Incognito

Dark and gritty. And really good.

Zack is a former super-villain that had traded his former life for the security of the Witness Protection Program. But being an ordinary person becomes too much for him and slowly he start sliding back from the normality and into the life of the super-powered beings. And this is where his problems begin - because both his old bosses and the government (or at least the SOS organization) are suddenly interested in him - and let's just say that noone really cares for his well-being.

Brubaker manages to convey a whole world without stopping by the current tale - by a sentence here and there, a sequence of panels or simply by the actions of a character. By the end of the book you feel as if you had been show more reading about this universe a lot longer than the 6 issues that are collected here (and which are the full run of the series). And you understand what had been happening a lot better...

The book is violent and is not for the squeamish. It's a mix between the noir of the early 20th century and the super-heroes tales of the Modern era (complete with science fictional villains and geniuses using their brains for anything but good) - both styles are dark and gritty in their own way and Incognito manages to combine them both, creating something even darker.

And somewhere in all this darkness, there is a ray of hope - a hope for the humanity and for all the villains. And Phillips is the perfect illustrator for this kind of work - his art adds a layer over everything that the words and the composition could have conveyed. show less

This has been an exceptional year for me in terms of the quality of material I've been reading. I think I've given out more 5 star reviews that anyone I know. Well, it's either this or I'm easily impressed.

WOW! A BLUE CAR.

Not only have I been recommended Ed Brubraker and sean Phillips' work by fellow Goodreader Stephen but when I saw that Bill Hader had written the forward to this graphic novel, I was genuinely intrigued. Hader, who is easily my favorite cast member working SNL today, is a crime fiction guy? Awesome! Makes me like him even more.

As Ed writes in his afterword, we often see fiction where we get a good guy going undercover as a bad guy OR the story of a good guy trying to maintain his alter-ego. How about a bad guy show more pretending to lead a normal life? In a sex driven and blood soaked story, we get Zack Overkill (awesome name, I know) trying to assimilate into everyday life. The government established S.O.S. program is in charge of detaining and rehabilitating former supervillians. Following the death of his twin brother Xander, Zack is placed in the custody of the S.O.S. team, stripped of his powers through powerful drugs and given a job as a file clerk in a 9-5 hell.

Brubaker and Phillips are a dynamite team here, this stuff is just drenched in awesome sauce. I was extremely happy to see that this is part of an ongoing series, not ending with one arc. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of this story as well as more of the Brubaker/Phillips tag team material. show less

Bloody brilliant. This is one of those stories where the author and illustrator combine to create a world so vivid and engrossing that when you close the book, you snap back to the real world with a bit of a jolt and a tremendous sense of longing.

I read it in one sitting, unable to put it down.

Pretty damn good. The action is visceral and the story is well developed. The first two issues are excellent; the latter half feels a bit weak and rushed, though it turned out to be a very good package in the end.

Zack Anderson is an unhappy guy in witness protection. The twist is he was a super villain, and got his powers taken away and witness protection for giving evidence against his former boss, The Black Death. In a nod to The Matrix, his fake last name is Anderson. In a nod to indie-comics great Harvey Pekar, he's an angry file clerk. The topsy turvy ethics of the book, along with its dark humor, make it fast, bumpy, enjoyable ride. A sequel series is due this summer, 2010.

The plot is fairly predictable but there's something in the damned sociopath's monologue that draws you in. The story gets ridiculous towards the end. And not the cute, outlandish Grant Morrison or Warren Ellis ridiculous. The kind where you can cover the next panel with your hand, say the first cliche that pops into your mind and and then check. Behold 'tis so!

The premise for these comics is really interesting - can a supervillain in protective custody actually stay on the straight and narrow - and Brubaker delivered. I loved the story and the art, and I found it difficult to put it down.