Intrepid #1-2
Written by Jose Loeri
Interior Art and Cover by Montos
Cover Colors by Diogo Nascimento
Lettering and Embellishments by Oval
Graphic Illusions Comics
Cover price: $2.95; Issue #1 Available Now; Issue 2 Release date: February 17, 2010

Loyal Geeks of Doom readers will remember our initial review of Intrepid #1-2 not going so well. We liked the writing and storyline, but found major flaws in the art and production values. Well, creator Jose Loeri is back with a new art team to give Intrepid another shot. Did the change of art pay off?

In a manner of speaking, “Hell yeah!”

All of the production problems found in our first review of Intrepid have thankfully been solved and now we can focus on the story that Loeri is creating here. For those uninitiated, Intrepid is set in a world where superheroes have existed for years but soon find themselves outdated. The “Heroic Age” has come and gone and people just don’t want heroes anymore. The main narrative follows Joseph Paxton, the subject of what appears to be some super-human enhancements by an evil company. Paxton seems intent on finding his lady love, Nadia.

In “Preamble,” the first of the 7-issue “Heroes and Villains” arc of Intrepid, we find Paxton in-transit after being captured by the company. Who the company is and why they’ve captured him is a larger mystery and these first two issues do a great job keeping the readers interested while setting up the world Paxton inhabits.

The first issue also introduces a female super-human showing off her powers in a training simulation room a la the X-Men’s Danger Room. She looks intriguing and she definitely scores points with me for her sparing choice, who just so happen to be the coolest undead creatures in existence, ZOMBIE-FREAKING NAZI’S! I am unequivocally looking forward to exploring her character in more depth as the series progresses.

In issue two, “La Balada De Santos Caidos,” our hero heads to Mexico to get some help for his mission. As our initial review stated there are a few scenes in which Spanish is spoken and not translated. This threw me off and I think those of us who don’t speak Spanish may have a hard time comprehending exactly what’s transpiring. Much can be gained from the context of the situation but I would have liked subtitles, personally.

The second issue matches the first with some good action scenes and also introduces new heroes and villains. On the hero side, Paxton gets an ally who carries what might be the coolest named mace in all of comics (BamBam). On the villain side, we meet two Men-In-Black extras who appear to have gone through some company enhancements similar to Paxton. I enjoyed the interaction between the “enhanced” in this issue.

Both issues have some nice action scenes and enough intrigue to leave you wanting more by the time you close the book. Montos’ art is serviceable but not spectacular. Kudos to Jose Loeri for being persistent with his creation and bringing in the right people to enhance his story. I recommend checking out Intrepid.

The Geek: ZOMBIE NAZI’S and some nice action sequences.

The Weak: Lack of subtitles may confuse some readers.

Vactor’s Verdict: 3.5 out of 5