Writer and artist extraordinaire Daniel Warren Johnson is back for a brand new series at Image Comics called “Do a Powerbomb” #1. “Do a Powerbomb” #1 is all about a necromancer who brings back wrestlers from the dead to fight the ultimate wrestling match. Johnson is returning to write and draw the series. Johnson’s incredible cover is a great tease at the level of energy in the interior pages of the comic book. Will Johnson’s latest work be able to live up to its incredible reputation of Johnson? Find out in our in-depth review of “Do a Powerbomb” #1!
Written and Illustrated by Daniel Warren JohnsonCover by Daniel Warren Johnson
Colored by Mike Spicer
Lettered by Rus WootonThe creator of MURDER FALCON and Wonder Woman: Dead Earth is launching a brand-new limited series!
Lona Steelrose wants to be a pro wrestler, but she’s living under the shadow of her mother, the best to ever do it. Everything changes when a wrestling-obsessed necromancer asks her to join the grandest pro wrestling tournament of all time, which is also the most dangerous! It’s The Wrestler meets Dragonball Z in a tale where the competitors get more than they ever bargained for!
One of Johnson’s greatest strengths as a creator is carefully pacing out the scene to make every page look dynamic. Johnson introduces us to the concepts of the series through newscasters. Johnson takes the visuals in this scene even further by depicting wrestlers posing in an anticipation of their upcoming fight. This visual interpretation of the scene makes the issue easy to read and comprehend. Johnson quickly flips the tone of the story from something badass to heartwarming when the main character, Yua’s family changes the direction of the story. Johnson switches scenes and the tone with subtle framing that makes the tone switch feel earned in the comic book.
Johnson continues to layer plot twist after plot twist as the issue progresses. Johnson has a steady pace in the script that manages to go through lots of plot in the first script. Sadly, I found that Johnson was almost rushing to the second half of his premise in the issue. The entire debut issue is focused on introducing the full scope of the concept for “Do a Powerbomb.” I wish that Johnson almost would have taken his time introducing both halves of the narrative before rushing to the end. Comics oftentimes have the issue of carrying too little or too much plot.
Johnson does a great job capturing an incredibly specific tone that is somewhere between silly and deathly serious. The issue sports visual gags, extreme violence, and silly outfits. Johnson is walking a tightrope here and sadly I think the balance is off towards the second half of the title. In the second half of the issue when Lona goes to Barren Bastion the series loses some of the goodwill established earlier in the issue. Johnson is taking on too much plot in the scope of one issue without characterizing Lona as well as Yua was earlier in the issue. The last four pages of the series appear to take the comic directly into the supernatural realm.
The rushed plotting of the series is a huge blow to my enjoyment of “Do a Powerbomb” #1 because nearly everything else in the book is executed with grace. While the plotting in the second half of the script made me upset, the art did not. “Do a Powerbomb” #1 established a silly but serious visual tone that remains even when Johnson takes the series in a much sillier direction towards the end of the comic. The visual representation of Willard is incredibly over the top which works in a colossal comic book about wrestling.
I can’t stress just how strong each and every page of “Do a Powerbomb” #1 is from an artistic perspective. “Do a Powerbomb” #1 deconstructs scenes to present them in the most interesting way from a page layout perspective. Lona and Yua’s scene early in the script changes the perspective of the issue. There’s even strong foreshadowing here to make the end of the issue more cohesive with the first half.
Continued below“Do a Powerbomb” #1 is a very dynamic issue that professional wrestling fans may enjoy. While wrestling does utilize sillier elements in some broadcasts, I do not believe that these elements should detract from the overall quality of the comic book. It is hard not to wonder if Johnson implemented this idea as a cliche to homage to the wrestling scene. A large problem I have with “Do a Powerbomb” #1 is the pacing. It would have been great to see Johnson start slowly shifting towards the supernatural moments in this story to make the impact of the final page more meaningful.
Going forward I want Johnson to continue with the story without looking back. If you are a massive fan of Daniel Warren Johnson the art alone is worth the price of entry for the series. Johnson’s storytelling is ambitious and matches up with the unique art. The fight sequences in “Do a Powerbomb” #1 contain all the moments in wrestling that fans could ever ask for. The relationship between writing and art in “Do a Powerbomb” #1 is so strong that the issue is able to take bold creative risks. If Johnson smoothed out the tone “Do a Powerbomb” #1 could be one of the best comics on the shelves.
Final Verdict: 7.3 – “Do a Powerbomb” #1 is a gorgeous but rushed opening issue.
