From the creators of Criminal and Sleeper comes the most insane and evil super-villain comic you've ever read! What if you were an ex-super villain hiding out in Witness Protection... but all you could think about were the days when the rules didn't apply to you? Could you stand the toil of an average life after years of leaving destruction in your wake? And what if you couldn't stand it? What would you do then? Incognito - a twisted mash-up of noir and super-heroics - by best-selling creators Ed Brubaker (The Death of Captain America) and Sean Phillips (Marvel Zombies) with Val Staples on colors. Collects Incognito #1-6.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Zack Overkill is a former villain in a witness-protection program. A mandated regimen of pills keeps his powers at bay, and an overzealous parole officer keeps his balls busted. But then he finds out that illegal substances restore his powers, freeing him from the drudgery of his job as file clerk and putting him behind a mask again, this time as a good guy.
"Incognito," by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips is very violent and very vile, but always (or almost always) in service of the story: A look at what the vintage pulp heroes of yesteryear might have morphed into if they hadn't faded away with the advent of the comic book and the movies, among other johnny-come-latelys of pop culture.
Phillips' artwork bears a resemblance to the work of Wally Wood here, and that's one of the highest compliments I can pay. His men are square- jawed and his women are curvaceous in a way that's highly Wood-like, while still retaining the individuality that makes the artist's work the perfect complement to Brubaker's inventive, twisting scripts.
And there are twists aplenty. The basic premise, which could occupy a lesser writer and satisfy a more conventional title for years, are only a jumping-off point for a wilder ride here. Like most Brubaker heroes, Zack Overkill's backstory becomes more complex as the tale rolls on, his unknown past affecting his present and future. By the time the reader reaches the ultimate chapter, Brubaker and Phillips are ready to present non-stop action, with copious bloodletting and, of course, the promise of future Zack Overkill adventures to come. I'm all for it.
Missing here, as they are in all trade paperbacks of the team's other series, Criminal, are the articles and illustrations from the back of the monthly books, material that Brubaker vows will not be reprinted in the trades. As I've always read Criminal in collected editions, I haven't realized what I've been missing. With Incognito, however, which I read monthly as it was released, I became spoiled by Jess Nevins' articles on various obscure pulp heroes, and I missed them in the trade. Luckily, Brubaker saw fit to give us one of Nevins' pieces here, a (mostly) fictional history of zeppelin heroes that ties into the main storyline.
This is great stuff for the adult reader. Highly recommended.
"Incognito," by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips is very violent and very vile, but always (or almost always) in service of the story: A look at what the vintage pulp heroes of yesteryear might have morphed into if they hadn't faded away with the advent of the comic book and the movies, among other johnny-come-latelys of pop culture.
Phillips' artwork bears a resemblance to the work of Wally Wood here, and that's one of the highest compliments I can pay. His men are square- jawed and his women are curvaceous in a way that's highly Wood-like, while still retaining the individuality that makes the artist's work the perfect complement to Brubaker's inventive, twisting scripts.
And there are twists aplenty. The basic premise, which could occupy a lesser writer and satisfy a more conventional title for years, are only a jumping-off point for a wilder ride here. Like most Brubaker heroes, Zack Overkill's backstory becomes more complex as the tale rolls on, his unknown past affecting his present and future. By the time the reader reaches the ultimate chapter, Brubaker and Phillips are ready to present non-stop action, with copious bloodletting and, of course, the promise of future Zack Overkill adventures to come. I'm all for it.
Missing here, as they are in all trade paperbacks of the team's other series, Criminal, are the articles and illustrations from the back of the monthly books, material that Brubaker vows will not be reprinted in the trades. As I've always read Criminal in collected editions, I haven't realized what I've been missing. With Incognito, however, which I read monthly as it was released, I became spoiled by Jess Nevins' articles on various obscure pulp heroes, and I missed them in the trade. Luckily, Brubaker saw fit to give us one of Nevins' pieces here, a (mostly) fictional history of zeppelin heroes that ties into the main storyline.
