Despite both creators only having produced work in black and white before Powers, Bendis envisioned Powers in color, and convinced Oeming that it could work, despite the dramatically higher number of sales required to sustain a color comic."The Definitive Powers Interview" by Ernie Estrella in Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, Powers TPB Vol. 9 – Psychotic (Icon, 2006), Bendis also convinced Oeming that the book should juxtapose both the superhero and crime noir genres, as Oeming initially shied away from the former.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, Powers TPB Vol. 1 – Who Killed Retro Girl? (Image, 2000), Bendis writes in the 'Sketchbook' section of the Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? TPB that "one of the rules of film noir is that the city itself should be considered a lead character". To this end, he made Oeming watch Visions of Light, a documentary by the American Cinematographers Institute about the art of lighting in film, which he saw as important to the feel of comics also. According to Oeming, both he and Bendis do copious research for their projects, and that before he began the series, he would do ride-alongs with police, meet police officials, and take extensive photo reference of their equipment.
