Incorruptible #3
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Jean Diaz
Cover Art by Dennis Calero (Cover A); Rafael Albuquerque (Cover B); Jeffrey Spokes (Cover C)
BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99; Release date: February 17, 2010
Previously in Incorruptible“¦
Until recently, Max Damage headed the FBI’s most wanted list. Then mankind’s premier defender, the Plutonian, went berserk and blew up the FBI.
After weeks of disappearance, Max has resurfaced, apparently having rededicated his life to superheroism. Max’s sidekick, the severely underage Jailbait, is — to put it mildly — unhappy with this bizarre decision. Max’s former enemy, police lieutenant Louis Armadale, is skeptical of Max’s new path. Together, the three have followed a trail of violence to the hidden lab of David Orjean (mockingly known as “Dr. Origin”), where ordinary people (terrified of Plutonian) are paying huge money in hopes of being granted superpowers”¦
Incorruptible is quickly becoming one of my favorite comics and the majority of the credit goes to Mark Waid. He has consistently been one of the best writers in the medium for over a decade and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Issue 3 really showcases Waid’s ability to have fun with the characters without being over the top or campy in his dialogue. The interplay between Max and Jailbait continues to bring joy in every instance (actually Jailbait’s encounters with EVERYONE provide joy) as she is hands down my favorite character in the series thus far.
I was intrigued to see there might actually be a way to deal with the Plutonian because as those who read Waid’s companion series Irredeemable know, the heroes have pretty much had their hands full trying to stop him. The issue also mentions Amberjack, a new character described as “Max Damage if he were clinically insane.” I can’t wait to see what that could possibly entail.
With each new issue we get closer and closer to finding out why exactly Max Damage has gone from the world’s most heinous villain into its greatest protector. Mark Waid knows just how much to reveal and just how much to tease to keep the reader thirsty for more.
The Geek: Andrew Dalhouse’s colors.
The Weak: Characters odd facial expressions on seemingly every page.
Vactor’s Verdict: 4 out of 5
I agree, this series (though I had my initial doubts about a spin-off), like Irredeemable, blows me away. Though to be honest, I don’t see this as a spin-off, but a true “other side of the coin”/companion series to Irredeemable.
It looks like Mark Waid is following the same pattern he did in Irredeemable. All hell is breaking loose, we’re in the middle of the action, trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and we have no answers to our questions.
The couple issues set up the world we’re dealing with, introduces the key characters, and tells us very little information, but teases us with just enough to want us to keep turning the page. Those were issues one and two.
***MILD SPOILER WARNING***
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Issue three gave us more background and, though, I’m not sure if this is considered a spoiler, it gave us hell of a lot about Max and the world. It is ironic that right when Max, in a fit of emotional rage and anguish, comes to the brink of doing something truly horrific, only to narrowly beaten out by the Plutonian who kicked off his rampage only seconds before Max.
In a way, it’s like watching an angry man with a gun about to unload on a crowd and, right before he pulls the trigger, he sees a SWAT team show up and start gunning down everybody and blow up buildings for no reason.
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***End Spoiler***
If you’re a fan of Irredeemable, but haven’t picked up this series yet, you will definitely want to add this to your list.
Given the way issue three ended, I hope four will tell us the rest of the events of that particular day.
Comment by KJ4 — February 20, 2010 @ 8:44 am