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Kurt Busiek was kind enough to answer a few quick questions for our Power Company Promo page...

Why should a comics reader give Power Company a try?
Well, if they tried it before and didn't care for it, I hope they'll give us another look. We started out slowly, and kind of on the wrong foot, largely because I came up with plot ideas I really liked for the opening of this book in 1987, and they just didn't work in 2002. I should've scrapped them and started with a clean slate, but I didn't. So we're re-focusing the book on what it should have been all along, kicking up the volume on everything that makes it unique, and jumping feet-first into #8 with a story that'll throw the team into turmoil and keep things hopping. We've got a new member -- an established DC superstar -- showing up in #11, a knock-down drag-out fight between Batman and Manhunter in #15 -- we got lotsa stuff to keep you interested. Plus, the art is still great.

If they haven't tried it before, then I hope they'll give us a shot because it's an interesting idea -- they're a professional super-team structured like a law firm. They have partners, associates, clients, pro bono work, billable hours, the whole deal -- and unlike most teams, they're not all there for the same reason. Some of them want to make money, some want the spotlight, some want to save lives 24/7, some just want a job -- it's a collection of very different motivations, that definitely come into conflict.
Plus, the art is great!


How does the Power Company differ from the other teams in the DCU? 
Most of the DCU teams are straightforward superheroes -- doing good because it's the right thing to do. These guys need to make a profit, they need to juggle clients and caseloads and more, and they're not all there to do good for its own sake. Think of them as lawyers with super-powers -- some of them want to fight for justice, some fight for the biggest paycheck. And 
fairly often, they disagree as to what course to pursue. So there's a lot of character drama along with the action and adventure, a lot of solo or small-squad missions, as different parts of the Company handle different jobs, and plenty more. They're not like any other DC team -- not even previous "business"-based teams.


What sports do the members of Power Company follow and which teams do they cheer for?
Oh, geez, I don't know. Josiah Power likes football and golf -- although how anyone can watch golf on TV, I don't know. But he can. He probably likes the Falcons and the Giants, if I'm remembering my team names right, and I'm probably not.

Skyrocket likes baseball and hockey -- the Cardinals and the Blues.

Witchfire is a nut for the Olympics and gymnastic competitions. Her major interest in team sports is how tight the guys' pants are. She does have season tickets to the Lakers -- courtside -- but more to be seen than because she's a basketball fan.

Manhunter likes what he considers "real" football, and what we call soccer. He was glued to the tube during the World Cup. His money was on Spain.

Striker Z likes football and baseball, but he's not particular about which teams he follows -- he's relatively new to the US and is still enjoying the fact that he can go to US games.

Bork, hmm. He spent most of his life at sea or in prison. At sea, he didn't have much of a chance to get focused on one particular team. In jail, he got hooked on Gotham Knights baseball.

And Sapphire likes Battlebots.


Your posting an explanation to the fans, explaining the coming changes, and the reasons for those changes was a little unusual. How much is the feedback on the internet and email influencing the direction of Power Company?
Not much, at least specifically. In a general way, the feedback let us know that what we were doing wasn't working, and where people were disappointed, but that just let us know there was a problem, and we put our heads together and figured out how to fix it. We're doing a few things sooner than we otherwise would, but they're mostly things we would have gotten to anyway. So you could say that the fan response told us, "get to the good stuff, already!"

The only specific direction the fans are dictating is with the poll we did as to which established DC character should turn up in the book. We already picked the new hire, but guaranteed that whomever won the poll would show up, at least. So in a vote among Firestorm, the Blue Beetle, Batgirl, Superboy and the Haunted Tank, it was a tight race between Firestorm and ... the Haunted Tank. The Tank won, so the Tank will be making an appearance. We've been talking about a number of different ideas to make it a fun Power Company story _and_ an important Haunted Tank story, so we'll have to see what we come up with...