Takio
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Michael Avon Oeming
Rating: 
A couple of days ago I finally got to sit down and read Takio, the new creator owned project from the award winning creators of Powers Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The series was announced about a year ago and I have been eager to read it ever since. Being a total Bendis fanboy (he is the reason I got hooked on comics) and a big fan of Oeming I was always going to buy whatever the two of them put out. Powers continues to be a terrific series which never disappoints and I hope that Takio will become something similar. The concept behind the book is this: Two sisters from an adoptive multi-cultural family gain super powers. It seems a little dull and rather obvious when you say it aloud but as always with Bendis and Oeming it is never just that.
Firstly I guess we should talk a little about the format before we get too far ahead. The book has been released as a hard backed graphic novel, creating a complete story which could easily be slipped into a school bag and looks great on a shelf. The book is slightly shorter than most trades and graphic novels, my guess is to make it easier for kids to handle but it felt fine in my hands too. Takio runs at 96 pages which at standard issue length puts it at a little over four issues which isn’t bad for under £10.
The story is again fairly simple, no subverting the genre here it’s a buy the numbers origin story for new superheroes but if I’m perfectly honest that was what I was wanting. If I left this book thinking “y’know what? I’m gonna give this to my nieces to read” I’d be quite happy and I wasn’t disappointed. Yes the story really doesn’t break the moulds but it’s good and that’s all you can ask in my opinion. There is a solid plot which is expanded upon with terrific dialogue. In my opinion it simply does not get any better than Bendis when it comes to two characters conversing. He has a way of making the most outragous idea (two sisters getting super powers) and finds a way to make it completely believable. Both of characters Taki and Olivia had pretty strong voices in my head as I was reading it and there are very few writers who do that for me. All the way through Olivia sounded exactly like my Brothers youngest, even her mannerisms were identical which was weird.
It isn’t just Bendis that is on form in this Book. Oeming brings a lot to the table as well. We are all familiar with his work but for Takio he brings something a little different. Because the tone of the book is so very different to what we are used to Oeming doing we get to see him use more colour. The background work in Takio is simply wonderful. There are several times when you can almost feel the warmth of the sun in the sky. This book is still very much Oeming however, his unique style flureshes here even with it’s stripped down look. It isn’t as detailed as we have seen it in the past but it works perfectly here.
I came out of Takio with a huge grin on my face and wanting more. It is a very fun, very sweet tale beautifully told and wonderfully drawn. I cannot wait for the next volume! I’m also eager to know what my nieces would make of it. They will be Takio’s harshest critics, totally unbiased by fanboy hero worship!
