Advance Review: America’s Got Powers #1
Apr 10, 2012 by     1 Comment     Posted In: Reviews

image-comics-logoAmerica’s Got Powers seems like a comic that was born of the question, “What would it look like if we took super-powered people and put them on a show in the vein of American Idol?” Well, America’s Got Powers, or AGP as I’m going to call it from here on out, answers that question. Not only does it answer the question, but it delivers a story that is intriguing and makes you want more.

Some back story is given in the opening pages explaining how the super-powered people received their powers. But, everyone woman who was pregnant at the time when the mysterious stone arrived in the sky, gave birth to a child with powers. At some point those children rioted and were taken off the streets and put into camps. Then the show was created to give the kids an outlet to use their powers and to generate revenue with which to study how they received their abilities.

The story follows one child who was born on that day, but didn’t receive any powers, Tommy Watts. He works at the stadium where AGP films and during the taping of their new season everything goes horribly wrong when spectators are inadvertently thrown into the competition area. With no concern for his own safety Tommy runs into the arena to save a kid and displays powers no one knew he had.

America's Got Powers #1 Bryan Hitch CoverJonathan Ross’ second foray into comics is great. I have never read Turf so I don’t know if there were improvements in his style between that and AGP, but this has me floored. I’m completely hooked into the story. I want to know why they received their powers, what the stone is really there for, why Tommy’s abilities haven’t manifested until now, and so many more questions. Ross did come up with a great nickname for the children that were affected by the stone, “stoners”.

The art from Bryan Hitch is nothing short of awesome, as usual. Early on it’s dialogue heavy giving numerous shots of people’s faces and Hitch manages to pull off the expressions perfectly. The action scenes look phenomenal. Having so many different characters to work with can sometimes be a detriment, but here it looks good. One of the characters, Professor Syell, I swear looks like David Tennant during Doctor Who. I can’t wait to see some more of the big battle scenes. I want to see a wide display of powers being used together.

I really want to see where this is going. The main character, Tommy, comes off as a really good guy. And when things start heading south he has no problem throwing himself into what could be certain death, despite having no powers of his own. That is the true mark of a hero. I really like the beginning of the issue with the recap page. It gives a real blog feel to this issue mimicking American Idol or one of the other talent shows on TV right now. Also, the little identifiers with the names and powers of the characters are nice additions to make it feel like a TV show. All in all, I can’t wait to see how this is all going to play out.

Art: 8/10
Script: 8/10
Parental concern: Strong language and a few graphic battle scenes.

America’s Got Powers hit stores tomorrow, so grab your copy!

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  • Tim Morse April 10, 2012 at 7:19 am

    This sounds like a really awesome concept, and it’s a wonder it hadn’t been done before this. It’s got me curious, so I’ll be checking this out today.