REVIEW: Power Lines #1: Medium Voltage

A local street hood surviving in a crime-infested ghetto has his life turned around when an ancient magic grants him superhuman powers—except his ability only activates in an upscale white community that may not accept him. Gritty, racially charged street-wise drama!

This series revolves around a Native American legend being used as a source of mystical power. It’s a fascinating concept which hopefully has been researched extensively for its accuracy. From the first issue alone one character is shown to able to tap into the power to fly by firing energy blasts. There also seems to be shadowy figures setup to monitor if people appear who can use this mystical power. A lot of thought went into the world building for this series, and it shows.

The art on this issue really stands out. The shading and detail work shown throughout the issue displays great attention to detail. It’s hard to believe the book is done almost entirely by one person. The book was created, wrote, illustrated, colored, and lettered by Jimmie Robinson. Its fair to say Robinson is trying to capture a more mature audience much like he did with his other adult content series, Bomb Queen


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The main problem with this book comes from the dialogue. It often feels stilted and forced like they are written by someone who thinks a gang member or a racist talks this way. These bits of awkward dialogue make it hard to get really attached to any of the characters. The narrator of the issue D-Trick seems like an interesting character, an educated teenager whose family wants him to go to college. Unfortunately, he can’t escape the world of gangs and tagging around him. Seeing him use these powers to break away from this life is a fantastic concept. Unfortunately, another character, Sarah also displays powers, and she is a blatant racist who will no doubt be using her new abilities to fight against D-Trick simply because of the color of his skin.

This comic feels like it’s trying to tell a more authentic story of how real people would act if they got powers and how concepts like racism wouldn’t vanish because people can shoot laser beams or run at intense speeds. It feels like it will be a very intense read but the dialogue needs improvement for it to be really a memorable series. Robinson needs to know its possible to present a story about racism without using slurs on every single page. 

Anthony Wendel
Anthony Wendelhttp://www.thegiganticproject.com
Anthony is a geek through and through who still looks forward to new releases, sneak peeks, Giant Monsters, and robots of all shapes and sizes. He loves animation of all shapes and sizes. He has a distinct apprehension for trolling and clips shows. His books, The Handbook for Surviving A Giant Monster Attack and Santa Claus Conquers Manos: The Hands of Fate are available on Amazon.