Pick of the Week
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This was the hardest Pick of the Week selection that I’ve had in a long time. In the end it came down to two books whose premises are very similar, but whose execution of said premises are very different. Both of these books marked major turning points in their stories. And both books were intensely creepy.
This week, in the battle for good heroes gone bad, Plutonian edged out Alpha One and Irredeemable #7 is the Pick of the Week.
Over in The Mighty, Alpha One is a hero whose level of creepy and evil has slowly been revealed with each issue. In the beginning we weren’t even sure that he was evil. Not so with Plutonian. From the very beginning we knew what we were in for with him: a Superman type character who was mad as hell and was not going to take it anymore. For the last six issues, Plutionian has caused tremendous levels of death and destruction. He has taunted and terrorized the people of Earth. He has fought and killed most of his old villains and former super hero allies and teammates. And it has been those teammates who, for the last six issues, have been on the run and in hiding from Plutonian as they have been frantically trying to figure out both a way to stop him and the reasons why the once great hero turned evil.
In this issue we finally got some answers.
When you think about a character like Superman and you attempt to apply a smidge of logic to him you start to wonder things like, would a person that powerful and that good hearted ever stop? Would he ever take the time to work a day job or have friends and a romantic relationship? Hell, would he even sleep? If you were all-powerful and had the ability to hear every plea for help and every report of disaster wouldn’t you feel overwhelmed all of the time? Kurt Busiek touched on this a bit with Samaritan in Astro City, and here in Irredeemable #7, writer Mark Waid explores the psychological ramifications of being the übermensch.
In flashbacks we see Plutonian in his pre-evil days saving lives and fighting crime around the world. We also see a constant stream of dialogue balloons around him representing the constant bombardment of calls for help and police reports and 911 calls. It is a constant background buzz… an omnipresent white noise of woe. It would be enough to drive even the best of us insane. But that is not all that Plutonian has to contend with. Whether real or perceived, he has begun to see the people of Earth as ungrateful victims. He saves a man and his family and instead of thanks Plutonian gets complaints from the man about the damage to his property caused by the rescue and demands that it be fixed. After repelling an alien invasion, the media, the pundits, and the bloggers all endlessly complain that Plutonian and his teammates are not sharing the alien technology captured in battle with the people of Earth. Plutonian is starting has had enough. To shut the media up he hands over a piece of alien tech to his biggest critic. It’s some sort of sonic emitter that appears benign, but just in case it’s not he also hands over a device that will signal Plutonian. And after dealing with another ungrateful victim, Plutonian beats a hasty retreat to the moon to get just ten damn minutes of peace and quiet. No one calling for help. No one yelling at him for no good reason. No one complaining that he isn’t doing enough.
And of course, in those ten minutes of blissful moon-based silence, the alien technology that Plutonian handed over is activated and some really bad stuff happens to a lot of nearby children.
There were two things that I really loved about this issue. One, I loved the convincing way that Mark Waid showed just how overwhelmed by everything Plutonian was. It was a great reveal that it was Plutonian finally giving in to the white noise both by handing over the tech and trying to find some quiet time that lead to the event that one presumes is the final push into madness. I also really love the hints at depravity that Mark Waid drops into the background, and even briefly into the foreground of this story. Plutonian clearly has an unhealthy obsession with his former teammate Bette Noir. In a previous issue we saw a very brief scene where Plutonian forced people to have sex while the woman was dressed up like Bette Noir, and here while searching Plutonian’s Fortress of Sol– er, secret base, the real Bette Noir stumbles onto a room filled with photos and statues and sculptures and possibly life model decoys of herself, most of them in various states of undress. It is a moment that is both funny and completely unnerving all at the same time. Plutonian is completely and utterly twisted in ways we have barely even seen, and Mark Waid has done a great job of sprinkling in hints of just how depraved Plutonian might be, which makes him even scarier.
I’m really enjoying the art work of Peter Krause. His story telling is really strong, and his art has a very classic look to his work that is reminiscent of Jackson Guice. Plutonian does a lot of face acting in this issue and Krause pulls it all off very nicely, especially the scene on the moon that is almost entirely wordless as Plutonian transitions from incensed to relaxed. I especially liked the full page of a sad Plutonian with the panels of his daily superhero activities emanating out of his head like radio waves. it’s strong stuff.
Over the summer when we had our comics and grilled meats episode of the video show, we were asked to pick our current top five comic books and I wanted to include Irredeemable but thought it was too soon after only a few issues. Well, now I think that after seven months of such a high level of action, suspense, and psychological intrigue, I am ready to add Irredeemable to that list.
Conor Kilpatrick
This is what happens when you won’t stop nagging — worldwide genocide.
conor@ifanboy.com
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I may hafta pick up this trade, now.
