|
I’ll be honest; I was a fan of the Power Company comic book
before the series even started.
Even before the Powersurge one-shots came out.
Or JLA #61.
I was a fan when I first discovered that a new team was joining
the DC Universe. I
was a fan when I learned the series would be written by one of
my favorite writers (Kurt Busiek of Astro City, Avengers, and
Marvels fame) and drawn by another personal favorite (Tom
Grummett who brought Superman back from the grave and gave us a
new Superboy.)
I was a fan when I heard of the concept of the series:
super-heroes for hire. A
professional team that was staffed like a law firm with partners
and associates and a support staff.
I was a fan when I saw the first online image of the group and I
realized (and here’s the important part, folks) they were NEW
characters. Okay,
Manhunter and Bork weren’t “brand” new, but I’ll come back to
them later.
New characters in the DC Universe. Thank Grodd. We
need more creators CREATING rather than just re-visiting. Now, I must digress even further to say that I am a major DC
fan. I know my
infinite earths. I
know my various shades of Kryptonite.
I know which countries most of the Global Guardians
come from. I have
two sets of Who’s Who because I really do check it that often. I LOVE it when an old favorite comes back either revamped or
“updated.” They
don’t always catch on, but I appreciate the effort.
(We can still thank James Robinson for Starman or Geoff
Johns for what he’s doing with the JSA.)
But, my point is: this is NEW. We need “new.” The
DCU needs “new.” Maybe
Striker Z or Witchfire will never supplant Superman and Batman,
but it never hurts to try, right?
So, I read
JLA #61.
I read the one-shots.
And when the series began, I embraced it.
I still do, in fact.
It’s been one of my favorites for the last seven
months. This book
is solid in both story and art.
I’m not going to tell you too much about it because my
trusty computer pal is putting a link right here to DC
Comics Online’s Power Company mini-website.
This will tell more than enough about it (with less
digressions from yours truly) and it can do it with examples of
each character and some stunning artwork.
So, if this comic is good and it is consistent and it comes out
on a regular basis, why am I bothering you about it?
Well, here’s another link for you; [link removed
from net] explaining how the book needs your help to
continue and how he plans to “fix” the parts he feels are not
working.
This totally floored me. In
modern comics, when a series is slipping in sales (or not
gaining a steady audience), it is always SOMEONE ELSE’S fault. I’ve seen creators blame the Internet or video games or
editors or apathetic retailers or Jupiter’s alignment with
Pluto. But, very seldom do we see somebody turn the spotlight on
themselves and say, “I goofed.
Let me try again.” Kurt Busiek does. And,
I respect him even more now.
He says he made some poor judgment calls about the
book, but he CARES ENOUGH to want to try and fix them.
That is amazingly refreshing.
So, there you are. Power
Company is a well-written, well-drawn super-hero comic.
My favorite characters are easily Bork and Josiah Power
(uh oh). I’m
curious about Manhunter (and was a fan of the classic Archie
Goodwin / Walter Simonson character).
Skyrocket is really starting to grow on me.
I especially like that this “patriotic” leader is not
your usual comic book standard in this role.
I’ve enjoyed the conflict we’ve had with guest stars
like Green Arrow, but more importantly, some villains like the
Cadre (I thought only I remembered Fastball, Kurt) and Javelin
that haven’t been seen in a long time.
In addition to FREE STUFF you might win, Kurt explains that he’s
starting fresh with a “major turning point” and a few good
“jumping on” issues. Please do him a favor and jump on for the
first time. Or,
try it again. Or buy it for a friend who used to watch “L.A. Law”
religiously. I
don’t really care. I
just don’t want to see this book go away.
The potential is there and the people are talented
enough to deliver. Please
check it out.
All comments (c)2002 John Steib and may not be reproduced in
whole or in part, without written permission of the author.
|
