Powers

1. Retro Girl
2. Roleplay
3. Little Deaths
4. Supergroup
5. Anarchy

(not quite as sure about the last two, which I haven't read yet)

Also, I was feeling a little guilty that most of my recent comments on ILC weren't going beyond "Yeah, that book rules, I bought/plan to buy it."

But going on what Jordan sez about retrospective analysis, I and I'm sure other readers too appreciate these things -- e.g. "Hey that panel layout makes me read this sequence a lot more quickly/slowly, that's pretty cool!" It isn't like seeing the Wizard behind the curtain -- it's not distracting at all. (Though of course diffrent folx read diffrent strokes.)

Furthermore, let us all adhere to Dave R. Esq's magniloquent proposition!

That's one reason, though, why I really don't see a whole lot of Sorkin in Bendis, even though he names him as an influence: or more to the point, I don't see much uniquely Sorkin in Bendis, since the things people reduce into the "quintessential Sorkin" are just a particular style of dialogue-writing that people have used for hundreds of years. Shakespeare did it, Fitzgerald did it, etc.

I think it might stand out in a comic book largely because of the context -- there are plenty of comics writers I can think of who might be known for their dialogue (by the hoary hosts of hoggoth!), but not many (in the spandex set) who are known for their dialogue for reasons other than it being spectacularly awkward or simply unreal/bombastic.

Other than that ... hrm. I'm sure I'll think of someone as soon as I say "I can't think of anyone." I'm thinking back through my favorite writers past and present, and when I remember conversations from their comics, I'm remembering content more than whether the dialogue was good, bad, or indifferent.

Oh, but Peter David, maybe, specifically in Hulk and X-Factor. He was definitely big on the "superheroes are just folks" thing -- which stood out even more in the early 90s, especially considering the Kewl Asskicking Potential inherent in both those titles -- and making Rick Jones the real protagonist of his Hulk run was a definite step towards natural dialogue not just actually but allegorically, given the shift from the "Hulk smash!"/Banner-scientist-speak dichotomy to, you know, Rick Jones.

Claremont definitely had distinctive dialogue, and when he was at his peak, all the things we make fun of now were nice bits of stylizing. But I don't know if I'd actually single him out as a great dialogue writer, even at his best.

But Peter David - yeah, there was a fantastic issue of X-Factor where Doc Samson ( I think) had them all on the couch one-by-one that was all dialogue, brilliantly written.

Garth Ennis - a lot of the down in the pub chat in Preacher seemed like soapbox preaching to me. Warren Ellis is guilty of the same thing (especially in Transmetropolitan). When Ennis wasn't telling us his likes and dislikes, it was all very posturing.

I liked some of the dialogue in Dark Knight, but I ca't remember the dialogue in any of Miller's stuff apart from that and the two Mazzuchelli collaborations..

I liked it. Not at much as Sleeper, though. Sometimes it's hard for me to read because people's dialogue bubbles extend wicked far (into many, many panels) and sometimes you're meant to read across both pages (instead of one page, then the other).

Martin, definitely move on to "Supergroup", it's fantastic.

And, secondly, I think using the SAME image in FIVE panels, just zoomed-in or cropped a bit, is artistic cheating. I was really, really put off by this. It was happening all the time. And some of the time, I think Oeming just erased someone's mouth and drew in a new one, and called that the new panel. I mean, zooming-in to get a "close up" of someone's face? Then the lines are half an inch thick, instead of normal pencil line width. Do you know what I mean? Why can't he just draw each panel? I mean, maybe that's how it was written but I think it's lame.

... I'll check out Vols 3 and 4, though. Since Jordan said 4 was so good. But I don't have high expectations.

He also mentions that he never uses a ruler except for panel borders, which seems pretty cool to my non-drawin' ass.

Legends must, in that case, be the first Marvel one (which I think have been meh so far).

also, jesus

Replying to this thread (What's so special about POWERS?) a bit as well, but it seemed to veer away so I'm posting here.

Vermont Girl, posting almost exactly a year ago, is insanely wrong wrt Retro Girl. It always makes me misty at the end. This is not easy to do. My heart's in my throat now just thinking about it. "Don't be sad, Walker..."

i coulda sworn he said at some point he lost his power while flying in the middle of something or other and - i think - retro girl saved him

He talks about a big boom while he was fighting zzaxx in the middle of the Johnny Royale warehouse blowout, and about Retro Girl having to save his suddenly-powerless ass. This could be explained away since it's Walker's first-person account and he's clearly not always that forthcoming about his past, and sometimes deliberately misleading. And he may have reason to not want to share his history with Teh Wolf, or what he remembers of it.

Speaking of which, if anyone has any idea what, specifically, the "full story" is that it turns out Walker didn't tell at the end of Supergroup... well, if it's as simple as he/zora/rg were a thing I've got it, but it still seems rather cryptic.

Come to think, Zora's last line in Supergroup also makes me misty every time I read it. "You know I'd do anything for you..."

forever is one that probably reads alot better in trade than in the issues, where your patience was more likely to get tested

There was a real pleasure in picking up that monkey issue though, and being all WTF?!?! and having to wait six weeks for the... Conan issue? And being all "I think I see where this is going but WTF?!" etc. It really took advantage of the episodic format and made the wait exquisite - ooh ooh when/where will the next one be set?

