| Powers | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Image Comics Icon Comics (Marvel Comics) |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | , crime, superhero |
| Publication date | April 2000 to present |
| Number of issues | Vol. 1 #1–37 Vol. 2 #1–30 Vol. 3 #1-current |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Artist(s) | Michael Avon Oeming |
| Letterer(s) | Brian Michael Bendis Ken Bruzenak |
| Colorist(s) | Pat Garrahy Peter Pantazis |
| Creator(s) | Brian Michael Bendis Michael Avon Oeming |
| Editor(s) | K. C. McCrory Jamie S. Rich |
| Collected editions | |
| Who Killed Retro Girl? | ISBN 1-58240-183-7 |
Powers is an American creator-owned police procedural comic book series by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming. The series' first volume was published by Image Comics from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 the series moved to Marvel Comics as a part of its Icon imprint.
Combining the genres of superhero fantasy, crime noir and the police procedural, the series follows the lives of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, assigned to investigate cases involving people with superhuman abilities, who are referred to colloquially as "powers".
Contents |
Bendis and Oeming (and David Mack) became friends while all three were working on individual small press projects. Bendis says that he also began to "analyz[e] why it was that I [had] never attempted to write a superhero comic" at the time, while he was writing crime books such as Jinx and Goldfish, despite his love of the genre. Concluding that Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen had sufficiently explored the genre, Bendis decided to work in other genres."[1] The series' concept was derived from his love of crime fiction and police procedurals in general, as well as specific works such as Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets,[1][2] Janis Joplin's biography,[1] Taxi Driver, T-Men, Traffic)[2] and Visions Of Light: The Art of Cinematography,[3] and would take the form of a Behind the Music-type look at superheroes.[1] Powers, Oeming says is "a superhero universe seen through the eyes of the police... [as] observed by the media" and everyday individuals. Bendis' intention was to view the "cliches of the superhero genre through the harder eyes of the cops," but with the added layer that (echoing "Behind the Music") "every arc has some footing in a famous rock star story." Bendis' scripts are often compiled from "a list of scenes," eschewing "the big exploding ending" in favor of a "character-driven or psychological ending." Indeed, in experimenting with plots, the duo swiftly moved beyond 'mere' police precedurals (despite those being both creators' "favorite stories"), constantly pushing each other creatively in new ways. In conceiving plots for the series, Bendis emphasizes the purpose and themes in the narrative over "just being cool", and allowing the theme to dictate the direction of the story.[4]
Bendis would collaborate with Oeming, who had already expressed interest in producing a crime/noir comic with Bendis,[5][6][1] inspired by his attempts to get work on Batman Adventures to do a book in a style reminiscent of Bruce Timm and Alex Toth.[5] Bendis cites two images produced by Oeming (one for Bendis' Jinx, and one for David Mack's series Kabuki) as originating the then-experimental "Powers' style," and "inspir[ing] everything in [Powers]."[3] (Indeed, Bendis and Oeming's first collaboration was "Mall Outing" in Jinz: True Crime Confessions. It is included in Little Deaths "for Powers completists and curiosity's sake."[7]) Oeming has noted that, although seen as an overtly "cartoony" style, the artwork does not appeal to children, which helps sidestep the potential problem of the book, which contains mature content, being purchased by customers younger than its intended audience.[6]
