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About Power Lords #1
Writer: Dennis Culver and Matt Hotson
Artist: V Ken Marion
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Oni Press
Release date: January 29th, 2025
Synopsis:
Enter an alien realm beyond imagination as the beloved toy icons return to fuel 2025's most epic, galaxy-spanning cosmic adventure from acclaimed writer Dennis Culver (Unstoppable Doom Patrol) and blockbuster artist V Ken Marion (Green Lantern)!
When deep-space smuggler Adam Power comes into possession of the mysterious Power Jewel, he finds himself transformed into something far greater and more powerful than the sum of his parts-only to discover he's been drafted into an eons-old battle between good and evil that could rend entire galaxies asunder!
Power Lords #1 Review
I’m an absolute sucker for comic books which look like a cartoon from the 80s or 90s. Which is funny, given the Power Lords were a toy line in the 80s which never got a cartoon made out of its likeness. It must’ve been the only one.
Dennis Culver and Matt Hotson have created a bold and expansive universe out of absolutely nothing except their bold imaginations. Unless if you count the DC comic books that everyone else has forgotten? Starting off like all good cosmic epics do with a loss or betrayal when the Power Lords are attacked on their base, Volcon Rock, which also happens to be the universe’s greatest source of power - by evil bastard Arkus.
When it looks like they can’t win the battle, Adam Power turns up and goes head-to-head, with Arkus. Seemingly winning the fight for almost a moment until Arkus flips the script by pulling the Power Jewel out of Adam’s forehead, rendering him ordinary and throwing the crystal into a wormhole. Adam goes after it and the two of them, the crystal and Adam, are lost forever. It’s this entire first scene of V Ken Marion’s which is cosmically exceptional, nostalgic of yesteryear cartoons, and feels like the stills of your favourite anime.
What follows is a remorseful moment with Shayla blaming herself for recruiting Adam in the first place. But it’s the remaining two-thirds of this Power Lords comic which allows Andrew Dalhouse to play around with a lot of colours. From the new aliens that the reader encounters to the barren wastes of a dark universe. Set a year later and with Adam Power lost in another part of the universe, he’s joined a ragtag bunch of wannabe pirates looking for their next big score, so they can gainfully retire. While Shayla and the rest of the Power Lords are trying to locate him, Adam is leading his fellow pirates to their bounty, which is really just the Power Jewel he’s been searching for.
Power Lords #1 is a first issue which transforms a dull toy line into something to care about. Making it mature but not so mature that it abandons the era of toy production that it hails from. There are moments where the character speech feels wooden and a bit one dimensional. And yes, because of this reason, there are moments where the dialogue feels like a campy space opera, but it also feels like a dynamic new storyline with throwbacks to how cartoons of the 1980s told their stories. It hasn’t forgotten where it comes from and is exactly what you’d come to expect from the Nacelleverse. If you remember and look back on cartoons like Exo Squad, Masters of the Universe and Bucky O’Hare with fondness then you’ll love Power Lords. If not, well, this comic book isn’t for you!
Score: 8/10.