Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming’s Powers comic is without a doubt my favorite comic out today. As far as I’m concerned this is the best work Bendis has ever done. Yes, I’m aware that he will likely go down as the best Spider-Man writer ever, (in my mind he is) and has probably had the best run on Daredevil ever as well. However, this is my favorite book of his, and will likely continue to be. Bendis spoke with Comic Book Resources about the restart to Powers and the new FX television series.
Bendis knows “Powers” fans have been waiting almost a year for the book’s return and is eternally grateful for their patience. “We needed to stop soliciting issues, take a step back and get back to what Mike and I felt was a comfortable place in production,” Bendis told CBR News. “This meant Mike and I could get a few issues done and then start soliciting monthly, because what was going on in the last year or so was embarrassing to me. We were telling what I thought was the best story we ever told in ‘Powers,’ ‘The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time.’ It was shipping so sporadically, though, that I thought we were doing ourselves a major disservice. Our sales were level but I was upset that the story wasn’t being read in the way it was meant to be.”
“We pick up the book with a new #1 issue, which is a very clean jumping on point,” Bendis continued. “I know a lot of people who’ve read my Marvel work and have wanted to pick up ‘Powers’ because they keep hearing about it, but they couldn’t figure out where to start. This is it. In November with our new #1.”
Again, obviously: you want to pick this up with the new #1. The previous arc, had to be the best one of the series yet.
Regarding the television series, Bendis said when the new #1 comes out in November they will have something more to say about the TV show, which should be a good replacement on FX for “The Shield.”
Currently, the pilot for the “Powers” TV show is still in the early stages of development. “We have a director and a show runner and Sony is very positive,” Bendis confirmed. “All kinds of good things are going on behind the scenes right now. They’ve just asked for more material and we’re putting together budgets as well as some other stuff. So we’ll see, but it is an expensive endeavor. This is one of those situations where our imagination and how inexpensive it is to put on the page flies in the face of how expensive it is to put on TV. When you’re only doing tiny bits of superheroics they’ve got to be great. They’ve got to be something really special and I think we’ve all seen the shitty CGI stuff. I don’t want to see it. I’d rather see nothing.
This show may be The Thing I’m Most Looking Forward To. I title that because the book is just that awesome, and from the sounds of the quote above, Bendis is very much involved in it. Which only means good things as far as I’m concerned. Finally, Bendis made a note of what makes Powers so special that I feel like is worth yet another quote:
“What made ‘Powers’ special in a culture filled with superhero stories was that we never left the cop’s point of view,” Bendis said. “We don’t go flying around with the superheroes. We always stay on the ground. ’Powers’ is not a superhero story. We mention all these cool fantastic ideas but it’s a cop story. It’s ‘CSI’ and not ‘Heroes.’”
I would have said Law & Order but CSI is more hip, but regardless, the first two hardcovers are available with the third coming out concurrently with the new #1. I can’t give this series more than my highest possible recommendation. It will change how you think about superheroes, and what comics are capable of.
