A Sense of Doubt blog post #3883 - POWER FANTASY - Re-Shaping Comics - Comic Book Sunday for 2510.05

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3883 - POWER FANTASY - Re-Shaping Comics - Comic Book Sunday for 2510.05

Once again, I am pushing back my post on the FF movie that has been in the works for a couple of months. Not as bad as some posts that have been planned and re-scheduled FOR YEARS (like my Zionism post after the 10/7/23 Hamas attack or my JK Rowling TERF post). I will get to all of these.

However, I have so many COMIC BOOK SUNDAY posts lined up that pushing back the FF post -- because it's not yet ready and will take more work than I want to devote today -- means pushing back a half-dozen other posts, but that's okay. I will get to them all. Never fear, dear reader.

And one friend just told me she often flips through the contents here. THANK YOU!!

I had spotted this article on one of those pages Google serves up on my phone full of content that my browsing patterns suggest I will like, which shows my a lot of Star Trek, comics, Tigers, and Cubs content along with various music stuff, like my recent STEELY DAN kick (that's tomorrow's post).

One benefit of re-scheduling and deciding to share this article is that it reminded me to check if Power Fantasy volume two was out. With Diamond collapsed in bankruptcy, so no PREVIEWS for the first time in ... I don't even remember how long I have been ordering from a PREVIEWS. Thirty years? Longer? I started buying from FANFARE in 1985, so this year is the 40th anniversary of that patronage. That's amazing.

The loss of PREVIEWS will cut back on my comic buying, for sure. I don't want to take the time to search out all the companies online to see what I am missing. And when I browse in stores, I am careful not to indulge in too much impulse buying. BUDGET conscious, after all.

Though I usually support Kieron Gillen, and receive his newsletter, hence my "Kieron Gillen" category,

I decided not to read this series in single issues but rather in trades. So, this article prompted me to order volume two, which I have not yet read.

I recommend this comic very much, just like this chap who wrote the article I am sharing.

Thanks for tuning in.


https://www.cbr.com/the-power-fantasy-best-new-superhero-comic/

11 Issues In, An X-Men Writer's New Series Is Quietly Reshaping Superhero Comics As We Know It

- Maxwell Pishny - Oct. 2, 2025

With Marvel and DC mostly dominating the world of superhero storytelling in the comic book world as well as in adaptation mediums like animation and live-action, smaller superhero and super-powered stories are becoming less and less likely to reach larger audiences. Independent books from publishers like Image Comics, BOOM Studios, and more are nowhere near as popular as books from the big two publishers, and that's a real shame.

One of the biggest reasons that it's unfortunate that smaller superhero comics don't get the attention of general audiences is the fact that, oftentimes, the stories are even better than those featured in Marvel and DC books. With so much more freedom, independent comics can be bolder, more mature, and far more engrossing than anything the major publishers are capable of. This has never been more apparent than with writer Kieron Gillen and artist Caspar Wijngaard's new ongoing, The Power Fantasy.

The Power Fantasy Isn't a Typical Superhero Story

Alternative superhero stories are often marketed as "subverting the superhero genre", but Kieron Gillen's The Power Fantasy does much more than simply subvert reader expectations. It takes what comic book fans know and enjoy about superpowered beings and establishes them on a major, global geopolitical scale. The Power Fantasy isn't just bringing "superheroes into the real world", it's tackling what the actual logistics of a world with beings capable of mass destruction would seriously be like.

Following along with six "Superpowers", described in the book as any single person with the equivalent capabilities of a major country's nuclear arsenal, The Power Fantasy is a tale of fragile alliances, terrified global entities, and ethics on the largest possible scale. With instantly engaging characters, spectacular artwork from artist Caspar Wijngaard, and a seriously addictive pace, The Power Fantasy is exactly the kind of book that anyone who complains about modern superhero comics being formulaic and basic should pick up immediately.

In the first issue of the series, one of the main characters uses his incredible telepathic abilities to assassinate the President of the United States, as well as a number of high-ranking government officials. This comes in the wake of an attempt by the United States to kill one of the world's six Superpowers. The Power Fantasy is a brilliant piece of social commentary, as well as an ingenious look at the moral and ethical logistics of a world where any one of a group of six individuals could end existence at a moment's notice.

