Irredeemable #28 Review, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis #12
August 15, 2011 Marc Fishman 0 Comments
Flashpoint: Irredeemable #28
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause
And out of a thick fog, your snarky ne’er-do-well returns! No excuses. I’m a slacker. That being said, let’s jump right into a book I’ve not reviewed before. I know now, for a while I have stuck to the mainland of comicdom. For funsies though, I figured a little trip down Indie-Way Blvd. might be good for a change of pace. Unlike a DC or Marvel book, Boom! doesn’t mind shaking a book up in order to give we readers a new perspective on a typical genre piece. “Irredeemable” is Mark Waid’s love affair on the fall of the superhero. The first trade was easily one of the breakout pieces of 2010. Since then however, it’s hard to see a living legend like Waid spinning his wheels…grinding the series into a repetitive non-entity. It’s with a heavy heart that I must spend the next few paragraphs taking a hot steamy load onto the literary chest of one my personal favorite wielders of the keyboard.
For the uninitiated, “Irredeemable” follows the fall of The Plutonian. On the surface, he’s an obvious Superman analog. As the first trade details though, Plutonian has not the patience, virtue, or strength of character we as superhero aficionados have come to expect from our prime hero du jour. Spurned, scorned, and sold out by those he loved, Plutonian cuts a reign of terror across the globe in retaliation. An example? In order to teach Singapore a lesson, he sinks it into the ocean. ‘Nuff said. Over the course of countless issues as he teammates scrambled to concoct a way to defeat him, Waid defaulted to a deus ex machina from the first issue in order to take Plutonian out of the picture. Due obviously to the sales of the book, what most figured would be an excellent mini-series (perhaps Waid’s own “Empire” comes to mind…) turned into an ongoing. It pains to say it, but the series hasn’t quite found the legs needed to keep it in my good graces. But I digress. This is not a review of the whole series mind you, just little ole’ issue #28.
We start hitting the ground running, which was a welcome turn for the better in the series. With the issue start, Plutonian has returned to Earth after a brief stint on “Insanity Island”. OK, it’s wasn’t an island. It was an asylum, housing every rejected cosmic villain from Green Lantern, the Fantastic Four, and Rocket Raccoon. Plutonian figured out a nifty little trick to leave (one that was so predictability banal, that it’s obvious that the twist therein won’t take), and return to the planet he was well on his way to conquest sum 27 issues prior. The problem here though is at 28 issues, there’s a desperate need for a new story beat to hit here. Waid’s spent the best part of the series giving us the same thing over and over; Plutonian does something insidious. Heros recoil. Deus ex machina. Plutonian defeats said plot twist. Repeat. Issue #28 finds us at the beginning of that arc yet again.
The book’s protagonist (if you could call him one) Survivor, is seemingly the only remaining hero left to combat the returning Plutonian. The book is chock full of villains. So many in fact, that I found myself not rooting really for anyone. Survivor is as power mad as Plutonian. Has been for so many issues, there’s been nary a shred of ‘redeemability’ in him. The JLA/Avengers analog from the beginning of the series has been scattered, murdered, depowered, or simply left somewhere in the gutters of the book. In their wake, the ‘Paradigm’ is essentially Survivor and some leftover super-villains. And to complicate matters further, Plutonian brought along a set of “wow-that’s sure a neat power” loonies too. The only character who showed any shred of valiance was left for dead an issue ago. Simply put, “Irredeemable” is so over-saturated in seediness… I simply lost my sense of devotion to the book. And let’s not make this an issue about rooting for the bad guy. Gail Simone’s “Secret Six” was cover to cover baddies, but never miss-stepped with allowing us to have something to hang our hat on. There’s evil for evil’s sake… and there’s a reason no ongoing series has lasted featuring it.
Earlier I mentioned “Empire”. Waid’s opus to villainy sticks out in my mind so vividly when I read “Irredeemable”. In a single OGN, Waid had set up, knocked down, and explored villainy in a new and interesting light. Such that it countered his amazing runs on Fantastic Four, The Flash, and countless other superhero books. With the core of “Empire” rooted firmly in “Irredeemable”, it’s hard to not want to see this title just continue to be the juggernaut it’s meant to be. But two and half years into it, with no sign of change… it’s hard not to call Mark Waid out. If you’ve run out of interesting beats to hit, isn’t it time to let your baby live on with new creators with some fresh takes? We know Waid can edit the hell out of books. In his time as the Dan DiDio of Boom!, I think he bought a fantastic line of books to the shelf. While he’s no longer behind that lavish mahogany desk, I’ve little doubt he couldn’t trade his writers pen for a coaches clipboard.
At the most basic level, what hurts the most is how well crafted the book actually is. For this unyielding cyclical plot structure, Waid’s actual words on page are excellent. His scenes are tense, and vivid. Peter Krause’s art is striking. Characters wear their emotions on their sleeves, and no two look alike. The book is well-colored, well-lettered, and crafted by a team that obviously cares about the final product. I just can’t find the foothold in it to continue reading if plot continues to recycle itself. We’re 28 issues in, and Plutonian’s end game is seemingly no where in sight. Those who conspire to defeat him are no less seedy in their quest for power. It’s a bold concept, one that even half a dozen issues ago I was championing. Sad to say, I don’t know how much longer I’ll let evil win.
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Marc Alan Fishman is a digital artist, writer, and co-founder of Unshaven Comics. When Marc isn’t knee-deep in graphic design, he’s also a contributor to ComicMix.com, an occasional stand-up comedian, as well as freelancer extraordinaire.