It's always nice to see something that succesfully reworks tired cliches into something new and exciting. Such is the case with Incognito, the ICON/Marvel comic series from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It successfully grafts film noir and pulp sensibilities onto a modern superhero comic, and never once does it feel forced, or that the creative team is trying too hard. Reading this gave me the same buzz I got when I was 12 and reading the Bantam Doc Savage paperbacks for the first time, no small feat. Comic-wise, I haven't enjoyed comics this much since my first encounter with Moore and O'Neill's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
If you like superheroes, pulp fiction, film noir; or if you're just a fan of excellent storytelling, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed. Oh, and don't wait for the trade paperback! Like Criminal, Incognito has text articles that will only be in the monthlies. Brubaker has tapped Jess Nevins to write about pulp heroes of the past. Issue #1 had a text piece on The Shadow. I had no idea that the written character and the radio incarnation were two very different characters. Fascinating. Issue #2 has an bit on Doc Savage, with Philips doing a fantastic James Bama-inspired watercolour portrait of the Man of Bronze.
What are you waiting for? Stop reading this and get yourself Icognito ASAP.
[Geek mode off]
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