Set in 1999, The Power Fantasy acts as a bizarre kind of warping of the Cold War between Russia and the United States, only this time, the entities involved are much smaller, much more powerful, and even more volatile. Each Superpower in The Power Fantasy is like an alternate version of an endlessly powerful character like Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan. These characters are incapable of truly being killed by anything humanity can throw at them and are psychologically and mentally warped in ways that lesser beings cannot understand.

The Power Fantasy Has One of the Best Settings in Modern Comics

Even though The Power Fantasy's setting is new to readers, it has spectacular worldbuilding, and the comic consistently finds ways to showcase past and present events without dumping exposition on the reader. Kieron Gillen so clearly has a vision of the entire story's trajectory, and that makes the comic all the more compelling. The world feels complex, genuine, and most importantly, lived-in.

None of The Power Fantasy's characters feel like mouthpieces for the writer to dump cool dialogue and plot points out of. They're all living, breathing entities with their own thoughts, feelings, and inner contradictions, and that's what makes them so terrifying. Every one of the Superpowers in The Power Fantasy feels human, and because of that, the comic's fantastical world actually feels real.

Etienne Lux is the first Superpower that readers are introduced to in the first issue of The Power Fantasy, and he is often the central focus of its first eleven issues. While he's a supremely powerful telepath, Etienne has turned off his own emotional responses to remain as unbiased and logical as possible. Etienne could go head-to-head with the strongest telepaths in the Marvel Universe, and he's one of the most fascinating characters in The Power Fantasy so far.

Among the remaining Superpowers, there's Eliza, a kind of "demon" who sold her soul to save the world, Magus, a super-powerful magician and sorcerer, Heavy, a man with the power to control gravity and the leader of a cult known as Haven, Masumi, a girl who can, at any moment, accidentally turn into a world-ending kaiju monster, and Santa Valentina, an uber-powerful "angel" of some kind that stands as the most noble Superpower in the world.

Each Superpower feels incredibly unique, and their respective powers, influences, and motivations are incredibly fascinating. The tightrope walk that each Superpower must perform to keep the peace among themselves is spectacularly tense, and each time something happens in the book to offset the delicate balance previously established, there's a real sense of terror.

Anything could happen in The Power Fantasy, and that's one of the book's greatest strengths. It has no connection to a pre-existing world like Marvel or DC's, so anything and everything is on the table narratively. That's a fantastic place to be, and the fact that the book's story is only getting started makes things even more exciting.

Now's the Perfect Time to Start Reading The Power Fantasy

Since only eleven issues have been published, with a twelfth issue arriving on October 8, 2025, catching up on The Power Fantasy is incredibly easy. Each issue is supremely dense, but despite that fact, they're quick reads. The artwork, panel layout, and dialogue writing all help to keep the story moving while never sacrificing depth or theme.

It's an incredible achievement, and one of the most staggering pieces of comic book storytelling in years. Image Comics has been releasing some of the most exciting and engaging creator-owned books of all time in recent years, with titles like Deniz Camp's Assorted Crisis Events utterly enrapturing readers each month, and The Power Fantasy is continuing that trend. It's a miraculous piece of art that needs to be read to be believed.

In the years to come, The Power Fantasy is almost certainly going to be looked back on as one of the best comic books of the 2020s, and readers have the chance to hop on at the story's beginning. Each chapter of the first eleven issues is a must-read, and not a single entry in the book feels like "filler." Everything has been so wonderfully calculated and planned out by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard that it's nearly impossible not to be swept up in the all-encompassing narrative of The Power Fantasy. The book's first issue is one of the single best introductory chapters in a comic book in decades, and it's sure to just get better from here.

In a sub-genre as overdone as the "subversive superhero" genre, The Power Fantasy stands out as something truly unique. Even though its characters fit the molds of Marvel and DC heroes, the Superpowers in The Power Fantasy constantly prove themselves to be far more complicated than any moral label could establish.

The narrative, thematic, and character momentum of The Power Fantasy's first few arcs has been stupendous thus far, and if it continues to play out as expertly as its first few issues have, it might genuinely join the ranks of the finest superhero comic book content of all time. There's never been a better time to jump on a book like this, and with so many superhero stories and comics becoming bland in recent years, something as unique, smart, and engaging as The Power Fantasy cannot be missed.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2510.05 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3448 days ago & DAD = 402 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.