Appreciation for The Power Pack
A Semi-Rant by Steve Seigh
I just finished reading for the first time: Fantastic Four and the Power Pack. It’s a four-issue-run that got its start back in September of 2007 and I gotta tell you … it is awesome! For those of you not familiar with the Power family, it consists of four level headed and often hilarious children that fight crime in an almost completely non-violent manner. You’ve got Alex Power (Zero-G) able to control gravity, Julie Power (Lightspeed) gifted with enhanced speed, Jack Power (Mass Master) capable of density manipulation, and the ever so adorable Katie Power (Energizer) who can emit concussive energy bursts. These four siblings never cower in the face of danger and are able to hold their own against some of the baddest villains of Marvel’s rogues gallery, and they do it all with flair as well as a healthy splash of comedy.
I’m never one to shy away from reading a book that might be considered below my age bracket (I’m 31 years young). I find it healthy and relaxing to step away from the capes, monsters and the peril of our usual run of comics flooding today’s market. So when I stumbled upon this run, with it’s super colorful and adorable Saturday Morning Cartoon art (drawn by Gurihiru) and inviting comedic tone penned by Fred Van Lente, I just couldn’t resist.
The fact of the matter is that if you’re able to seek this series out (and it is available on Amazon.com in a series of trades and hardcovers) it’s something that you can actually read and enjoy with your kids without fear of there being Selina Kyle’s tits swinging to-and-fro, or Deathstroke annihilating a small city of innocents just because he’s mentally trying to add another inch to his armored Johnson.
What I’m trying to get at here is that Power Pack is a safe and enjoyable read for people of all ages, and that seems to be something of a rare commodity these days. Unfortunately, the days of kids being interested in Archie are over. In my most likely, grossly uninformed opinion – the only people still buying those books are the ones who have been collecting them from the get go – long gone are the days when you find your children reading something fun and non-violent.
The generations of today and tomorrow are growing up way too fast because society demands that they be fruitful and multiply. Here! Watch TV and get fat and stupid, play video games so you have amazing eye-hand coordination but are failing Intro To Mathematics, buy this product that breaks the moment you bring it home to play with in the backyard. Buy! Gorge! Obey! NO! Find yourself a collection of Power Pack, and get back to your roots. Teach your kids about the wonders of using their imaginations within a great adventure story! It’s never too late.
Power Pack. That is all. /Endrant
