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POTW Archive:

• August 28, 2013 - Batman / Superman #3
• August 21, 2013 - Wonder Woman #23
• August 14, 2013 - Thor: God of Thunder #11
• August 7, 2013 - Quantum and Woody #2
• July 31, 2013 - Indestructible Hulk #11

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Story by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Michael Avon Oeming
Colors by Peter Pantazis
Letters by Ken Bruzenak

Published by Image Comics | $2.95

Unlike Conor’s dilemma last week, this week I’m forced to choose a best book from a strong little crop of regular favorites. Hell, even the recently meandering 100 Bullets pulled out a strong issue this week. Gotham Central and Ultimate Spider-Man were both excellent as well. But when that feeling hits, you’ve got to go with the race favorite, and around here, that is Powers.

Powers has to have the record for most picks on iFanboy, and there’s a reason for that. It’s a classic that’s still breathing. People will talk about this book for decades, in the same breath as Miracle Man, Swamp Thing, Watchmen, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and many others like it. And this week’s issue is special. Sort of. It’s the last issue of the first volume, and the current arc. In a couple weeks, Powers is coming out with a new #1, likely for marketing reasons I grudgingly accept. But, honestly the number doesn’t matter to me if the readin’ is good, and it’s always good.

We’ve seen the evolution of Christian Walker, or Gora, and now we see the conclusion of his epic rivalry with Wolfe. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure when this takes place. It seems to be around the end of the first Powers story about Retro Girl. The issue is basically all about the final conflict with Wolfe, and takes it’s time delicately showing Walker’s reactions to what’s happening. In this task, the art really comes to the forefront, as the depictions of what Walker is going through, are told more through the subtle rendering of his face and body language. Sure, Bendis’ dialog is key, but I feel he held back a little in this one, to let Oeming do his thing.

The first time I saw this book, I bought it because of it’s interesting art style. It was a blend between noir and Alex Toth style figures. Since then, the characters seem to have lost all their “cartoony” appearance, at least in my own head. They live and breathe, and the stylistic rendering doesn’t reduce the reality of their characters. It’s the mark of a great artist, when the drawing, which is clearly an approximate and stylistic representation of photographic reality, speaks and lives more than even a photograph or filmed image could. In this way, I compare Oeming to greats like Dave Mazzuchelli. The images, which appear simple at first, are anything but.

Finish the issue up with a great letter column as always, and then apparently, we’re to ready ourselves for a new start in Powers which will also serve as a jumping on point for new readers, which is ironic, since everyone should have been reading this book all along.

Did you read Powers #37? Add a comment and tell everyone what you think about this week’s comics!