First award goes to Stacey Boden for being the only person to ever comment on my blog! Seriously I have two blogs, with 34 posts between them and ONE comment! Thanks Stacey!
The second award goes to Stamata Massaoutis for sharing my blog with others on her Facebook page and spreading my word. The Gospel of Jass: A never ending deliverance of my unfiltered thoughts for the masses. Never asked for, as it's a gift they never knew was needed. Now that it's here...browser histories ache for a deletion, because the power of each crafted sentence is too much for their cookies.
Next we have Amy Tyler. Amy has cheered me on from post number one. She has also stated twice now that I should, as I fully agree, be on SNL. Cheers Ames.
Last but not least, is Vera LeFranc for always commenting on my FB with thoughtful responses.
While I have awarded only a few, please know there are many wonderful people reading my blog and all of your comments are appreciated. I sadly can't list everyone, but who knows? You can be February's recipients! (Because I know you all secretly want that. I saw your birthday lists!)
Are you all still there? Because I swear I do have a blog post ready to go! What have I checked off this time, you (don't) ask? Why a little thing called GRAPHIC NOVEL! That's right baby, I checked off what is arguably the EASIEST category for me. Why's that? Because I LOVE SUPERHEROES! For those of you who know me, you know that I can talk on and on about superheroes, SH comics, SH cartoons, SH movies, and superpowers in general. I once asked my biology teacher on the likelihood of finding a radioactive spider...she told me not to try it...IN SERIOUSNESS.
Whatever, I don't need to cheat my way to superpowers! (Looking at you PP!) Once I finally master what my mutation is/get one, I will go full Generation X on you! Not the classification society gives people born in certain decades--that shit's lame, yo! No, Generation X-the awesome 90's teen mutant team started by Emma Freaking Frost and Sean Cassidy. Until then, I'll work on amassing a fortune, train in multiple combat forms, and find a reliable English butler who has preferably served as British Intelligence and trained in emergency medical techniques. I can't tell you why...it's no big deal. Seriously. It's nothing-What's that? Graphic novels? Right! Lets talk about that.
BOOK #4 A Graphic Novel
Welcome to POWERS: WHO KILLED RETRO GIRL? by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming.
This is volume 1 of the series and I really enjoyed it. The premise of the world is people with powers are a common occurrence in society. Some are born with abilities, some accidentally gain them (Looking at you PP!) and others actively seek them out. The point is...it's more or less normal. There are superheroes, as well as super villains and they kind of cancel each other out.
The thing that sets this apart from other worlds with superheroes, is that our main characters are regular cops. While superheores set the world, they are not our story. It's an interesting take, and done fairly successfully. The only reason I'm not as impressed with it as it may deserve, is because it's not really a new story to me. Remember how I said I love superheroes? Yeah, that includes ALL types of SH stories (not just those from the big 2) and I suggest anyone who also enjoys these types of stories pick up After the Golden Age.
So, while not completely new for me, still well done. There's a surprise twist that really adds a layer to the characters in this. I won't give it away...if you want to know, message me or leave a comment below and I'll tell you.
It begins with a hostage situation, where we are introduced to our protagonist, Christian Walker. He's a homicide detective and confused as to why he's been brought in. Turns out the captor specifically asks for him. By the end of this issue (Graphic novels are often collected comic issues of story arcs. So while this is Volume 1, it consists of issues 1-6) he ends up with a kid named Callista, who was being held hostage by her dad. This turns out to be important later in the story.
He also meets his new partner Deena Pilgrim. A sassy, easily angered, young detective. She has a problem watching her mouth. At first I wasn't very fond of her, but she grows on you as you learn more about her. She is also the perfect foil to Walker. The characters are super thought out in terms of their personalities and skills. For example, Deena doesn't believe Walker isn't a "power" because of his strangely personal relationships with the cities costumed heroes and villains. So she roundhouse kicks him to catch him in the act and sends him flying into a wall. That's who she is. Walker in response gets up calmly then asks what that was. He's angry and baffled, but remains fairly stoic and understands her reasoning when she explains it.
The tale itself is pretty straightforward "whodunnit" mystery: As the title suggests, they try to determine "Who killed Retro Girl". They go about questioning witnesses and other suspects. The pacing and issue endings build a strong story. One of the best things about this arc is how they drop exposition so you get backstory without the characters taking up too much time. Remember, each comic has so many pages, and an artist can only draw so many panels, with only so much text. The medium requires both written and visual language. Space and layout is important!
POWERS delivers backstory and action simultaneously: They keep the detectives storyline moving forward and show the case being solved, while also telling us everything we need to know about the superheroes in this world, and who Retro girl is by using televised news.
Look at this spread-See how most of the page is the action? The storyline we're meant to follow with our main characters? The top is a scene of the detectives discussing with their medical examiner. The case is moving forward and we're getting the dialogue and process. Now notice at the bottom the smaller panels with white text above them...that is meant to be a TV screen, and it tells as all the exposition we need to know, to understand the world. It's quick, out of the way, and a very smart way to drop a bunch of info that would be tedious to see talked about in lieu of the actual plot.
If I ever write comics, I might steal this- I mean "borrow" this...yeah. Borrow this.
You can also notice, the artwork is pretty awesome on this comic as well. Shadows are used really well for effect.
The one thing I didn't like, ironically, is also the layout. It's not traditionally set and while I love that-there were pages where I had a tricky time knowing which order to read things. This isn't a horrible problem because it's easy enough to figure out, but when you're invested in a story, it definitely is a small out. If I'm reading the funny books, I don't really want to work that hard.
In the end, POWERS is a cool comic and I'm on Volume 3 now. The more the world gets fleshed out, the more I want to know.
*A quick note: I'm reading two books simultaneously, and one of them is "a book with more than 600 pages". It may take some time before the next post...so don't disappear on me!*
My first Readers Award! I'd like to thank Stamata, who introduced me to your blog, and my Mom, for instilling a love of reading into me. ;)
ReplyDeleteSuch a great graphic novel series!!! I was very excited to see your choice and read your review. Bendis is truly a marvel amongst men. (See what I did there? :D)
Can't wait for the next post!
I D'C what you did there...and I Fucking Love puns, you magnificent bastard! Way to Vertigo there, like betting on the Dark Horse and winning the jackpot!
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