BT09 – P is for Punch (#Blogathon)

Powers, Vol. 10, “Cosmic” (Icon) [collects #13-18]
Powers, Vol. 11, “Secret Identity” (Icon) [collects #19-24]
Powers, Vol. 12, “The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time” (Icon) [collects #25-30, Annual 2008]
w. Brian Bendis; a. Michael Oeming 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

These three volumes wrap up the current run of Powers, resolving the Powers plague that Pilgrim suffers from (and flees IA because of — or because she killed her boyfriend with the power she’d gotten), bringing into the open Walker’s new status as a Green Lantern-like cosmic cop. The Powers storyline has suffered a bit, I think, from the success of the two principals, slowing down its production and making it harder (except in volumes like this) to keep track of the story. 

Bendis, as in his mainstream books, is a master of dialog. Oeming’s art has problems here at times, though — it’s far too easy to confuse different people. On the other hand, I can’t imagine the book without Oeming on it, so hopefully the break before the next Powers series will do him good.

Project Superpowers, Vol. 1 (Dynamite) [collects #0-7]
w. Alex Ross, Jim Krueger; a. Carlos Paul, Alex Ross, et al. 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

PS is apparently an attempt to write something with Golden/Silver Age feel, using the more sophisticated art (and storytelling) of the current era. As such, it’s fairly successful, with heroes (and villains) both modern and “Golden Age” interacting and performing their derring-do.

Unlike the closest analog I can think of, though — the Astro City series — PS just never feels very approachable. The stories are about the story, not about the characters. That’s not a fatal flaw, but when you’re starting with characters made up from whole cloth that the reader is unfamiliar with, it makes it a lot harder to get into the tale, or care about it.

I won’t be buying any more of these, but your mileage may certainly vary. Certainly there’s some good talent here, and a lot of good press.

PvP, Vol. 5, “Treks On” (Image) [collects #25-31]
w/a. Scott Kurtz 

Writing		New reader?
Art		Non-comics reader?

The usual high (and low) humor from Kurtz’s web comic strip, which are republished as individual comic books, then collected here. A whole bunch of themes and events, most notably the “Jade Pregnancy” series. Good stuff, very often funny, sometimes touching.

Listening to: Barry, John, “Necros Attacks” (The Living Daylights))