The Power Fantasy #8

Wijngaard delivers beautifully detailed and luscious art throughout the issue. The character designs and visual style bring me back to this series issue after issue. Read Full Review

I walked into The Power Fantasy #8 completely blind. I'm a huge fan of Gillen's work, so I knew I'd like it, but I wasn't ready for just how good this issue was. I honestly expected to be a lot more lost than I was, but Gillen does a tremendous job of laying out everything we need to know. There's a wonderful emotional core to the issue that is apparent from the beginning, and I was able to find and tap into it quickly. Wijngaard's art is gorgeous. His pencils are beautifully skilled with a unique style, but his color choice is especially good. The colors in this book are outstanding. However, what makes The Power Fantasy #8 a great work and is a testament to the quality of this series overall is that this issue is one you can pick up completely cold and still enjoy immensely and still understand where the story has been even as it lays the groundwork for where it's going to go. Read Full Review

Some of the best parts of The Power Fantasy #8 have to do with the artwork pertaining to Eliza. In her temple, we see so many stunning panels that are dripping with mystical darkness and magic. Wijngaard and Cowles really showcased their talents in a beautiful way. Read Full Review

Masterfully written by Kieron Gillen with astonishing art from Casper Wijngaard, The Power Fantasy continues to deliver a compelling and unconventional approach to the superhero mythos. Much like previous installments in this series, Gillen once again manages to deconstruct the moral and ethical dilemmas present in traditional superhero comics while conveying these ideas in exciting ways that offer something new and totally original. Read Full Review

And as sophisticated as the plot structure is, theres very little that Gillen is exploring here that he hasnt explored before in earlier portions of the narrative. That being said: what hes covering here IS absolutely essential for the overall story to make any kind of sense at all. Its just that...so much of the basic substance of the underlying themes being explored in the eighth issue of the series had been explored much better with much greater sohpistication in earlier issues in the series. The Power Fantasy IS a big and complicated organism, though. So the thematic significance of this particular issue might not become clear until Gillem makes it to later issues in the series. Read Full Review

I really want to like this book more than I do, but sadly connected more with Gillen's failed 24 Hour Party People meets Akira Vertigo pitch he mentions in the backmatter than this issue. Read Full Review

KittyNone

Apr 23, 2025

I really appreciate Professor X stand-in Etienne Lux's journey across the first eight issues from "problematic hot guy who I would 100% schtup if he was real" to "Thank goodness somebody FINALLY kicked that guy in the dick"