Image Comics
Write & Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colors: Mike Spicer
Letters: Rus Wooton
Do A Powerbomb! #1 was a blast of fresh air. Scratch that. It was a German suplex of pure awesomeness. Beautiful, tactile art that served the story and characters. A unique setting. A number of genuinely moving emotional beats. However, the end of the issue teased the introduction of fantasy and magic into a previously grounded setting –necromancy, to be specific– and I was eager to see how Daniel Warren Johnson handled the shakeup in #2.
The opening pages of Do A Powerbomb #2 didn’t inspire much confidence. Johnson’s art held up as the narrative moved from minor wrestling promotion locker rooms to cursed fields of demonic warfare. But the exposition dump was familiar and on the nose, regardless of however necessary it might have been for Lona’s motivation.
Lona is clearly the heart of Do A Powerbomb!, and the story quickly regains momentum as the focus returns to her. And Johnson’s art really soars in the ring. While pro wrestling + magical superpowers could translate into some memorable action scenes further along in the series, I’m perfectly content with more battles like Cobrasun vs. Kaneda the Destroyer. The impact of Kaneda’s open-hand chop is ridiculous and cool as hell. Johnson uses three panels for a dazzling Cobrasun enziguri, and I would have happily taken three more on that move alone.
The come-down from the action is hard. Cobrasun is a physically depleted man post-match, lashed to hell by barbed wired. Or, as Lona brutally puts it: “You killed her in that ring. And seeing you tonight…you wrestle like you know it.”
If Lona is the heart of this story, the heart of Do A Powerbomb! #2 comes with its final pages. A touching moment with Lona’s understandably unsupportive father shifts into a legitimately surprising reveal. While it remains to be seen how well Do A Powerbomb! will balance magic, wrestling, and Lona’s family story, the first two issues have me properly hooked and I eagerly await the next installment.
If Daniel Warren Johnson uses necromancy as flavor and keeps the focus on Lona, her family, and the in-ring action, Do A Powerbomb! could be something special.
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