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Irredeemable
Toby
Posts: 91
I love this comic.
Nice mix of JLA/MiracleMan/Stormwatch and Watchmen.
Mark Waid. Well done sir.
I am on issue 25 and have twelve more issues to go.
This is one where the story more than compensates for basically journeyman level art. If this had even a remotely middle 1/3 tier artist on it it would be SUPER!
Really like the tearing down of the Uber Hero analog making him human.
I would like to hear what other people thought of the story.
How many stopped and why. I think art might have been one reason.
I was really glad that this serious superhero story didn't spiral into BJs and sodomy like a Boys-type slant on serious capes but sometimes the shock value is needed. That's maybe another thread.
The tpb I read for the first volume had a nice intro by Grant Morrision but it seemed like an apology to the reader and asking to give Mark Waid a chance since everything he had done up to then was Silver Age classic storry telling. Due to his rep for Kingdom Come, etc part of me is pulling for resolution and real redemption for the imperfect human Super Man Analog, the Plutonian.
Some things I really enjoyed were:
Volt talking about being a black superhero and a stereotype within his own archetype like Black Lightning or talking with a jive accent.
Plutonian's fall and inability to control his powers as a kid (won't spoil his impact on his step brother) or his inability to check for all the consequences of his action when giving away some alien technology. Some often in comics, Superman has some artifact or invention from his lab or museum that is really cool or neat, this time...not so much. Plutonian is human in his defects and his inability to deal with the selfishness of society and the world.
I am definitely rooting for him.
If the CGS guys reviewed it or mentioned this series on a show could someone post a link and episode #. I think this series due to its many twists and turns reads very well in sit down. I definitely find myself re-reading the intro summary page of each issue. I don't find it repetitive but rather helpful. I will definitely finish the last twelve tonight.
I find myself wanting to re-read Miracle Man and finish the arc. I think I only read the issues I own up to 12 or 13. I never even reached the Gaiman stuff.
How does Mark Waid come across after writing this? Is it a poor man's Miracle Man or is it more?
I saw an ad for Potter's Field in one of the tpbs I read. Anyone read that and could recommend it?
I purposely type in these bullet formats so the ADHD types can just skim for the questions.
thanks
Toby
Irredeemable #1 - What if Superman had finally had enough, fried Jimmy Olsen’s brains, and went bat-shit crazy? It might look something like Mark Waid’s Irredeemable. We’re launched right into the action as the world’s mightiest hero kills a hero and his family with ease and an ice-cold demeanor. For whatever reason The Plutonian has become a cold-blooded killer and is now targeting other heroes of the world, his former partners and friends. (simple summary)
Nice mix of JLA/MiracleMan/Stormwatch and Watchmen.
Mark Waid. Well done sir.
I am on issue 25 and have twelve more issues to go.
This is one where the story more than compensates for basically journeyman level art. If this had even a remotely middle 1/3 tier artist on it it would be SUPER!
Really like the tearing down of the Uber Hero analog making him human.
I would like to hear what other people thought of the story.
How many stopped and why. I think art might have been one reason.
I was really glad that this serious superhero story didn't spiral into BJs and sodomy like a Boys-type slant on serious capes but sometimes the shock value is needed. That's maybe another thread.
The tpb I read for the first volume had a nice intro by Grant Morrision but it seemed like an apology to the reader and asking to give Mark Waid a chance since everything he had done up to then was Silver Age classic storry telling. Due to his rep for Kingdom Come, etc part of me is pulling for resolution and real redemption for the imperfect human Super Man Analog, the Plutonian.
Some things I really enjoyed were:
Volt talking about being a black superhero and a stereotype within his own archetype like Black Lightning or talking with a jive accent.
Plutonian's fall and inability to control his powers as a kid (won't spoil his impact on his step brother) or his inability to check for all the consequences of his action when giving away some alien technology. Some often in comics, Superman has some artifact or invention from his lab or museum that is really cool or neat, this time...not so much. Plutonian is human in his defects and his inability to deal with the selfishness of society and the world.
I am definitely rooting for him.
If the CGS guys reviewed it or mentioned this series on a show could someone post a link and episode #. I think this series due to its many twists and turns reads very well in sit down. I definitely find myself re-reading the intro summary page of each issue. I don't find it repetitive but rather helpful. I will definitely finish the last twelve tonight.
I find myself wanting to re-read Miracle Man and finish the arc. I think I only read the issues I own up to 12 or 13. I never even reached the Gaiman stuff.
How does Mark Waid come across after writing this? Is it a poor man's Miracle Man or is it more?
I saw an ad for Potter's Field in one of the tpbs I read. Anyone read that and could recommend it?
I purposely type in these bullet formats so the ADHD types can just skim for the questions.
thanks
Toby
Irredeemable #1 - What if Superman had finally had enough, fried Jimmy Olsen’s brains, and went bat-shit crazy? It might look something like Mark Waid’s Irredeemable. We’re launched right into the action as the world’s mightiest hero kills a hero and his family with ease and an ice-cold demeanor. For whatever reason The Plutonian has become a cold-blooded killer and is now targeting other heroes of the world, his former partners and friends. (simple summary)
Comments
I did find the art rather basic in places but the ideas were interesting.
Both books were always near the top of my shipment stack; month in and month out.
I didn't know how I felt about the ending after I read it, and the more I think about it, the more I am not satisfied with it...it feels a bit like an echo of the ending of his run of the Fantastic Four, or the Morrison Animal Man and ends up being a cop-out to me.
But in the last few issues I read (can't remember the numbers and too lazy to look them up, but it was in the 30's--around the time Qubit says "I'm going to give you a second chance") there seemed to be a dearth of zigging or zagging. The writing seemed to lack the luster of the previous issues and started falling back on thematic tropes.
It wasn't Plutonian's second chance. It was his fourth or FIFTH. The characters had seemed deep and complex. Now, all of a sudden, they were blunt force instruments who never changed their minds and their proliferation of force/power just kept building as a cheap way of building greater tension. It just seemed like Millar's mind was elsewhere, and he was mentally done with Irredeemable.
It was satisfying enough but I wouldn't have minded one last brawl between Max and Plutonian.
Also, I would have loved to have known what he said to Plutonian in the first place to make him leave Coalville alone.