POWERS: FEARFUL & DIVINE #1, available from Blue Fox Comics on Kickstarter in August 2021, pits the greatest showmen, authors, and scientists of the early 20th Century against each other to be the first to gain mastery over life and death.
Wait! Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The Comical Opinions Newsletter.
It’s 100% FREE. Sign up NOW!
The Details
- Written By: Cy Dethan
- Art By: R.H. Stewart
- Colors By: R.H. Stewart
- Letters By: Nic Wilkinson
- Cover Art By: R.H. Stewart
- Cover Price: TBD
- Release Date: August 2021 on Kickstarter (Estimated)
Was It Good?
It has a lot of potential. That’s not a back-handed compliment in any way because there truly are some exciting concepts in this story. The melding of historical figures into the fantastical elements of their own creations is enough to get any urban fantasy fan’s motor revving, but the execution in this issue could do with some spit ‘n polish.
Starting with the low point first, the art is not great. There’s a time and place for loose, sketchy anatomy and figure work, but when you’re drawing a story using known, historical figures, inconsistency in the faces and figures becomes a major distraction.
The central figure/hero of the story is Harry Houdini. A simple Google search will bring up dozens of photos of the man. The same could be said for H.P. Lovecraft, Nikola Tesla, and all the other historical figures appearing in this story. In simplest terms, the art detracts from the story when a reader keeps thinking “That’s supposed to be Houdini?”
To be clear, it’s not terrible art, but it pulls the story down through distraction rather than elevating it.
On the other hand, I’m all in on the story. The setting focuses on a time when the lines between science and spiritualism were blurred and pushed beyond their limits; a time when anything was possible. It’s not new to draw a parallel between Lovecraft’s Re-Animator and Shelley’s Frankenstein, but it is new to suggest the parallel is more than works of fiction. And pitting the world’s greatest skeptic (Houdini) as a U.S. secret agent against the forces who would use Frankenstein’s knowledge as a weapon is a perfect setup to get the imagination going.
However, some of the setup is a little hard to follow. Houdini sends Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on a wild goose chase to get him out of Houdini’s hair, as he puts it. Why is Conan Doyle pestering Houdini about spiritual matters when he’s an outspoken skeptic? The reasons are hinted at through snippets of conversations but the reasons are too convoluted to make sense. There are other bits that suffer from the same gaps.
Again, the ideas and concepts sell this story. There’s tons of potential. But the execution needs some work.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Harry Houdini is summoned by the American Secret Service for a detective mission. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was sent by Harry to track down devotees of Dr. Frankenstein to verify if there’s any truth to the legend of the Dr.’s ability to create life from death. The mission was a wild goose chase to get Conan Doyle out of Houdini’s hair, but the goose chase may not be so wild after all.
The Secret Service wants to know what Conan Doyle found, and they want Houdini to debunk the discovery, destroy it, or capture it for the Americans. Using every asset at his disposal, Houdini enlists the help of Nikola Tesla for his powerful inventions and H.P. Lovecraft for his visionary understanding of the occult arts.
The trio sets out on a journey to stop the enemies of freedom from using the blackest collaboration of science and spiritualism to create a weapon that will enslave the world.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Final Thoughts
POWERS: FEARFUL & DIVINE #1 is on the right track to creating this generation’s version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. With significantly more refinement in the art and a little more clarity on the motivations, this will be a story to watch.
Score: 6/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com