Despite both creators only having produced work in black and white before Powers, Bendis envisioned Powers in color, and convinced Oeming that it could work, despite the dramatically higher number of sales required to sustain a color comic.[2] Bendis also convinced Oeming that the book should juxtapose both the superhero and crime noir genres, as Oeming initially shied away from the former.[6][3] Bendis writes in the 'Sketchbook' section of the Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? TPB that "one of the rules of film noir is that the city itself should be considered a lead character."[3] To this end, he made Oeming watch Visions of Light a documentary by the American Cinematographers Institute about the art of lighting in film, which he saw as important to the feel of comics also.[3] According to Oeming, both he and Bendis do copious research for their projects, and that before he began the series, he would do ride-alongs with police, meet police officials, and take extensive photo reference of their equipment.[5] (c.f. Issue #7)
Powers was initially pitched to DC Comics, after DC inquired of Bendis and Oeming what they were hoping to create.[2] Bendis ultimately retained ownership of his creation, which allows him complete freedom as the writer.[1]
Bendis and Oeming were initially worried, after having produced but not solicited two issues of the series, to learn that writer Alan Moore was preparing what was to become Top 10 for America's Best Comics. Although the creators had been confident that the idea of a book juxtaposing superheroes and the police procedural had not been done previously, the knowledge that Moore was doing something similar nearly led them to abandon the series, before discovering that Top Ten featured superhero police officers and a different enough approach that led them to feel safe in continuing.[2]
Powers was initially previewed in a series of original strips which ran in Cliff Biggers and Ward Batty's Comic Shop News a comics-industry periodical available from many comic shops. The eight strips were colored and lettered by Bendis (before initial colorist/letterer Pat Garrahy became involved) and complimented the up-coming series as a companion piece in newspaper strip form.[3] The strip was later serialized at the online comics magazine PopImage.com.[8]
Debuting with sales of 12,500 (around the "break even" mark for a color comic, although "like ten thousand more" than Bendis' previous book, Torso), Powers was faced with an uncertain future, as sales of comics tend to dwindle over subsequent issues. However, Image Comics publisher Jim Valentino and head of marketing Anthony Bozzi both read and enjoyed the first three issues (lettered and laid out by Bendis himself, a hang-over from his earlier fully creator-owned works where he took on the complete roles of several individuals), with Bozzi reportedly saying, "If we can't make a book like POWERS sell we really should stop making comics." Image offered to double-ship the second issue, effectively doubling the orders for that issue as an attempt to boost sales: the gamble worked, and issue #1 was soon reprinted, while according to Bendis, "issues #3–11 saw an upswing" in sales every issue.[2] The reported Diamond pre-order figures show sales climbing above 23,000 by issue #7, and topping 30,000 with issue #14 and stabilizing between 25,000 and 30,000 for the remainder of the titles' Image run.[9] These strong sales allowed Oeming to quit his job as a security guard, while Bendis' launch of Ultimate Spider-Man had a positive effect on Powers' sales as readers searched out his comics.[2]
In 2004, Marvel launched a new imprint for creator-owned material, open by invitation only to Marvel creators. Powers was (with Kabuki) the first series to debut under this new line, in large part due to Bendis' preeminent role as a Marvel author. The move worked well for the comic, "gain[ing] new readers" in the move from Image to Icon, with the initial issue garnering pre-orders of over 40,000 (and settling around the 30,000 mark with issues #7–8).[2][9] In part, the move was precipitated by Jim Valentino stepping down as publisher of Image Comics, after having been driving force in the launch of Powers (as well as publishing Bendis' earlier works Jinx and Torso). Bendis notes that his"relationships with publishers "are always with people, not with logos."[2]
For their anniversary issue (Volume 2, issue #12 from Icon), Bendis and Oeming had planned to swap roles – Oeming writing and Bendis drawing. Unfortunately, Bendis suffered an injury to his cornea stopping him from drawing the full issue, although he did provide a cover for the issue.[2] Powers Volume 3 launched with issue number one in November 2009.[10] As of December 2011, only seven issues of volume 3 have been released.
