REVIEW: ‘Power Pack,’ Issue #1

Power Pack #1 is published by Marvel. The creative team behind this issue is Ryan North as writer, Nico Leon as artist, Rachelle Rosenberg for color artist, and VC’s Travis Lanham as the letterer. This issue starts off with a bit of a background story as to how the main characters were gifted their powers, and how they managed to save the world from evil aliens with the sacrifice of one alien named Whitey.

The heroes of the comic are a quad of siblings, Katie, Julie, Jack, and Alex, each with their own unique powers. Katie can convert objects she touches into energy; Jack can change the density of his body; Julie can fly and leaves behind a rainbow trail; Alex can change an object’s gravity. They live in New York City and try to live normal lives.

The dialogue, which is headed up by Ryan North, in Power Pack #1 fits the tone quite nicely. Since the main characters vary in age, they keep the usage of complex and profane language to a minimum, unless you consider “jerk” a profane word. The story does feel a bit far fetched, but in the Marvel universe, anything is possible. There are some cheesy moments in the comic, but again this focuses around children and young adults, so it fits quite nicely.

The art which is done by Nico Leon is quite unique. That is because Power Pack #1 introduces itself right out the gate with that of a child’s drawing of how the Power Pack came to be. The fact that it’s so amazingly child-like I personally wouldn’t have minded if it was done this whole way through. It’s very whimsical and cutesy, and even handled talking about death in a positive way too. However, when the comic starts, its art style comes off like it has some rough edges for the character design and surroundings. Like there’s more usage of thin black lines for outlining than bold outline, which gives the comic a much lighter feel to it.

Rachelle Rosenberg’s coloring is very rich. The focus a lot on lighting and soft shadows in most places was a superb touch.

The lettering is excellent, which is handled by VC’s Travis Lanham. In Power Pack #1, the writing is easy to follow even when multiple people are speaking at once. The pages don’t feel cluttered even when they use captions to explain what’s going on. However, in the comic section written by Katie it’s a bit hard to read, but that’s because it was done to simulate a child who doesn’t understand spacing, so being able to do this is masterful. This is a feat because I was able to get through that part and understand the introduction.

Overall, Power Pack #1 is strong for an introduction to a new series. The characters are easy to understand and like. They have them living a double life that they manage to keep under wraps pretty well. It also sets up for a strong second issue.

Power Pack #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.