There’s a tendency to feel immediately cynical at the prospect of yet another Powers relaunch. It’s beginning to feel like every time Bendis reaches a point where it’s a bit difficult to continue, he stops for a breather and the convenience of a relaunch some time later. Volume one ended with an arc so phenomenally good, not to mention status quo-shattering, that there was a genuine feeling of “Where the hell can we go from here?” Volume two, meanwhile, promised much to begin with, but never really seemed to get a handle on where it was going (and never adequately dealt with the most interesting potential subplot, that of Christian’s newfound status as a Green L… sorry, “Guardian”) and was severely hampered by delays. What with Deena Pilgrim seemingly out of the picture at the close of play too, even the most ardent Powers fan of old could be forgiven for wondering if there was any point ever bringing it back at all.

But dammit, never mind even that it’s a new #1 – the fact that it’s a new issue of Powers is still enough to bring me crawling back: I loved this book too damned much in its heyday to give up on it now. And the year-long break in publication at least offers the chance to step back and start to look at the book’s world from a new perspective, and more effectively take the story in new directions. Not least due to the new partnership that makes up the book’s lead pairing (although Bendis assures readers as early as this first issue’s letters page that Deena has most decidely not gone for good, which is encouraging) – although on early evidence, the dynamic needs a bit of work to be both compelling, and also distinguishable from the way Christian and Deena were in the book’s very early issues; I can’t help but wonder if it might have been better to have his new partner distrusting of him, rather than retreading it being the other way round.

Where this manages to interest, though, is in taking us back to the realm of flashbacks to Walker’s earlier life. Throughout Forever, the running theme was of him as the implacable good guy – so it’s genuinely a jarring moment to see him as part of a Rat Pack-esque gang of ’50s powers, bullying and… well, gangstering their way through life. The suggestion that he’s clearly not “all there” at the time – as evidenced by constant references to his drinking – would seem to offer an explanation, but I’m fully intrigued as to how he got into that state in the first place. But it’s only the flashbacks (and the points at which they tie to the story in the present) that really drive the issue along – and they can’t shake off the feeling that Powers‘ current setup feels a bit lifeless without you-know-who around.

Still, it’s effortless in its craft – from the characteristic flair with dialogue, to a pretty funny opening scene featuring a useless powered hoodlum with an uncanny resemblence to Joss Whedon (no, seriously), and of course the artwork of Oeming – although a gratuitous sex scene almost feels like it’s in there purely because… well, because it’s Powers. But I’ve got to admit – as suspicious as I might want to get about the motivations behind taking such a long break, it may just have worked. I was looking forward to this a lot more than I would have been had there only been three months rather than a year since the end of volume two; and while it may not be setting the world on fire just yet, you can forgive a lot when you’re just glad to have an old friend back.