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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.
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