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About This Series
Issues
Pictures
About This
Series:
Issues:
It's a shame that
this series didn't last longer than two issues. "Power Plays" is
a superhero spoof. Although this doesn't seem like an original
idea today, in 1985 it was ahead of its time. This came long
before "The Sensational She-Hulk" and "Mystery Men". And the very
premise of "Power Plays" is amazingly similar to that of the much-later
TV series "Heroes" (which was made as a drama). It was different
for superhero comics, and today it's still pretty unique.
For some unknown reason, everyday people from around the world start developing super powers. Some use it for good, others, for evil. A beautiful, wealthy woman by the name of Kristel Montclaire, with powers of near-invulnerability, organizes a group of super-powered people that she dubs, "The Power Plays", or "Power Players". Interesting enough, the character that was most important to the group, and gained the biggest applause from readers, was a non-super-powered hero by the name of Barker the Beagleman. He had no powers, but he wore a beagle mask. For some reason, he liked to help the super-types, and he had an impressive intellect. Barker owned and operated a bookstore called "Tome, Sweet, Tome" when he wasn't fighting villainy. His back-story was also the most interesting and open-ended of any of the characters. The other heroes were just ordinary people who, one day, became super. It's hard to tell what Barker had done in his life up to this point.
Mike Kelly was the creator/writer/artist for this series. It's humorous, but not over the top, and it's still a superhero adventure saga. The hero characters are all engaging. Kristel Montclaire, the buxom, blonde, businesswoman was funny and sly as she was sweet. Barker the Beagleman, the unpowered hero, is a cool kind of goofy. He'd be a fun character for someone to play in live-action. Griffin is a pretty young girl that turns herself into a hawk. Cyrus Springer is a skinny, bespectacled guy who can charge up his aura with fantastic results. Sherman Dundeen, ordinary white guy, has a healing touch that can even bring back the dead. Feliz Menendez was a hispanic woman whose mind can transfer electronically, and is currently in the form of a robot-looking creature. Last, but not least, is Dr. Thomas V. Appleton, aka Tapp. He's the guy trying to figure out this superhero phenomenon. Tapp has powers of bending light, and is friends with Barker.
Lum is an interesting ally to the group. He's half-polar bear, half human, and has powers of teleportation. He makes a living from "taxiing" people to places all over the world.
For some unknown reason, everyday people from around the world start developing super powers. Some use it for good, others, for evil. A beautiful, wealthy woman by the name of Kristel Montclaire, with powers of near-invulnerability, organizes a group of super-powered people that she dubs, "The Power Plays", or "Power Players". Interesting enough, the character that was most important to the group, and gained the biggest applause from readers, was a non-super-powered hero by the name of Barker the Beagleman. He had no powers, but he wore a beagle mask. For some reason, he liked to help the super-types, and he had an impressive intellect. Barker owned and operated a bookstore called "Tome, Sweet, Tome" when he wasn't fighting villainy. His back-story was also the most interesting and open-ended of any of the characters. The other heroes were just ordinary people who, one day, became super. It's hard to tell what Barker had done in his life up to this point.
Mike Kelly was the creator/writer/artist for this series. It's humorous, but not over the top, and it's still a superhero adventure saga. The hero characters are all engaging. Kristel Montclaire, the buxom, blonde, businesswoman was funny and sly as she was sweet. Barker the Beagleman, the unpowered hero, is a cool kind of goofy. He'd be a fun character for someone to play in live-action. Griffin is a pretty young girl that turns herself into a hawk. Cyrus Springer is a skinny, bespectacled guy who can charge up his aura with fantastic results. Sherman Dundeen, ordinary white guy, has a healing touch that can even bring back the dead. Feliz Menendez was a hispanic woman whose mind can transfer electronically, and is currently in the form of a robot-looking creature. Last, but not least, is Dr. Thomas V. Appleton, aka Tapp. He's the guy trying to figure out this superhero phenomenon. Tapp has powers of bending light, and is friends with Barker.
Lum is an interesting ally to the group. He's half-polar bear, half human, and has powers of teleportation. He makes a living from "taxiing" people to places all over the world.
Issues:
#1: 1985.
Entirely black-and-white. 52 pages. This issue is pretty
packed with story.
#2: 1985. Entirely black-and-white. Spoofs the X-Men. Marvel's Professor X is parodied as the mad, Professor Charles Excelsior. His team consists of three super-powered guys that act like the Three Stooges. Marvel's Wolverine is the Moe of the group, called Mogen here. Collossus is portrayed as the Curly of the team, but is unnamed. Nightcrawler is the group's Larry, but is also unnamed. This issue is very funny, and it shouldn't upset X-Men fans. I believe X-Men followers will actually like this comic a lot.
#2: 1985. Entirely black-and-white. Spoofs the X-Men. Marvel's Professor X is parodied as the mad, Professor Charles Excelsior. His team consists of three super-powered guys that act like the Three Stooges. Marvel's Wolverine is the Moe of the group, called Mogen here. Collossus is portrayed as the Curly of the team, but is unnamed. Nightcrawler is the group's Larry, but is also unnamed. This issue is very funny, and it shouldn't upset X-Men fans. I believe X-Men followers will actually like this comic a lot.