This is great stuff for the adult reader. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Sean Curley
Format:Paperback
Ed Brubaker has been one of comics' best writers throughout the first decade of the 21st century, rising to real prominence with his move to Marvel Comics in 2005, where he began a landmark stint on "Captain America", as well as a number of other titles. His most famous work prior to his time at Marvel was "Sleeper" (published by DC's Wildstorm imprint), two 12-issue series illustrated by Sean Phillips. A year or so after Brubaker went exclusive, Phillips migrated over after him, and soon the two had set up a new creator-owned crime drama, "Criminal", which earned exhorbitant praise and is currently in the middle of its fifth volume of stories. Whereas "Sleeper" was a noir set in a world with superpowers, "Criminal" existed in a mundane world. And now, between arcs of "Criminal", Brubaker and Phillips took time to deliver their latest collaboration, which is more in the vein of "Sleeper" than "Criminal". While not quite as good as either of those, it is well worth reading. Some spoilers follow.
We open with our main character, Zack Overkill, living a boring life as an office drone, dreaming of his former exciting existence as a supervillain before he became a witness for the feds and was put into a relocation program. The mundane world he is forced to live in is driving Zack crazy, when the opportunity of something more interesting presents itself to rejoin the more interesting life he had left behind. The basic premise has a lot of similarities with Mark Millar's more famous "Wanted" (very loosely adapted into a hit motion picture). Indeed, this could easily be seen as Ed Brubaker's take on that story, except, being by Ed Brubaker, it is far more subtle and interested in characterization, rather than shocks. Zack, who provided key evidence in the conviction of the supervillain mastermind Black Death, now finds himself in the crossfire between the government (led by the sort-of superhero Zoe Zeppelin) and the cabal of the Black Death's organization, which is still led by the old man himself behind prison bars. Wildcards include Zack's mundane friend Farmer, who is the only person in on his secret (his Pete Ross, if you will) and is interested in ways to exploit it (not like Pete Ross); and Ava Destruction, the psycho permanently-sixteen assassin (who reminds me in some ways of Sin, the Red Skull's daughter from Brubaker's own "Captain America").
There's a certain fun tension between the incredibly serious tone that the art and the writing style generally sets (similar to "Criminal") and some of the more absurdist elements of the superhero genre, which are played up here a lot more than it was in "Sleeper". Names, for example; you've got a very serious crime noir starring characters with names like Zack Overkill (of the Overkill Brothers), Zoe Zeppelin, Dick Deadly, Ava Destruction, etv. In the hands of a lesser writer, this just wouldn't work, but Brubaker expertly manages the tone. There the usual staples of a Brubaker/Phillips project: sex and nudity, bloody violence, all the curse words you care to read. Unexpectedly, though, this project ends much more upbeatly (conventionally, some might say) than either "Criminal" or "Sleeper", the closest to being a traditional origin narrative (though there are some tweaks on convention still stuck in there).
Recommended.
We open with our main character, Zack Overkill, living a boring life as an office drone, dreaming of his former exciting existence as a supervillain before he became a witness for the feds and was put into a relocation program. The mundane world he is forced to live in is driving Zack crazy, when the opportunity of something more interesting presents itself to rejoin the more interesting life he had left behind. The basic premise has a lot of similarities with Mark Millar's more famous "Wanted" (very loosely adapted into a hit motion picture). Indeed, this could easily be seen as Ed Brubaker's take on that story, except, being by Ed Brubaker, it is far more subtle and interested in characterization, rather than shocks. Zack, who provided key evidence in the conviction of the supervillain mastermind Black Death, now finds himself in the crossfire between the government (led by the sort-of superhero Zoe Zeppelin) and the cabal of the Black Death's organization, which is still led by the old man himself behind prison bars. Wildcards include Zack's mundane friend Farmer, who is the only person in on his secret (his Pete Ross, if you will) and is interested in ways to exploit it (not like Pete Ross); and Ava Destruction, the psycho permanently-sixteen assassin (who reminds me in some ways of Sin, the Red Skull's daughter from Brubaker's own "Captain America").
There's a certain fun tension between the incredibly serious tone that the art and the writing style generally sets (similar to "Criminal") and some of the more absurdist elements of the superhero genre, which are played up here a lot more than it was in "Sleeper". Names, for example; you've got a very serious crime noir starring characters with names like Zack Overkill (of the Overkill Brothers), Zoe Zeppelin, Dick Deadly, Ava Destruction, etv. In the hands of a lesser writer, this just wouldn't work, but Brubaker expertly manages the tone. There the usual staples of a Brubaker/Phillips project: sex and nudity, bloody violence, all the curse words you care to read. Unexpectedly, though, this project ends much more upbeatly (conventionally, some might say) than either "Criminal" or "Sleeper", the closest to being a traditional origin narrative (though there are some tweaks on convention still stuck in there).
