Powers Vol. 12 - The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time Review

Powers Volume 12 - The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time

Script: Brian Michael Bendis

Art: Michael Avon Oeming

Collects Powers (Vol. 2) #25-30 and Powers Annual 2008; originally published 2007-2008

I'm not a huge Bendis fan, but I really dig Powers. There's just something inexplicably cool about Christian Walker/Samurai Jack investigating 'powers crimes.' Actually, I think this is the only series that I got hooked on primarily because of the art, rather than the story. Oeming's art is just fascinating: bright, simplistic, cartoonish characters juxtaposed against eerie, gritty, dark settings. I just can't get enough of it. But I generally like the stories, too.

This collection, though, was a bit all over the place. Granted, I haven't read anything Powers related in quite a while, but there were way too many plot threads that were attempted to be woven together in this volume. Walker's Green Lantern like duties made a brief appearance. Deena's 'evil powers' showed up. That weird white chick from Internal Affairs's dislike of Deena turned into a vendetta. The Commissioner with the handlebar 'stache reappeared. (I had completely forgotten he existed.) Triphammer returned. The Johnny Royale murder was finally solved. Oh, and there was entire issue where Walker was a monkey/caveman again... I could do without seeing another one of those. Ever.

There was just a lot going on, and it didn't really tie together all that well. Although I do appreciate the fact that Bendis is shaking up the status quo on this series, it seems like he's changing things a bit too much. Character development is one thing, but this is going to be a completely different series now. Where am I going to get my Walker & Pilgrim: Powers Detectives fix from now on? I really don't care to read Christian Walker: Millennium Guardian/Sex God. I'm already reading Green Lantern.

My only other complaints were typical Bendisian characteristics: the two page spreads that I never realize are two page spreads until I get done reading the first page and the second page suddenly doesn't make sense. And the ultra simplistic dialogue that wraps around the whole page. For example:

'What?'

'Yeah,'

'Huh?'

'Exactly,'

'Ah. 'Kay. Thought so,'

Well, that's not actually a direct quote, but you believed me that it was, right? But I knew those things were going to happen when I picked up this book, so I really can't complain too much about it.

Two major bonuses to the book though: I actually laughed out loud when Caveman Walker/Gor punched a boar in the throat. And not just punched its throat. His fist was literally inside the pigs mouth, punching into its esophagus. And I loved it when they asked Deena what was going on with the Powers Virus, and she said, 'It works exactly like you think it does,' and then proceeds to give the most complicated, convoluted explanation ever that I reread three times and still don't understand. That just killed me.

This book really just felt like the end of an era, tying all the loose ends together before moving on. Not terrible, but I think I'm going to be a bit nostalgic. I guess we'll just have to see where we go from here.

Final Verdict: 6/10