Irredeemable #1 – Review

By Mark Waid (writer), Peter Krause (pencils, ink), Andrew Dalhouse (colorist)

The Story: “Irredeemable” is about Superman going bad, really bad, like child-murdering bad. Except its not really Superman, but rather a hero named, “The Plutonian,” that Mark Waid has created in order to explore the idea of an evil all-powerful Superhero.

What’s Good: Truth be told, Waid rarely disappoints and has a very good, consistent track record of spinning great tales and this comic is no exception. Even if one isn’t a fan of Waid’s work, no one can argue that he couldn’t run a clinic on the craft of creating comics.

The pacing in this issue, i.e. the beats of images and words arranged on a page in the various panels, is excellent. Immediately the reader is brought into the Irredeemable Universe and then decisively frightened by The Plutonian as he releases hell and horror on a defenseless family.

I’ve read people calling this comic “high-concept,” but I don’t agree with that particular estimation of Irredeemable. Rather, it seems to turn on a fairly common observation of human nature, which is that the most talented people have the most destructive sense of insecurity. Waid, in my opinion, is just applying this truism to a near omnipotent being, who seems to be so hurt by the opinions of a few, that he deforms into a sadist.  This idea alone sets a great story.

What’s Not So Good: Well, besides that fact that I have the urge to throw-up every time I have to pay $3.99 for a normal sized comic, I felt that there could have been more story plugged into this issue. Everything moves pretty fast, but there were still some extraneous panels and lingering moments, especially in the back-story, that could have been tightened up.

I felt the coloring of this comic was a little bland. Also, the pencils were solid, but nothing to write home about. I think the art team benefited from excellent direction by Waid, which raised their average presentation.

Conclusion: Although the art was somewhat lacking, and the book was slapped with a high brow price tag, I’m already hooked into this story, I am really looking forward to this series. There are many plot gems for future story-lines that Waid embeds in the dialogue that point to many interesting things ahead for this series.

A word about the sickening violence in this comic: I abhor cheap violence for shock value or to over compensate for lack of content. In Irredeemable, Waid is guilty of neither. Instead, the violence plays an important role in furthering the story, despite how disturbing it is.

Grade: A-

-Rob G