art style), wrinkling a shirt or uniform so it seems an actual article of clothing and not body paint, or even drawing subtle lines under a very tired character.

Not only to characters is Oeming's talent limited to, he's equally capable of drawing buildings, scenery, cars, machines, etc, creating a composite that enhances its parts. Damn, back to his huan figure, I have to say his females are, without the need of gigantic boobs or tiny costumes, very attractive... and his sex scenes, without being totally pornographic, are very... uh... unnerving... so to speak.

In conclusion, Oeming's art is simple, and at the same time very detailed, very cartoony, as we said, and it's not only good alone in itself, but it also provides a contrast for the kind of realistic stories it illustrates, refreshing the dark parts of the script, and graphically reminding us that this is not just any superguys comic book nor just any crime comic book.

It wouldn't be fair to forget Pat Garrahy, first colorist of the series, who's worked in JLA, among other things. Oemings beautiful art is enhanced, more like completed, because its contrasting and refreshing properties wouldn't be that effective without Garrahy's colors, and those of his latter reemplacement Peter Fantazis. The dance of shadows and light, the reflection on lenses and windows, the colorful energy manifestations of powers, all of this is perfectly executed by the colorists, who fill the post with an importance almost as big as Oeming's or Bendis', playing in a position as important as a goalkeeper's, but many times just as under appreciated.

* There's gotta be something wrong with all this.


Not everything can be praises to Bendis, Oeming and team, on my part there is at least (regarding the comic itself) one complaint: they overuse splash-pages, those double-spread pages. There's three or four on each Powers' issue, and only a small number of them are used for what, in my opinion, are the most valid reason for a splash-page; that is, a good action scene, or a panoramic view that wouldn't be effective in a small panel or single page.

Bendis uses splash-pages for conversations, to display dialogues in lines of six or eight horizontal panels and four or five vertical panels, something he could perfectly do, as far as I can surmise, in the traditional vertical way. And I'm saying it's Bendis who abuses this kind of double spreads, because I've seen it happen with other artists, in the other Bendis-written comics I read (New Avengers, House Of M, The Pulse); it's too much of a coincidence that four different artists do the same thing. No, it's not them; it's Bendis, but anyhow, that's the only complaint I have about this comic.

* The power of brutal honesty.


Bendis doesn't limit himself to writing the scripts, but also answers the readers' letters, adding comments and editorializing, sharing with us a weekly quote, and recommending movies, books and music he's enjoyed, besides promoting his other works, even if the company publishing is not the same that publishes Powers.

The way in which Bendis answers in the mail column (he also posts on his own internet forum, at www.jinxworld.com) is a mix of honesty and brutality, giving his personal e-mail, home address and phone number, but at the same time telling readers to fuck off or making fun of them when they ask stupid questions, or questions he doesn't feel like answering.

Although this can be funny and refreshing at first, seeing how he treats some real idiots who write in with very stupid questions; there comes a point where one gets tired of the fact that some perfectly valid questions are left without an answer just because Bendis didn't feel like it. Furthermore, if his use of crass language, sexual jokes and other things like that were restricted to the absolutely necessary in his scripts, in his personal writing, at times (too many times), they seem to outnumber serious answers and useful information on 10 to 1 ratio.

On the other hand, we have to recognize the fact that, with how hard this man works, he has to have some kind of release, and a great number of his jokes and public humiliations are as much for himself as they are for his readers and fellow writers (he defines himself as a short and bald jewish degenerate). As a dato fun and curious bonus, Bendis promises in the last letters page of the first Powers run that he'll help all the geeks who read the book get laid. And he delivers... starting with the first issue of the second Powers volume, there's a personal ads section which, frankly, I've avoided reading... Bendis might be lewd, but he's generous.

About his recommendations and self-serving shameless plugs of his own books, they're as useful and interesting as the mail answers aren't (or at least stop being after a couple of issues). His movie, books and music recommendations are as useful for readers who aspire to become writers themselves (specially the former two), as they are for calling the attention of his readers to stuff they'll probably enjoy as much as his work, as he enjoys writing it. Personally, it's nice to see that a man whose writing I like so much shares many of my musical or movie tastes.

* The future of Powers.


The second Powers series is slightly different than the original one, but without an actual change of path; only a new numbering, probably because they moved to another publisher. In fact, they recently released what would have been the 50th issue of the first series, and they celebrated with two different covers, one by Oeming and one by Bendis (who, incidentally, is also an artist). Bendis was going to draw the whole issue, but wasn't able to do it due to a lack of time.

The only difference might be that the plot moves slightly slower than the first series; and that might be worsened by the fact that, being a Marvel book now, it's constantly shipping late. Or it could also be that Bendis and Oeming just don't pay that much attention to the book anymore... This has been confirmed by the fact that now they've flat out cancelled this second volume, and announced a third one in the near future.

Lately there's been rumors about a Powers film, and Bendis himself says from time to time in the lettercol that he's met with a producer or such. For the moment we have to settle with the paper version of Powers (and an excellent fanfilm that adapts the first story arc), but there's no doubt that in a near future the silver screen will be invaded by Powers.

- MaGnUs, who's not everywhere...

About The Author: Martín A. Pérez (AKA MaGnUs) writes short stories, articles, comics and radio plays. One of his short stories has been published in the book Contagion: War Stories, and an essay of his appears in "Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes.". His articles have appeared online or in print magazines like Inforol, Ururol, Kryptonian Cybernet, and Strange Days, while he's currently writing for the Independent Comics Site, Shotgun Reviews and Nosolorol.

He co-produces and co-hosts a radio show about comics and related subjects, Perdidos en el Eter. An active part of Uruguay's fan scene, he's one of the creators of Montevideo Comics, the first local convention (since 2002), and one of the founders of Caballeros de Montevideo, which promotes RPGs through charity events. MaGnUs works at a tech-support call center, and is happily married to his wife Cindy, with whom he has a son, Gabriel, who ever since his birth has been marked to become yet another nerd... just like daddy!