This is the first post of a new feature you’ll see on the blog. 🙂 I’ve been reading some incredibly good comics lately and I thought that I should go ahead and start spreading the word. So I’ll be spotlighting the stuff that has stood out – not reviewing issue by issue, that would tire me and bore me, and you, I’m sure. Instead I’ll just tell you why I enjoyed the comic series and give you a couple of links so you can check it out for yourself and decide. 🙂
Back to Irredeemable:
Mark Waid first popped onto my radar with the suprememly excellent ‘Terminal Velocity’ storyline, wayyy back, in The Flash. For those who’ve been reading DC Megastories for a while, Terminal Velocity took place after Zero Hour and saw Wally West (still my favourite Flash, and yes, I’m *still* peeved that he’s just been shunted aside, but lets not go there) making his way back to Linda Park (then his girlfriend) after vanishing at the end of Zero Hour. Wally was changing – he was losing control of his speed, and if he ran fast enough his body would become energy. Terminal Velocity introduced the Speed Force to DC, and Mark Waid did the introducing. There are a couple of comic-writers that are wayyy up there, and Mark is one of my favourites – the dude wrote The Flash so well that, to this day, Wally West is my favourite superhero. Anyway, nuff said.
Irredeemable has a pretty cool premise: what would happen if a Superman-type character -beloved by the world, the quintessential nice guy, always there to save the day and stand as a symbol that everyone wants to aspire to- snapped? What would happen to us defenceless and very soft humans? How could you defend yourself against such unstoppable power? What would his team-mates, friends, loved ones go through?
Irredeemable explores these issues and many, many more. It’s not a comic for young readers, though, and it is highly addictive – the plot practically sprints along (sorta like Wally, only more hectic) and there are plenty of surprises along the way. I’m pretty sure it’ll shock you and make you think – you may even find yourself thinking, “Damn, could I do that?” or “Could I react like that?” or even “Bastard! What the FUCK!”. The artwork is also pitch-perfect, not too much detail and so could that when a character frowns you’ll probably be frowning, too, and the colouring is on the nose, very moody and vibrant. There are also a host of other characters that you’ll meet and get to know, characters with real depth that’ll take you on what’ll probably be an emotional journey. Remember this: “Cheerio.” One of the most hectic scenes in the series.
Anyway, do yourself a favour and give Irredeemable a try. I hope you’ll come to appreciate it as much as I do.
Here’s some more info about Irredeemable for you: Newsrama (known for comic-related news) and robot6.
I’m not even going to try and tell you guys in the US and UK where to get Irredeemable because you’ll know, but for those in South Africa, head over to Outer Limits; if anyone can get their hands on this comic, they can. Just be prepared to pay quite a bit for it.
Until tomorrow,
Be EPIC!
Dave de Burgh 