Since I’ve enjoyed his work with Ultimate Spider-Man (and because I heard good things about it), I decided to pick up Brian Michael Bendis’ Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?. Conclusion: Enh.

Powers is a gritty (think Watchmen) look at superheroes, from the point-of-view of cops (think Top 10), with a noir style. In this volume, the first collection of the series, the cops try to solve the murder of Retro Girl. Will their investigation take them into dark corners and turn up amazing surprises?

Not really. The plot is entirely unremarkable and wholly free of surprise. Combine that with stereotyped (or, if you’re being generous, archetyped) characters and a too-obviously-sourced background, and you’ve got a big pile of just-okay. Nothing really wrong with the book, it just doesn’t add anything to the already burgeoning pomo superhero revisionist genre. Read Watchmen, Astro City, and Top 10; if you’re in the mood for more, go ahead and read this.