Powers, Vol. 2: Roleplay by Brian Michael BendisMy rating: 3.25 of 5 stars
Powers is an interesting concept. It looks at the superhero world from the viewpoint of superheroes being the perps and victims of murder. With this second volume, the victims aren't quite superheroes. They are college students playing an elaborate superhero role playing game that gets deadly when they get murdered by a superhuman.
This was dark and sad, to think that these kids were being murdered that way. And the root cause makes it even more distressing. Detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim investigate this crime, and Deena in her forthright way steps on some toes and gets herself in trouble. There is a part that is really funny, in a sick kind of way. So Walker is forced to solve the crime on his own for the most part. He calls in some markers with folks he knew from his superhero days.
I didn't like this one as much as the first book in the series. It seemed less dynamic, although it has an interesting statement on the concept of superheroes as celebrity and part of popular culture. The kids were playing with fire in big and small ways, considering dressing up like a superhero is illegal in the story and also for another huge reason.
Powers is for people who are intrigued by a different view of superheroes, but the story is focused on dialogue and characterization and less on action and over the top exploits of superpowers. In a way that's kind of refreshing, but you have to be in the mood for it. It was a departure from some of the other graphic novels I am reading right now, so I think the downer aspect of this book didn't quite work for me at the time.
Overall rating: 3.25/5.0 stars
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