...

At the time, Anarchy seemed like a pretty weak arc. Turns out to be a very nice plant that pays off in Sellouts. See, the thing is, what Supershock's going to prove... Harvey's right.

...

I wouldn't want a Powers illustrated by anyone other than Oeming. The style he uses may be "cartoony," but the underpinning layouts deliver really strong storytelling. Cinematic in the Miller mold. Plus the "cartoony" style is what lets them get away with teh monkeysex and the watersports and the exploding bodies and etc. etc. I wouldn't want that to feel anymore real. Though now that I think about it it would be a hoot to get my hands on the Bizarro-world Powers as brought to you by Bendis and Liefeld.

Monkey ballin' takes time
To feel when you're balling so much
&c.

the standup is pretty lame, tho

However: I heart Zora.

yes argh the standup it's only four pages there are eighteen whole others

Sadly, it's not nearly as clear-cut as that. I'm just always happy to see her. Fuck Boogie Girl.

Soooo apparently this getting restarted again soon? Which is kinda awesome.

it stopped?

I think #30 was the last issue.

oh.

i wonder how much i missed.

I've now read the whole run of Powers upto v.3 #5 (current issue) minus the Icon Annual and the Powers Encylopedia. I liked it but was kind of on the fence, but the last arc of v.2 and where it is going in v.3 has been really excellent. I think over all, while a couple of arcs are better than others, Powers has generally improved quite a bit over the whole run. Oeming's artwork has definitely gained some refinement and some of the action scenes in the last couple of arcs were great.

I wonder whether I need to get back into this. I started to lose interest when the main characters got powers/were revealed to be ancient supermen, and then it started appearing very infrequently.

Dind't get past vol 1, which I found distinctly so-so.

Kinda digging the new volume.

yes, good stuff

FX has ordered a pilot.

I hope Mr. Bendis makes so much money that he never needs to write another comic book again. Mr. Oeming may continue to draw if he so desires.

[mice templar image here]

i mean, is this still going?

Yeah, in fits and starts. V.3 is supposed to wrap up sometime this year iirc.

Kyle Chandler "courted" - http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/kyle-chandler-courted-for-fxs-powers/

I try not to get excited about Ain't It Cool type rumors/possibilities/etc, but I do like the idea of Coach Taylor as Walker.

is this still still going?

Yeah -- reduced schedule since both Bendis and Oeming have so many other projects, but v3 #7 came out a couple of weeks ago.

anyone watching? is there a thread?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt2znyyXt3g

Can't see this video in the UK. Is it interesting enough to buy/steal?

I watched the first episode and thought it was kinda meh. I wouldn't mind seeing the rest of it, but not until the whole season is out so I don't have to pay for more than one month of PS+.

Feel the same here. Very expositiony. Understand some of the changes; others just seem weird. Like, I get why they did what they did with Callista and Zora, but it's going to cost something later. Biggest challenge tho is I'm just not buying Copley's Walker yet.

Credit where credit is due tho: out of nowhere Eddie Izzard is electric.

Watched the first three. It gets much better after the first ep, which simultaneously tries to cram in too much yet doesn't move the plot on nearly enough. The next two are much better paced and advance the plot by just the right amount each time. The pilot feels like a massive misstep, I can't understand why someone who wasn't already familiar with Powers would stick with it.

Copley facially is like Walker but his body type is just wrong. The dialogue is very, very Bendis though.

I just want to know how they handle the caveman issue.

watched the first six now. i'll watch the whole thing i guess, if only bc i can't look away. I know Bendis is credited and I can't blame him for wanting to see this project happen after all these years but damn it's like they tried extra-hard to systematically excise everything that makes the book worthwhile.

based on what we've seen so far it looks like they've already written the caveman stuff out :/

I thought the first episode was pretty good. By the end of the episode I was ok with this guy as Walker, even though he isn't as big and imposing as he looks in the comics. I thought the cast wasn't too bad. I like that character actor that is playing Johnny Royale and Izzard pretty much steals the scene he is in. Michelle Forbes has pretty much made a career playing in scifi and crime shows, but she is really good and was great in Battlestar Galactica.

izzard's the bright spot for sure and yeah noah taylor is fine even if his johnny royale is a mess. i understand the failures of courage in development that led us here but imma just say here we are 6 eps in and do you gaf about the "case"? is there even a case at all? plus the terrible terrible buildup of kaotic chic. it's like they are actively trying to excise anything that might lead them at all in the direction of procedural.

which is unfortunate bc giving the characters something to do is the way that we get to know them. initially the book used deena as our lens and gave us the twin mysteries of what happened to retro girl and what walker's deal was. now? deena is boring and angsty and probably won't kill <spoiler> and zora is just some random and we have no mysteries at all and argh.

oh joy this terrible insult to a great property will live to suck again

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/powers-renewed-second-season-at-793768

Thanks for reminding me that I didn't watch the last two eps. Not sure I can muster the enthusiasm.

ep9 is bendis-scripted. SPOILER it still sucks.