A new creator-owned miniseries from Image Comics, illustrated by the man whose art defined a decade? It couldn’t go wrong… could it?
Written by Jonathan Ross
Illustrated by Bryan HitchWelcome to AMERICA’S GOT POWERS! It’s the biggest TV show on Earth, where the chance to win fame, fortune and get laid are dangled in front of a generation of super-powered teens. All they have to do is WIN. Who is the fastest, the strongest or the greatest? Who survives? Young Tommy Watt’s dreams of being the greatest hero of them all might just be shattered when the greatest show on the planet begins to reveal its dark heart.
The basic premise of “America’s Got Powers” is simple enough: in order to deal with a large portion of San Francisco being born with superpowers, the would-be superheroes are forced to fight for the entertainment of the rest of the nation in a mix between a reality show and the gladiatorial games of old. It is a concept that is about one step above the classic “heroes confuse each other for enemies, and then team up against the real villain” formula, but it is still another comic based around super-powerful beings beating the snot out of each other. That is not meant to be a negative comment – there are plenty of great, entertaining comics out there that do just that – but when you make a comic that sounds like so many other books on the stand, you need characters that seem unique and legitimately interesting. The plot and setting details that differentiate it from the other titles? Those are secondary. Character comes first… and there’s not much of it in this first issue.
Not for lack of trying, though. Jonathan Ross’s script clearly tries to inject his characters with personality, but that’s the problem; as readers, we should not be able to tell that the writer is making his characters kind, annoying, or cruel, but instead feel that the characters are that way due to factors outside of the writer’s control. Sentences such as “You gotta catch me to fine me… and that ain’t going to happen when I’m being so awesome,” however, reek of a writer trying to make their character hip and fun, rather than just letting it happen naturally. It doesn’t even work when Ross tries to portray protagonist Tommy Watt’s character through his actions, either: I understand that Ross is trying to make Tommy seem like a good-hearted kid, if a bit irresponsible, but the scene of him working in the store just goes too far for the character to be believable anymore. Without a strong main character, it’s incredibly difficult to become invested in the story of the series, even with the plot twist at the end.
If you were primarily drawn to this book by the presence of artist Bryan Hitch, though, have no fear. Some of his figures are slightly less defined than his work was during his career-defining stays on “The Authority” and “The Ultimates,” but his art in this issue still packs the same punch. His style – particularly in the larger, more action-packed panels – may lean more to the realistic side of the scale than the stylized, but unlike other comic artists who try to inject their work with realism, his work is anything but static; simply put, there is a reason he is most well known for his action books. Every thump, every bash is felt with all the force meant to be behind it – which is quite a bit, since this series is primarily about superhuman wailing on each other for the entertainment of others. The dynamic quality of Hitch’s art can be attributed to his use of shadows; while cross-hatching is present, especially the further the camera pulls in, Hitch tends to use swathes of solid black in an effort to distance his otherwise realistic figures from the static qualities of photorealism. To those who try to get their comic art to resemble reality as much as possible: take note.
Hitch doesn’t only improve upon the flaws of his fellow “Realists.” There are plenty of artists out there who draw stupefyingly impressive action scenes, but who can’t draw a scene of basic dialogue to save their life. Hitch almost never draws floating heads, as he understands that even when people are supposedly standing still and talking, they’re still moving at least minutely. A Hitch panel always has motion in it, because he always takes the time to find a way to include it – whether in the motions of the in-focus character, or something in the background. An action comics artist who draws talking heads is not an action comics artist at all; Hitch knows this, and uses every panel in this book to demonstrate that he is deserving of his title as the father of widescreen comics.
If the book still sounds like it might be up your alley – and I can’t blame you; Hitch drawing massive-scale destruction is hard to say no to – I have good news: The first issue of “America’s Got Powers” is a great bargain. At $2.99 for a little bit under forty story pages, it’s on of the best deals on the shelves this month. Like last month’s debut of “Saga,” the extra pages allow Jonathan Ross to establish everything needed to make the reader feel well-grounded – a trend that will hopefully catch on more and more in the realm of monthly comic series. On top of that, a 38-page book that costs $2.99 certainly feels like less of a waste than a $3.99, 20-page book if you buy it and don’t exactly care for it – which may very well be the case.
Final Verdict: 5.5 – But it looks damn good.
