Incorruptible #5 Review

Your world's greatest Hero has turned against those he once protected and sometimes you just have to step up to the plate, even if you were more widely known as a Supervillain. To make matters worse, your underage, skimpily leather clad sidekick, 'Jailbait', has gone missing. (yeah, maybe there should have been more attempt to get her to change that name, but teenagers, heh), There's a kidnapping in progress, the girl looks like Jailbait (as in the sidekick, not in general), hallelujah. It's not her though, but the best way to protect the missing Jailbait, is to make other people not realize she's not missing.... "Girl who's just been rescued from kidnapping, please don this skimpy leather costume". 

Mark Waid uses the rescued kidnapped victim to good effect, exploring reformed Super-villain, Max Damage’s apparent concern for the missing Jailbait but leaving a question over whether the concern is for his missing sidekick or the safety of his own secrets. There are more questions than that, though, just how does an ex-super-villain respond when put into certain situations? Can he afford to be flexible in what he does? Is there anything that would flick that switch that takes him back to the other side? In fact the unpredictability of this series is its strongest point, this is not by the numbers comics and the only thing that is certain is that at some point Max Damage will meet withIrredeemable’s, Plutonian.

Horacio Domingues comes on board as new series artist this issue and his art is mostly strong, Wildstorm readers may notice a similarity in parts to JJ Kirby (Backlash, New Dynamix). Domigues' action is dynamic, he places much detail in his background and his facial expressions work well. The only (minor) weakness with this particular issue is that he is still getting to know his characters and there is the odd facial angle that is not quite perfected. I've no doubt this will be fixed very quickly.

Incorruptible is easily at a "jump onboard" point and definitely worth a look for people wanting to invest in a hero book without having to keep track with a huge universe.

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Wire Hangers #1 Review

Freddie Krueger, Candyman, I'm sure a huge list of mutilated characters in the horror genre could be made. You'll probably notice from the cover image the hangers weaving in and around this characters flesh, and you might be expecting more of the same. Wire Hangersis certainly steadfast in its deliverance of horror, but add conspiracy, add thrills and add one hell of an atmosphere and you have one substantial read that is certainly not "more of the same".

That disfigured person on the cover, he's Johnathon Cypra, and the a lot of the greatness of this comic comes from the fact that he is humanized within the first few pages. It may be portrayed through a surreal painkiller induced dream while he's blacked out, but as a reader your instantly connected with his character, and throughout the rest of the issue that connection leaves you wondering who the bad guys are.

"Suicide King Killer Claims Two More!"  is the headline of the rain soaked newspaper a few pages in and its against this backdrop that the other main players come into play. There's Detective Barillo, pill popper, user of prostitites, man who hasn't been able to save victims one through to twenty-seven. There's Anna, undercover investigative reporter, and some one who has turned Cypra's head. There's the guys who turn up in a federal truck. Hang on, why have these guys turned up in a federal truck?

"Jack-of-All-Trades" Alan Robert not only paces things perfectly through the issue, ramping up the mystery page-by-page turning page, but the ambience created with his color and lighting is perfect. His meld of harsh pencil with what I assume are computer manipulated backdrops create a haunting backdrop to enhance a mood that simply envelops you.

Wire Hangers #1 is a 32 page comic with no-ads, just cover to cover story. Its also a remarkable entrance to the graphic storytelling world. Now how long is it until issue #2?

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Cold Space #1 Review

I was frustrated at the opening splash page of Cold Space. In comics you need to let the picture tell the story and let the written words extend the meaning and bring the picture to life, through speech, thought or explanation. But be careful not to patronize. Having the establishing text “The Frontier of Space, Year 4012” on a page with five spaceships against a backdrop of vacuous space goes pretty close to that. Our introduction to our main protagonist, Mulberry, fares a lot better.

Mulberry has warrants out for his arrest. Larceny, Assault & Racketeering charges mean that the GP's (which I presume is short for Galactic Police) are on his tail. A shot to the bow leaves the GP's able to board Mulberry's ship and its one vs. four. Four obviously isn't enough as Mulberry out-thinks, outwits and outfights his pursuers, but the GP's have the last laugh as a bomb forces a crash landing on an inhabited moon.

Maybe, this is where the “Frontier” line from the first page has more meaning as it suddenly becomes apparent that Cold Space has two feet firmly planted in the “Space Western” Genre, but it's also where it gets far too confusing.

The unexpected shift in scenery is quite a jolt, but then we're introduced to a rash of characters. While their motivation is obvious (all of them are scavengers) it's their posturing that gets confusing. It's hard to tell how many opposing sides that are being dealt with, two? Three? More? Character interactions along the way don't help and I'm left scratching my head.

Boom! Studios produce a lot of good books; I just didn't warm to Cold Space.

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