In this column, our resident ‘comics guy’ Fred Azeredo expounds on a single comic book issue every month. Not necessarily the biggest, not necessarily the best, just one he thinks is worth discussing! See if you agree!
It’s about time I wrote about The Power Fantasy. I’ve been following this series since it debuted last August, and every issue has brought forth a new twist that makes its unique world even more compelling. In an alternate 1999, six ‘Superpowers’ exist, each an individual with the power to kill billions in minutes. Since any outright battle between them would inevitably prove catastrophic, the comic centres around their diplomatic efforts to prevent any such confrontation. Basically, it’s a superhero comic with no fighting.
Are you still here? If so, you probably find this concept as cool as I do. Superpowered slugfests in comics these days tend toward tiresome, and a lack of punching does not necessarily equal twenty pages of people sitting and talking—much the opposite, The Power Fantasy uses this self-imposed handicap to deliver thrilling action sequences where the balance constantly threatens to tip over. In the very first issue, we have our “hero,” the telepath Etienne, psychically killing hundreds as a compromise to prevent the Magneto-like cult leader Heavy from declaring war on the US. It’s ethically slippery, shockingly violent, and totally fascinating.
This month’s issue, #6, is arguably a bad example: it features no violence whatsoever, just scene-setting as the book shifts gear into its second arc. It’s telling how high the comic’s average quality is that this is still by far one of the most absorbing major issues this month. Not only are we treated to a big revelation—there’s a seventh Superpower—but we also get further insights into some of the series’ most enigmatic characters, like the demonic Eliza Hellbound (who may or may not be related to the cataclysmic “Second Summer of Love” that wiped Europe off the map) and the shifty Magus (whose anarchist bona fides are called into question as he allies himself with the American military). The worldbuilding here is so good it makes us crave exposition—there is no higher compliment.
It’s also some of Kieron Gillen’s finest work yet. No one was more surprised than I—I initially enjoyed his The Wicked + The Divine but quickly tired of it and I found his Once & Future belaboured its Arthurian retelling a bit too much. He feels like a British Invasion-era writer for the present day, obsessively subverting mainstream expectations while bringing a weighty, literary approach to characterization. That shtick grew thin in most of his previous works, so here’s hoping Power Fantasy stays this ridiculously good throughout its planned 16-issue run. Even if it doesn’t, though, I suspect I’ll keep reading all the way to the end.