| Title: Truth To Power (2026) Author: S.A. Cosby Publisher: Hyperion Avenue Book jacket: Luke Cage plays detective and super hero when he uncovers a conspiracy turning vulnerable Americans into unwitting pawns of a madman. Joe says: Truth to Power is a fun and enjoyable – if comicbook typical – read but Cosby really rules the Waffle House when he’s writing his beloved gritty-as-hell Southern noir. |
Truth to Power is akin to when a favorite indie director gets handed the reins of a megaplex-sized blockbuster. Think Christopher Nolan on Batman or Rian Johnson on Star Wars. Sure, the big-budget amusement park ride is fun, but the smaller, more intimate stories are where these creators really shine.
Same with S.A. Cosby. This guy deserves a piece of the Marvel action, and his venture into the Heroes for Hire landscape fits like an adamantium skeleton (similar to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ earlier run on Black Panther). Yet Truth to Power reads like a comic book in novel form. The action sequences, inner turmoil and character arcs are all laid out in classic Stan Lee fashion. And yes, Truth to Power is a fun, enjoyable read. But Cosby really rules the Waffle House when he’s writing his beloved gritty-as-hell Southern noir.
Here, the one-time Power Man heads into Cosby’s familiar stomping grounds of rural southeastern Virginia to investigate the murder of his cousin. What he finds is a prosthetics manufacturer secretly building cybernetic weapons as a front for A.I.M., Marvel’s long-standing evil corporation. Cage punches, kicks and fights his way through the conspiracy in grand Marvel fashion.
Truth to Power is part of the loose “Marvel Crime” series and a similarly loose continuation of Lisa Jewell’s Breaking the Dark. Like that novel, it is firmly planted in Marvel’s 616 universe rather than the cinematic one. So Luke sports a Stark-made yellow T-shirt instead of a beat-up hoodie from a Harlem bodega. Jessica Jones floats in and out of the story, Hell’s Kitchen attorney Matt Murdock makes a cameo, while, alas, fellow Hero for Hire Danny Rand gets little more than a name-check.
Cosby still manages to bake some of his more powerful themes into the story, particularly the enduring strength of race and the bone-deep stupidity of racism. But don’t come expecting the same emotional bruising found in Razorblade Tears or Blacktop Wasteland. For better or worse, this is Cosby writing for Marvel, and the guardrails are part of the gig.
But you know what? Cosby’s Luke Cage ain’t half bad. In fact, Truth to Power is a better Luke Cage story than either of his Netflix seasons. Sweet Christmas indeed.
Maybe that’s the real takeaway. Cosby can play in Marvel’s sandbox just fine. Hopefully he returns to his own backyard soon.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the Marvel-ous preview. Excelsior!
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