Product Description

Heroes glide through the sky on lightning bolts and fire. Flamboyant villains attempt daring daylight robberies. God-like alien creatures clash in epic battle over the nighttime sky. And on the dirty city streets below, Homicide Detective Christian Walker does his job. Walker has to investigate the shocking murder of one of the most popular super-heroes the world has ever known: Retro Girl. He is teamed up with spunky rookie Detective Deena Pilgrim, and the murder investigation takes them from the seediest underbelly a city has to offer, to the gleaming towers that are home to immortal beings. As shocking, hidden truths about Retro Girl come to light, Walker finds that to solve this crime, he might have to reveal his own dark secret.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109409 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 207 pages

From the Publisher
Brian Michael Bendis is the Author of Powers, Torso, Jinx, Goldfish and Fire, all from Image Comics, as well as Fortune & Glory (Oni Press), Sam and Twitch (Todd McFarlane Productions) and Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel Comics). Bendis is widely considered one of the top writers of comics working today.

Customer Reviews

Satrical, Police Procedural by a Mametesque writer
If David Mamet was a comic book writer, there is a good chance he would be Brian Bendis. The art work is great, and truly fitting to the story being told, but it's the writing that really makes Powers stand out. The formula for Powers, for anyone who watches shows like: Law&Order, CSI or NYPD Blue, is pretty simple and straight forward; it is meant to be a satire upon those models, using the investigating of crimes and interrogation scenes to poking fun at them. Not to mention poking fun at comics as well, with their obsession with heroes in spandex. Bendis' connection to Mamet as a writer is displayed by the use of overlapping dialogue, and comedic timing is certainly befitting something that Mamet tries to accomplish in his films and plays.
Powers should be essential reading for anyone who is a fan of comics, simply because Bendis uses cliches and techniques from writing for other media and brings them into a comic, making for a refreshing change. The best place to start is Volume 1: Who killed Retro Girl?

Powers, Vol.1
With all the superheroes flying around, one has to wonder if the police department has a specialized unit that deals with specific crimes committed by any individual with superpowes. Enter Powers, a crime comic written by master scribe, Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spiderman, Daredevil) that details just that. Detective Christian Walker and his new partner, Detective Deena Pilgrim, are investigating the murder of well known and loved super heroine, Retro-Girl. But this case is unlike any other that Walker has been on. There's something personal about this. There's an apparent connection between Detective Walker and Retro-Girl that is unkown to his new partner (and it's not what you're probably thinking). This book is a magnificent noir detective story that doesn't pull any punches.

The artwork by Oeming is very cartoony and reminds me a lot of the character designs for the DC realted animated series (such as Batman and Justice League) but with some of the best lighting effects and shadowing I've ever seen in a comic book.

All in all, Powers is simply one of my favorite titles out there. A rich and detailed noir atmosphere that doesn't disappoint on any level.

As a side note: check out TORSO, my favorite of Bendis' adventures into crime-drama.

Something new in the graphic novel genre
I am a recent fan of graphic novels. Like many people, especially girls it seems, I had not read comics as a child. I thought they were all cheesy, concerned with flashy pictures and action, not indepth stories.

Then a friend introduced me to Brian Michael Bendis.

Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? is in the super hero genre...but not. It starts of the series with a bang, and what's most interesting about the use of super hero storylines is that it explores the strange side stories you would never hear about in an issue of Superman or Daredevil. Super heroes in the news, as regular people, their home lives, what they are before and after powers, and how what they can do would effect the "real world" around them.

This is truely a unique series and the writing of Bendis in any comic shows what the medium can really do. This was my introduction to comics and it ensured I would continue to come back.