- June 15, 2022
Do a Powerbomb #1 Review
Written by: Daniel Warren Johnson
Art by: Daniel Warren Johnson
Coloring by: Mike Spicer
Lettering by: Rus Wooton
There aren’t many art styles like Daniel Warren Johnson’s, and there aren’t many stories like Daniel Warren Johnson’s. When you get a comic that’s written and drawn by the same person, there’s always something different in the best way. There’s no disconnect between written intention and what the art shows. It’s like viewing into the soul of the creative mind. That’s what it’s like reading Do A Powerbomb.
Even without reading this issue’s afterword, you can feel how personal this story is. It would have been easy for the beginning of this story to feel fake, with how wears it feelings on its sleeve. Instead, it just feels more genuine by how Johnson frames each panel, and scripts the words. When Yua Steelrose gives a speech about the audience being her family, you believe it because Johnson focuses on characters in the audience who find her speech genuine. It’s stuff like that that puts this first issue immediately in a class of its own. This first issue nails carving out a place in the readers’ hearts for the story.
Then, in its story about pro-wrestling, Johnson’s love for the sport jumps off the page. He nails the octane action of high-flying stunts, and his script nails the characterization that goes into pro-wrestling personalities. Cobrasun is such a good heel, that I thought for a second that this pro-wrestling circuit was entirely serious… up until the big moment, where anyone’s façade would break. If you love the WWE or any other pro-wrestling channel, you’ll love this.
This issue does end on a wild cliffhanger that might feel out of left-field, but the insane art style of Daniel Warren Johnson makes even normal, human worlds feel fantastical. I have no problem with the direction this story sets up, I’m all on board.
Go get this issue, give it a try, and do a powerbomb!