Bendis has a "POWERS idea-list" and the two have "enough stories left in [them], and... the audience to keep the book going" for a while yet.[2] Both have repeatedly stated that they "know the ending," not in terms of time frame or issue number, but as a final act of closure, having "promised to never write or draw Powers beyond the amount of fresh ideas" they have.[4]
For the TwoMorrows publication Draw! #5 (Winter, 2003), the Powers team produced a "behind the scenes look at the nuts and bolts creation of Powers," later collected in Powers: Supergroup. As with most comics, the issues' origins lie in the script, written for Powers by Brian Michael Bendis, a self-taught writer who explains that he learned "a lot from pop-culture osmosis," as defined by Robert McKee's Story, and through a combination of "practice and reading." Writing in the typical full script style, Bendis says that he also revises his scripts "pick[ing] them to death... [to] find the best one-liners."[11] Echoing Behind the Music, Bendis has stated that each story arc or character within them has some inspiration in the biography of a famous rock musician, or broad musical themes or ideas.[2][4] These include:
Michael Avon Oeming writes that, on receipt of the script, he tends to "scribble a very small panel layout" making sure to leave space for the (copious) dialogue. He then draws (in pen) a tighter breakdown/layout, indicating "repeating panels" (for photocopying purposes) with "all [the] thought process happen[ing] in the layout" stage. By contrast, the actual "finished" artwork is then more straightforward, Oeming working with a lightbox (maybe "listen[ing] and half watch[ing]" a DVD while he draws) to move from the layout to the full black & white artwork.[11]
Ken Bruzenak (letterer from issue #13) writes that "Brian emails the script... a month or two early" but he doesn't look at it until receiving artwork from Oeming. Interestingly, he notes that "most of the double-page spreads are drawn smaller" than the single pages, "at printed size" rather than the standard oversized artboards used for single pages. These he photo-enlarges before lettering. Using a clear overlay, he lays out the balloons before lettering the dialogue, sometimes needing to revise the position or size of the balloons, as well as attempting to fit the balloons behind the artwork as much as possible. "Sound effects are computer generated" for uniform sounds, printed and "rubber cemented onto the overlay for ease of scanning by the colorist.[11]
Peter Pantazis (colorist from issue #13) also receives a copy of Bendis' script prior to the artwork, which arrives with the letter-overlays. Scanning artwork and overlays separately, the two are united in Photoshop, and the first step is adding any large black areas highlighted by Oeming on the initial artwork. Next, Pantazis sets up layers/channels before starting to add color to each, referring to Bendis' script for pointers on mood, "lighting and shadows". On another layer, he creates the "special effects" and then adds in the letters-layer and e-mails both Bendis and Oeming for comments before correcting/revising any issues (including spelling mistakes) and sending the finished artwork to the printer.[11]
Powers is set in a world where superpowers are relatively common but not mundane. It follows the lives of two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, police officers in a Homicide department devoted to cases that involve "powers" (people with superpowers). Walker himself used to be a costumed superhero named Diamond, but became a police officer after he lost his abilities. Though stripped of his powers, he still retains his contacts within the superhero community, even becoming engaged to an ex-colleague, who is later killed. In later issues, Walker is offered the chance to become the world's latest secret Guardian as part of The Millennium Guard, a secret group of intergalactic guardians, accepting the responsibility and the powers that come with it.
Deena Pilgrim, his partner, is also hiding at least one troubling secret. She contracted superpowers during a fight with an underworld thug named the Bug, an event which she kept under wraps. As a result of this, she unintentionally kills her abusive boyfriend in self-defense, and hides the evidence, although coming under investigation by Internal Affairs. However after a series of events involving Retro Girl going undercover, Triphammer cures Deena and she is no longer under the scrutiny of I.A.
Despite the high mortality rate, there are several recurrent characters in Powers beyond the main two. Oeming has praised Bendis' writing in giving a "real depth" to even minor figures, writing that he particularly enjoys Bendis writing "a character as an asshole and then we [the reader] learn they are more valiant than most of the [other] characters."[4]
One of the series' recurring motifs, which begins in issue #4, is the liberal use of cameos. Investigating their first major crime, Walker and Pilgrim question 32 superheroes (and five pages later, 32 supervillains) for leads. Described by Bendis as both "one of [his and Oeming's] best ideas" and a "'logistical nightmare'," many of these cameo-characters were lent by "well-known comic book creator friends" of Bendis and Oeming to add a level of metatextuality and flesh out the wider Powers universe.[3] In addition to the "brand new super hero and villain creations" solicited, some creators allowed the appearance of their well-established (creator-owned) characters – such as Mike Allred's Madman, Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon and Jim Valentino's Shadowhawk. Other creators who have lent their time and characters to Powers include: Angel Medina, Dan Brereton, Paul Jenkins, Neil Vokes, Judd Winick, Jim Krueger, Mike Baron, Phil Jimenez, Scott Morse, Marc Andreyko, Ed Brubaker, Joe Quesada and David Mack.