@Diabhol…definitely pick it up, it’s excellent. I found it was a true page turner in that I couldn’t stop reading until it was done. I missed the boat on Irredeemable in single issues so I’m buying it in trades. I think I’m going to make sure I get it’s sister title, Incorruptible, in issues.
Criminal was definitely my pick of the week. So good.
Loved this issue so much.
I’m more likely to enjoy Incorruptable than this. It’s funny how, although I have wanted Superman to punch through some snob sometimes, I just can’t bring myself to read about the hopeless case of a hopeless mental case in a hopeless world that has no hope of winning against said hopeless mental case. I need some freaking hope!
But, all you people who like that stuff, enjoy!
i got the first trade and the 99 cents issue, but decided to buy this in trades, so I can’t wait for the next trade! But I will definitely get incorruptible if it is written by mark waid.
I thought The Mighty was better, personally, but Irredeemable was certainly no slouch. Even so, I mean, come on – The Mighty featured Alpha 1 flying straight through someone’s FACE.
So the mighty is pretty good then. Is there a trade available?
Definitely a hard pick this week, as I have yet to think of a book that I can make my own. As for this series, I have picked up the first issue and really enjoyed it, yet Ive fallen behind on the other ones. Ill geet them eventually, probably at the con even.
Read this and The Mighty back-to-back… doesn’t get much better than that!
Haven’t gotten my books yet, but this will be the first one i read. I’ve loved this book since #1 and it’s usually the best thing i read the week it comes out. Are you other readers of it excited for the spin-off of this series, where Waid does the flip-side: a villain who tries to become good after witnessing what the Plutonion has caused when he turned evil?
shit i forgot this one!
Very good review. You might want to run a brief grammar check on it, though.
Fantastic write up! I realize he’s on the team, but I always like to give my boys a pat on the back when they do a great job.
I enjoyed the first trade and issue #5, but like Stepho I chose to trade wait on this book. Glad to hear it’s staying consistent and a great read.
I went with Sweet Tooth #2. It was between that and Criminal. Really a nice week for comics.
Great pick. Haven’t finished my books yet but this is leading the pack.
Can’t wait to get this in trade. The premise sounds a lot like an underground gem Willingham published a few years ago at Lone Star Press called Pantheon (available in trade. Ebay it.).
Great review. This story is really picking up and I thought the art in this issue is the strongest it has been. Maybe I should get back on board w/ The Mighty. I only read the first two issues.
This issue was great, especially the scene on the moon. Haven’t finished all my books yet but right now I have already given 4 5 stars so it’s going to be hard to choose. I do not envy you for having to pick this week
Fine pick. Really liked this issue, I just happened to really get into Sweet Tooth this week.
This series has kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Mark Waid’s an excellent writer!!!
Looking forward to both this and The Mighty in trade.
Out of the stuff I read, ‘Criminal’ was an easy pick. Very nice to have this book back and as strong as ever.
Great review conor, seriously you got me psyched on this series again.
I just read the first trade at a Barnes and Noble this week and I enjoyed it. It’s a great idea to see a Superman-esque character go batshit insane and what could happen if no one can stop him. I was contradicting with myself though because of the premise, can this series stay fresh for so long? But now with this review, and the great ideas Mark Waid for #7 I can’t wait for the second trade. That’s my only problem; I decided to trade wait and not give this a try in issues.
(My pick was Strange Tales #2 btw)
Oh and has anyone else heard of Mark Waid’s spinoff to this series?
I believe it’s called ‘Incorruptible’ and it involves a supervillain in this same universe trying to be a superhero. At least that’s what I heard, I don’t know when it’s coming out and who’s the artist for it.
No one seems to be pissed off. This will not do at all.
it looks like we wont get books in Canberra until tuesday.
did any australians ont there get their books already?
Even I can’t be pissed at this pick!
@TNC: You didn’t pick Strange Tales #2, no one did! (I noticed you picked it before you read it. Is that any way to pick something?)
No copies of The Mighty at my LCS. So sad. I am going to try their other location tomorrow.
Bean
Not much reaction to this POTW. I loved Irredemable #7. When I read it I knew immediately it would be my POTW. It definetly had that "Oh Shit" moment!
I read the first trade, in a word – awesome. I can’t wait until the second trade comes out.
Heard the second trade won’t be out until 2010.
Personally I’d rather have the story now then wait for that.
Didn’t read this, but Criminal was soooo good this week. I’m so glad to have that book back, and with all the back matter, I’ve been able to add more books and movies to my list of media consumption. Definitely my POW.
As much as I love this book, I just found The Mighty to be a better issue this week. It was a close one, but I just felt like The Mighty edged out Irredemable.
This book is consistently excellent to awesome. I’m lookign forward to Incorruptible.