‘Power Cubed’ #1 Comic Review

“What if you could create anything?” It’s an intriguing question posed on the cover of the first issue of Power3. It certainly piqued my interest initially, but with all the story and plot setup going on, it sadly didn’t get to the part where we see a whole lot of creating anything—yet.

The issue starts off with two hired goons arriving at an isolated, turn-of-the-century-style mansion, belonging to an evil Nazi doctor, Dr. Cruel. The evil doctor wants some yet-unknown device for “the brain,” which is essentially a disembodied brain in a liquid-filled globe. Whose it is, they do not say, but Dr. Cruel seems especially enamored with it. After some irate lecturing on the doctor’s part, the two apparently incompetent henchmen hired off the internet are sent to get this device that is essential for keeping the brain alive.

The comic transitions to a guy sitting at his basement workbench, working on some tech that seems rather out of place with all the screwdrivers and wrenches displayed on the wall. The man, presumably some kind of scientist or engineer, has electrodes from the little cube device attached to his temples. He is trying to compose a speech or message for his son Kenny’s 18th birthday. He is trying to explain something about him not being around for much longer, but cannot quite come up with words. We are also casually introduced to the fact that his wife, Gayle, is dead, and the man has had trouble relating to Kenny since he has become a single parent.

Power3 Comic 1

Quick shift to Kenny’s perspective, who is dreaming of talking to his mom amidst a wide variety of sci-fi and fantasy characters. His dream-mother comments on how Kenny is very imaginative (what with the dragon, robots, heroes, and dwarves going about their business around Kenny and his mother) and that perhaps Kenny hasn’t tried as hard to relate to his father as his father has to him. The dream ends after a rather meta moment where Kenny realizes he is essentially taking advice from himself, and his dream-mom poses that maybe the advice stems from something his actual mom had told him in the past that he’d forgotten about.

Kenny makes good on the advice he received in his dream. Over breakfast, Kenny has a stilted, awkward exchange with his father in the kitchen before agreeing to have dinner and cake later and leaving to meet his girlfriend, April.

Later, his birthday dinner goes pretty predictably, with his father giving him the cube, and Kenny, upon learning that the cube is capable of rearranging matter to create anything, turning all the kitchen appliances into robots and spaceships. Before his dad is able to explain the how or why of the cube, Dr. Cruel’s goons show up and demand for the cube at gunpoint.

Power3 Comic 2

The artwork is pretty typical of semi-realistic comics with solid black outlines, and doesn’t really have any distinctive style it adheres to. The colors are similarly typical, but still very nicely done. All around, the art suits the story and tone well.

Power3 is an interesting story, but I felt like it ended right as I was really getting into it. Of course, this can be seen as a smart move on the creator’s part: getting the reader hooked and wanting to pick up the second issue. The story had a pretty obvious setup, with the dad making a magic science box that can rearrange matter into anything, and the son with limitless imagination. Personally, I spotted the connection right away and easily came to the conclusion that this box was clearly designed for a creative person like Kenny to wield.

All in all, I would recommend anyone interested in light science fiction to pick it up. Power3 looks to be a very promising series.

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