Glad I gave it a try

Cover tpb Vol. 1
Jinxworld/DC Comics
Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Avon Oeming
Release date: May 2019

The advance solicits for this series caught my eye with its mixture of comics culture and international spycraft. Add in the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack, and I was very curious. The fact that the narrative was a fictionalized version based on some actual events from David Mack’s life was just icing. And now that I’ve held the book in my hands and read its contents, I can attest that it did not disappoint.

Mack writes the graphic novel’s foreword and tells a bit about the real-world events that both inspired and led to this book’s creation. As I’m already recommending you go and buy Cover, I’ll let him tell those details for anyone who follows my recommendation and heads to their LCS.

As for the fictionized story, it follows fictional comic book artist Max Field, who is gaining no small renown for his latest creation, “Ninja Sword Odyssey.” Suddenly, he finds himself being recruited by a government spy who wants Field to engage in some basic spycraft under the cover of attending international comic conventions. The novelty and thrill of being a covert spy, however, quickly takes a dangerous turn for Field as he learns that his recruitment is not a unique situation and that not everyone is recruited by the same side.

I’m usually more of a story consumer, and it’s no secret that Bendis can weave quite a story when he is hitting on all cylinders as he is in this book. I’m sure Mack also had a hand in the writing chores here as this is his story. But I have to give a lot of credit where it’s due on the art side of this book, too. Mack uses a more traditional comic book cartooning style for much of this book than I am used to seeing from him, but that feels right in the passages about the conventions and the fictional creator’s everyday life. Mack’s excellent painting skills are also expertly showcased in the sequences of “Ninja Sword Odyssey” that are presented here, and also show up from time to time in the more intense moments of Field’s life (as depicted above). Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Avon Oeming also lend their talents to portions of the book that need additional styles to further differentiate portions of the narrative. So the art style truly follows and shapes the story being told in different ways at different times in this book.

Overall, it adds up to a very nice, engaging package that was a joy to read. Well done, all!

Like Meeting Up With An Old Friend

Powers Bureau 6
Marvel Icon
Brian Michael Bendis, writer
Michael Avon Oeming, artist
********** Mature Content Warning ************

I don't know that Powers is a book for everyone, but I enjoy it.

I didn't start out with the book from the beginning. This is another title where I came late to the party. I was curious about it for a long time before I decided to just buy the first trade and try it. That would be Who Killed Retro Girl, the story arc that launched this series in 2000. In that story, readers are introduced to two police detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim. The pair work in a special division of the police force assigned specifically to cases involving people with superpowers. Some such people are good guys. Others are bad guys. Like in most fictional universes where some people have superpowers, there are a lot more bad guys than there are good guys, but even some of the good guys tend to forget there are other non-powered people around.

I liked that first trade so much, I bought the next couple and so on. I continued to enjoy Powers in trade format through the rest of its Image run, and then switched to buying single issues when Bendis and Oeming moved the title to Marvel's creator-owned Icon imprint in 2004. Like any series, some story arcs are better than others, but I've enjoyed reading about the characters through all of the changes in their lives and their world.

In mid-2012, a major catastrophe struck the Powers world and its characters, changing them even more. The title went away for a bit and then relaunched earlier this year under the new name Powers Bureau. The name change reflects the series' new reality after the world-altering event that ended the previous series. In this new world, all powered individuals are outlawed and any case involving superpowers is literally a federal case, handled by the FBI. Pilgrim had joined the FBI before the previous series ended in 2012. This first story arc shows Walker joining the FBI, too, so a casual reader might think little has changed with this series. Rather, the renewed focus of the characters and of the creators is obvious in every page of Powers Bureau.

I've always enjoyed reading Powers; that's why I continued to buy the title despite its erratic publishing schedule. But there's an excitement in the book now that I hadn't really noticed was missing until I felt it come back again. Bendis knows these characters and writes their dialogue in a kind of shorthand that feels like two friends talking to each other. And while Oeming's art still has the same cartoony Powers style, it also seems to have matured some as these characters have aged in the series.

Powers Bureau is definitely good comics!