Are we too far along in the cycle to call the comic-book-property-to-television-program transition a renaissance? Is it even a renaissance?
I can’t recall a time – ever – where there were so many television shows based on comics that I read (or read), all on at the same time! Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, Walking Dead, the upcoming iZombie and Daredevil to name a few.
Everyone is in on the popular game, from major broadcasters like NBC, to the more artsy cable companies like AMC, to new modes of transmission companies like Netflix, to…Sony PlayStation?
And that brings us to today’s release of Powers #1. Follow me after the jump and I’ll connect that comic book to television transition.
Powers #1
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by: Michael Avon Oeming
Published by: Marvel Comics
Powers is a series that originally debuted in 2000 via publishing Image Comics and won immediate accolades from fans and critics, winning an Eisner Award for Best new Series in 2001. Following that, Brian Michael Bendis, already a fan-favourite due to his superhero work with Marvel Comics, won the Best Writer Eisner Ward in both 2002 and 2003. The series ran over three volumes and nearly eighty issues.
Today, it’s back via publisher Marvel Comics with a new number 1 and a great jumping on point for new readers.
Powers is a sort of police procedural story that regales readers about the daily exploits of detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim who are assigned to cases that specifically incorporate people who have special…uh…powers. That’s right. They’re investigating super heroes and villains and all the mystery and danger that sort of occupation can drum up.
Powers #1 is a double-sized first issue with a behind-the-scenes making of the Powers television show. That’s where my previously mentioned “transition” comes into play. You see, Powers has been a long-gestating comic book-to-television property. Only now, after years of something-might-be-happening is something finally happening! Yesterday morning, Sony PlayStation announced that Powers would premiere on March 10 on the video game platform – a PlayStation exclusive and their first foray into broadcast production.
Its more exciting times for fans of great comics and television!
Make the run to your local comic book shop today and get in on the action early. Find out what Powers #1 is all about!
