Artist and musician from Little Rock Arkansas who was in Soophie Nun Squad from 1992-2007 and ran Harlan Records.

Now widely recognized for his works in comics, graphic novels, and illustrations, Powell's 2008 graphic novel Swallow Me Whole won an Ignatz Award and Eisner Award for Best Original Graphic Novel. As illustrator the March trilogy, an autobiographical series written by U.S. Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, Powell was a corecipient of the 2016 National Book Award, making him the first cartoonist to receive the award. He was called by Booklist magazine “the most prodigiously talented graphic novelist of his generation.”