Recommended.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a big fan of Ed Brubaker. I love Sleeper, I love his Captain America, his Daredevil and the issues of Criminal I have read. Therefore, I had to buy this the instant it came out. Incognito has a similar feel to Criminal and Sleeper, which it is not surprising as all three are crime fiction and all three have the same duo writing and illustrating.
Incognito is the story of a super villain that is now in protective custody because he testified in court against a bigger fish. His powers are controlled by medicine. He realizes he can counter the effects of the medicine by getting high. He gets his powers back, but not wanting anybody to figure it out, he now uses his powers to stop thieves instead of for crime, as the only reason he does that is for the thrill. For three years he had lost his motivation to live and now it was all back.
As usual with Brubaker, the story gets better as it goes along. The twists keep coming and the story just flows perfectly, thanks to the great art provided by Phillips. I had always known that Phillips was the perfect noir artist, but since I hadn't seen his covers before, I didn't know he was capable of making such beautiful covers. The covers of the Incognito series are mesmerizing, I want one of those as a poster.
I like that the book incorporates ideas from pulp fiction (not the movie, but actual pulp fiction from the 30s), being inspired by those heroes and thrusting them into a great noir story.
Brubaker and Phillips are a perfect team and anything they will write, I will read. Check this book out.
Incognito is the story of a super villain that is now in protective custody because he testified in court against a bigger fish. His powers are controlled by medicine. He realizes he can counter the effects of the medicine by getting high. He gets his powers back, but not wanting anybody to figure it out, he now uses his powers to stop thieves instead of for crime, as the only reason he does that is for the thrill. For three years he had lost his motivation to live and now it was all back.
As usual with Brubaker, the story gets better as it goes along. The twists keep coming and the story just flows perfectly, thanks to the great art provided by Phillips. I had always known that Phillips was the perfect noir artist, but since I hadn't seen his covers before, I didn't know he was capable of making such beautiful covers. The covers of the Incognito series are mesmerizing, I want one of those as a poster.
I like that the book incorporates ideas from pulp fiction (not the movie, but actual pulp fiction from the 30s), being inspired by those heroes and thrusting them into a great noir story.
Brubaker and Phillips are a perfect team and anything they will write, I will read. Check this book out.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful
Loved it Very Cool Book it's very stiring great story and it will Make you smile and also cry highly recmended
Published 5 hours ago by Charles D Sellers
1.0 out of 5 stars
No. Just... no.
I'm a big fan of Brubaker and Phillips' CRIMINAL and SLEEPER and expected more of the same. I pretty much hated this. Read more
Published 3 months ago by S. Robert Katz
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it!!!
I love me some Ed Brubaker. Whether its superheroes or crime noir, Brubaker can craft a heck of a tale. Read more
Published 5 months ago by S. Penrose
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good story of "redemption"
Where most comic books are relatively clear cut - they are about heroes or villans and pushes this idea that that dichotomy is total and absolute - INCOGNITO manages to pain the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Forrest Campbell
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Interesting Ideas
This had some vivid sections to it and some originality, but I wanted it to go further in one direction or another ... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Scott McFarland
4.0 out of 5 stars
hell yeah
While some of the characters aer'nt as well developed as they could be, the art is great, the concept neat and the execution is solid. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Rob Shamas
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Solid Work
This would make a terrific movie if done well. Though not their best work, this is a solid effort by Brubaker and Phillips. Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. Smallridge
4.0 out of 5 stars
pretty good
it was alright. While i was reading it, it kept my interest till the end. But like a month later i cant even remember what i read. Read more
Published on May 14, 2011 by RoyaN
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disjointed and missing at parts
Brubaker's Criminal Series is good and I thought this would be similiar, considering the author and illustrator paired up again to do this collection. Read more
Published on May 3, 2011 by graphik_persona
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gritty, over-the-top pulp
Here's a wild premise: What if there were a witness protection program for supervillains?
Former superpowered criminal "Zack Overkill" has been drugged to give them... Read more
Former superpowered criminal "Zack Overkill" has been drugged to give them... Read more
Published on December 30, 2010 by Trevor Burnham
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