Review- INCOGNITO: THE CLASSIFIED EDITION

INCOGNITO: THE CLASSIFIED EDITION (Icon/ Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Incognito #1-6 and Incognito: Bad Influences #1-5 (cover dates December, 2008- April, 2011)

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Sean Phillips

Colorist: Val Staples

Venturing into my comic room and going through my backlog of unread books can be just like going to a comic shop, as I sometimes stumble upon books that I have no recollection of ever buying, like this one. Imagine my delight upon discovering a previously unread Ed Brubaker amd Sean Phillips book to read. Wow! Plus I didn't have to pay for it since I already bought it, so it was like getting a free book or something.

Brubaker likes to sneak contraband toys into the sandbox. If he is writing a superhero comic he plays it like a spy movie (Captain America). If he is writing a Noir comic it quickly becomes a Horror comic (Fatale). Incognito is a comic fan's comic. It requires a working knowledge of the Marvel Universe, as there are doppelgangers throughout that might not make much sense to an uninitiated civilian. Think of it as Astro City if Astro City got hooked on drugs, had sex, and swore.

This is some pretty hard-edged, balls out stuff, certainly not all ages reading. This is a more grounded, realistic take on the Marvel Universe (only it's not the Marvel Universe) where a villain named Zack Overkill sort of becomes a hero. Lots of page-turning, signature Brubaker writing here. This is some great stuff that everyone should check out.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I was surprised to see that this book is out of print.

Paper stock: Good weight semi-glossy coated stock.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding, lays perfectly flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket. Image is printed on the casewrap. Casewrap has a nice thick coating and is resistant to scuffing.

Review- CRIMINAL: THE DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2

CRIMINAL: THE DELUXE EDITION VOL. 2 (Icon/ Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Criminal (Vol. 2) Nos. 4-7, Criminal: The Sinners Nos. 1-5, Criminal: The Last of the Innocent Nos. 1-4, and the Criminal story from Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics Original Graphic Novel (cover dates July, 2008- September, 2011)

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Sean Phillips

Colorists: Val Staples with Dave Stewart

Believe the hype. Everything that you've heard about Criminal is true. These are crime comics for the 21^st century...even though they take place in the 20^th century. Technology has made crime boring, so stories that take place in the '70s and '80s are far more interesting than stories that take place today. Nowadays, everyone would have a cellphone video up on Facebook or Youtube and they'd get caught. 

This beautiful, 420+ page oversized hardcover collects three arcs. The best thing about this series is that, despite all of the lurid happenings, it is all about the characters. The choices people make in life define all of these stories. It would be an easy sell to go the cheap, sensationalist route. Brubaker takes a lowbrow concept and makes it high art. 

All of these stories deal with crime, drugs, sex, cigarettes, and profanity. All ages reading it is not. If white knuckled, wrong side of the tracks, bad girls who are good girls on the inside (maybe), and crooked cops sound interesting to you, then Criminal is for you. Even if those things don't appeal to you, Criminal is for you. This is essential reading.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Well this sure is strange. There are some word balloons that omit dialogue, or portions of the dialogue. If this were a collection of vintage material then I would chalk it up to a pasted over word balloon falling off. Here in the modern age, everything is digital. How would this happen? A corrupted file? This stuff isn't scanned from floppies or anything. It's like an Easter Island head style mystery. The affected word balloons can be found on Page 127, panel 5; Page 128, panels 5-7; Page 131, panel 9; Page 233, panels 3, 4, 7, and 9. There is also one other word balloon without any text in it, although it is possible that that one is not a mistake since it fits in with the story.

The covers are all collected in the back of the book instead of being used as chapter markers. There are chapter marker pages. My OCD prefers the covers to be included prior to the beginning of each issue. Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. This book has a nice, thick coated stock that is perfectly suited to a high-end deluxe edition hardcover like this.

Binding rating: 5 out of 5. Marvel knows what's up when it comes to binding. This book lays perfectly flat from the first page to the last.

Hardback cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. This book has no dustjacket. The image is printed directly on the hardback itself. The coating can be scuffed. It's not fragile or flimsy, but I would prefer Avatar Press type thickness.

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Review- CRIMINAL: THE DELUXE EDITION

CRIMINAL: THE DELUXE EDITION (Icon/ Marvel, Fourth Printing, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects Criminal (Vol. 1) Nos. 1-10 and Criminal (Vol. 2) Nos. 1-3 (cover dates October, 2006- April, 2008)

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Sean Phillips

I can't possibly keep up with everything going on in comic books. Titles like Criminal are a fine example of this. I heard the buzz, the unanimous praise, and still never got around to checking it out. My OCD brother-in-arms Ferjo Byroy gave me this gorgeous hardcover for my birthday last month, and since I am in the process of relocating my Fortress of Solitude and many of my books are already boxed up, I grabbed this for my comic book fix.

