Broken Frontier

By making a public appearance to save those in need, Calista (New Retro Girl) has inspired other "law abiding" powers to return to crime fighting.

Detective Deena Pilgrim has miraculously escaped the clutches of her powers-wielding captors, who had been repeatedly torturing her. Something mysterious happened during her torment, and she was able to reverse the powers back onto her abuser. Now she is either lying about what happened or in total denial. Regardless, the city is issuing her a Medal of Valor over the incident, citing you don’t have to have powers to be a hero. During the public ceremony, a couple of super powered villains show up, and all hell breaks loose. That is, until the good guys arrive…

What makes Powers special among all the other titles Bendis is writing is that it’s his. If there is a status quo on this book, it’s that there is no status quo. For instance, just look at what has become of Detective Pilgrim. Bendis is continually changing directions without completely disconnecting with the core plot or characters within. The dialogue always seems natural because it is raw, honest and often funny. Even superhero clichés take on a life of their own in the pages of Powers. In addition, of course, if you’re a fan of hilarious quips, the letters pages are worth the cover price all by themselves. Maybe you could inquire to Bendis through email about why he killed off certain heroes in certain other books, too. Powers is likely where you’d see your letter in print, and it’s more likely where you would be called some light-hearted expletive by His Baldness. It’s all in good fun, though.

Speaking of the letters pages, Mike Oeming gets the first page or so as a recent and insightful interview of his is reprinted in full. His angular style is quite effective because it’s not as noticeable as one might imagine. That is partially due to his ability to convey emotion alongside some of the best pencilers in the business. The other reason his art works so well is because Pete Pantazis is the best colorist in the business. I feel comfortable saying that because I don’t often even notice how good or bad a colorist’s work is (aside from when it’s necessary for a review). However, I see visually compelling colors in this book on a regular basis.

If cursing or other mature content bothers you, Powers may not be your cup of tea. (Pilgrim drops the F-bomb in just about every scene where she speaks.) If, however, you like or don’t mind these things, and you like reading something that you just have no idea where it will take you next, give this a try. At worst, you’re likely to get a laugh out of the letters page.

-Kert McAfee