As the series has progressed, more notable cameo appearances of real individuals have to a greater or lesser extent furthered/augmented/commented on the plot. Powers issue #7 "Ride Along" introduced author Warren Ellis into the Powers universe, as a writer of "graphic novels" who accompanies Walker on a "ride along" for research purposes.[7] The Powers Ellis discuses the domination of the comics industry by superheroes and the medium of comics itself, before being revealed at the end of the issue, in a super-metatextual moment, as the author of the in-Powers-universe comic entitled "Powers". In issue #23, an analogue of Dark Horse Comics editor Diana Schutz is interviewed on the problematic nature of vigilante superheroes who exist above the normal system of law, and why non-powered individuals might feel betrayed by, wary or resentful of them.[4]
In his introduction to the bonus materials section of Powers: Roleplay, Bendis highlights five Superhero comic cover clichés, and then explains that "Mike and I decided very early on to create theme covers for each storyarc."[5] "Roleplay" (issues #8–11)'s theme used "album cover designs from albums you would find in a college dorm room."[5] The covers homaged were:
Issues #12–14 (collected in Little Deaths) were drawn in the style of trashy gossip/celebrity tabloid magazines. The covers were styled after the following magazines:
Other covers are homages to a number of things, including:
Under Icon, some of Volume 2's covers have been drawn in the style of various classic movie posters. Specifically, #7–10.
The first through fourth story arcs, "Who Killed Retro Girl?", "Roleplay", "Little Deaths" and "Supergroup", were published online in a daily page-per-day format, and the fifth arc, "Anarchy", was being released but has since ceased it's release days. also the story "little deaths" is incomplete.
The series won the Eisner Award for Best New Series for 2001 and Brian Michael Bendis won the Best Writer Eisner Award in 2002 and 2003.
Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, whom Bendis and Oeming view as "amazing crime writers," created Gotham Central, which Bendis and Oeming view as one of many Powers-like comics influenced by their work. Bendis notes that Rucka and Brubaker gave himself and Oeming a "heads up" that they were preparing a "cop book in the DC Universe," and entirely separate from the plethora of titles which seem to merely be attempting to ape Powers.[2]
Bendis has confirmed that there will be a Powers TV show on the FX network and he will be writing the pilot for the show.[19] In February 2011 it was announced that the show, now scripted by "Chick" Eglee, had been greenlit for a pilot.[20] Charles S. Dutton was cast as Captain Cross in May 2011.[21] In June, Bendis revealed that the pilot would begin filming in "a few weeks".[22] Days later, Lucy Punch was cast as Deena Pilgrim.[23][24] The following day, Jason Patric was cast as Christian Walker and T-Mobile girl Carly Foulkes was cast as Retro Girl.[25][24]
| # | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN | Reprints | |||||||||||||||
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| 1 | Who Killed Retro Girl? | Image Comics | 2000 | ISBN 1-58240-183-7 |
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| 2 | Roleplay | Image Comics | 2002 | ISBN 1-58240-232-9 |
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| 3 | Little Deaths | Image Comics | 2003 | ISBN 1-58240-269-8 |
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| 4 | Supergroup | Image Comics | 2003 | ISBN 1-58240-309-0 |
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| 5 | Anarchy | Image Comics | 2003 | ISBN 1-58240-331-7 |
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| 6 | The Sellouts | Icon Comics | 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1582-X |
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| 7 | Forever | Icon Comics | 2004 | ISBN 0-7851-1656-7 |
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| 8 | Legends | Icon Comics | 2005 | ISBN 0-7851-1742-3 |
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| 9 | Psychotic | Icon Comics | 2006 | ISBN 0-7851-1743-1 |
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| 10 | Cosmic | Icon Comics | 2007 | ISBN 0-7851-2260-5 |
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| 11 | Secret Identity | Icon Comics | 2008 | ISBN 0-7851-2261-3 |
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| 12 | The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of all Time | Icon Comics | 2009 | ISBN 0-7851-2262-1 |
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| 13 | Z | Icon Comics | 2010 | ISBN 0-7851-4593-6 |
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Note: The full title of all volumes listed here start with "Powers: ".
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