I am a pretty big fan of Brubaker, and loved the collaboration he and Sean Phillips did on Fatale. This is hard-boiled crime, set in various points in time from the '50s to the present. The third arc takes place between 1967 and 1972, for example. Like Sin City, the events of one arc rotate in and out of the other, with knowledge of any of the other arcs not being necessary to understand what is going on in the current arc. The Undertow(n) bar is the nexus of this crime infested burg, and the bartender and denizens of it are involved in various arcs. I wouldn't be surprised to see background characters in some of these stories be the stars of future ones. It feels similar to Sin City in some ways, but that is not a slam. There's nothing wrong with being reminded of something good.

I won't go into any plot specifics or synopses, as I would prefer that you have the joy of discovery for yourself. Suffice it to say that if you enjoyed the aforementioned Sin City or other crime/noir titles, then you will really enjoy Criminal. I am now trying to resist the urge to embark on a life of crime filled with fast women, fast cars, and fast cash, as my wife would frown on two out of the three.

There is a second deluxe edition hardcover coming out this October which will collect the rest of the series. Thanks for sucking me into another expensive hardcover, Ferjo. Your birthday* is coming, and I'll get you for this...

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is a beautifully produced hardcover, with stunning coated stock paper and top notch sewn binding. Marvel has perfected the art of sewn binding and books laying completely flat from the first page to the last, which seems to be a lost art to many publishers these days. It really enhances the reading experience for me when I don't have to wrestle with a book in order to read it. I tend to read hardcovers in bed at night, and lay them flat. My only gripe, if it can be called that, is that the cover image is printed on the book in lieu of a dustjacket. This would be fine by me if the coating were a bit thicker. I handle my books with the utmost care, but am fearful of scratching the cover with that dull matte coating.

I dislike the covers being in a gallery in the back of the book as opposed to their proper, chapter marker place. It's an OCD pet peeve of mine. All comic book fans have their quirks and ticks, and this is a big one for me. The only difference between me and many fans is that I built a blog around these ticks.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5.

Binding rating: 5 out of 5.

Hardcover coating rating: 3 out of 5.

*Ferjo and I have a longstanding game of sucking each other into more lines of books. We are both completely, totally ill. We both had ridiculous collections of books when we met, and are way worse now. We use birthdays as gateway drugs. We were both ill when we met, and we are much, much worse all of these years later. I was like a smack addict and he was like a cokehead when we met. Then it was like I introduced him to smack, and he introduced me to coke. Now we are both addicted to both coke and smack, encouraging and enabling one other in our illness. Don't do drugs. Drugs are expensive, and the money that you'd spend on drugs would be better spent on comic books.

Review- NEMESIS

NEMESIS (Icon/ Marvel; Hardcover)

Collects Nemesis Nos. 1-4 (cover dates May, 2010- February, 2011)

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Steve McNiven

Nemesis is a creator owned property published under Marvel's Icon imprint. The Icon books are devoid of the Marvel logo, likely to appeal to people who wouldn't be caught dead reading a Marvel comic. Like Irredeemable, this is about a villain running the show. Unlike that title, this villain doesn't have any super powers, only a super fat bankroll. I won't go into the villain's background for fear of spoilers. Suffice it to say, the ending was clever, even if I have a hard time believing someone could plan that well that far in advance. There are too many variables in the world for things to work that way. I guess this is where the comic book suspension of disbelief comes into play.

Mark Millar seems to be a love/hate writer for fandom at large. I enjoy his work, but have not made it a point to follow him from title to title like some comic book groupie. If something appeals to me, I buy it. Millar doesn't make or break it for me. Steve McNiven is a great artist. I discovered him during his now legendary run on Captain America. I will give something a second look if his name is attached to it because his action sequences are always a joy to behold. 

This is definitely a “mature readers only” book, with tons of violence and bloodshed throughout. Lots of carnage for the Millennial/ Gen Y/ video game crowd. One could turn this book into a drinking game by doing a shot every time someone gets killed. I can guarantee that you wouldn't finish the book.

While I love the rich tapestry of continuity that is the Marvel Universe, it is easy to see the allure of creator owned ventures like this. While the paycheck might not be as big as working on a mainstream comic book, the benefit and freedom of not having to conform to any rules, as well as the joy of building something from the ground up, would far outweigh the drawbacks. I'm still not convinced that creator owned titles are the only way to go for artists, but as a fan it is great to have so many options and flavors available on the shelves at comic shops. 

Writing: 3.75 out of 5. Despite a slight difficulty in my suspension of disbelief, this was slick and seamless.

Artwork: 4.5 out of 5. McNiven is great for all of the reasons listed above.

The OCD zone- This has the same nice paper stock and glued binding as any standard Marvel Premiere Hardcover. The MSRP of $19.99 is pretty steep for a 4 issue hardcover, in my opinion.

Paper grade quality: 5 out of 5. This thick coated stock works perfectly for modern color palettes.

Binding: 3.5 out of 5. Sure, it's glued, but the book is so thin that it's hardly a deal breaker. That said, it didn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy the way that books with sewn binding do.

Note: Collections of modern material (2002-on) do not get restoration ratings on linework or color, since they are all straight from digital files.

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