Incognito
From the creators of Criminal and Sleeper comes the most insane and evil super-villain comic you’ve ever read! What if you were an ex-super villain hiding out in Witness Protection… but all you could think about were the days when the rules didn’t apply to you? Could you stand the toil of an average life after years of leaving destruction in your wake? And what if you couldn’t stand it? What would you do then? Incognito - a twisted mash-up of noir and super-heroics - by best-selling creators Ed Brubaker (The Death of Captain America) and Sean Phillips (Marvel Zombies) with Val Staples on colors. Collects Incognito #1-6.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars To Read It Is To Be Immediately Addicted
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips do cool things. It just pours out of them, it seems. Again and again, in series like Coward, Sleeper, and Criminal, they just make gripping adult tales with hard-hitting action, healthy doses of suspense, a little sex and violence, and compulsively readable dialogue. They’ve got it down, and it works. It works very well.
They do it again in Incognito, a nice take on superpowered action paired with some real-world drama. This time around, a superpowered villain is languishing in the Witness Protection Program after betraying a deadly cartel of megapowered baddies. The greatly named Zack Overkill and his twin were struck down in the first battle. Zack survived; his twin didn’t. Now Zack is hiding out in the program, biding his time boringly, taking government-mandated pills to suppress his powers. Yet he yearns for something more. He’s also still greatly mourning the loss of his brother, and he’s finding his day-to-day existence as a file clerk (a paper-pusher in an increasingly paperless world, as he puts it) more and more ironic, and less and less fulfilling.
Just a fair warning for those so inclined: Incognito addresses several adult themes (yes, sex, violence, and adult language, but also drug use: When Zack begins taking illegal drugs, he finds out they cancel out the effects of the government’s power-suppressing meds). Once Zack’s powers return and he begins surreptitiously going out on superpowered adventures at night, the cartel he helped bring down (or the remnants of it, anyway) immediately notice. They’re not only interested. They want revenge.
And thus Incognito kicks into full gear. This collection is as exciting as comics get, a gripping, powerful look at an antihero you can’t help but be enthralled by. To read it is to be immediately addicted.
– John Hogan
4 Stars Pretty good
I was looking for another comic to purchase so I could get the free-super saver shipping with my purchase of Kick-Ass and decided this one looked like it might be pretty good. Turns out it was definitely worth purchasing, although not one of my favorites. For what it’s worth I don’t remember much about what happened in it, this is not to say it’s bad just that it wasn’t amazing. Overall though if your just looking for something to read and enjoy, it’s definitely fun and interesting.
5 Stars Brubaker’s Best Yet
This is what Brubaker should be writing. Superhero noir tales that delve into intelligent ideas and themes without thouroughly confusing you. I’m happy to see that this story doesn’t dive too much into crime drama, because I’m more of a superhero reader. You’re going to get a few genres out of this book, but the most prominant one is superhero noir.
NO SPOILERS: This is a story about a twin brother villain put on witness protection. The character begins to feel lifeless and meaningless living a normal life. He is then drawn out of hiding, and his normal life is cast aside. His re-entry into the superhuman world is nothing like his previous conflicts. The joy of this book is what changes he must go through and who Zack Overkill is now. Brubaker’s dialogue is badass, at times hilarious, and thankfully meaningful.
This book you’re looking at is a new classic. The story has such a rich quality, and the artwork is absolutely perfect to its tone. Shorty after reading this you will want to revisit these characters immediately and relive the awesome and dramatic tale that Incognito is. Hopefully Brubaker will give us more, because this story is nearly bursting out of this small trade paperback with possibilities.
5 Stars Great Book
As my first foray into Brubaker’s work, Incognito did not disappoint. The plot would make an excellent movie: action, suspense, espionage, super powers… Incognito is expertly written and skillfully illustrated.
4 Stars Super-hero Noir
This is basically a super-powered companion piece to Brubaker and Phillips’ CRIMINAL series. Similar to SLEEPER but without all the goofy Wildstorm characters. Nevertheless, the book looks great, and is a quick, fun read. The paper quality and book design are also a step above your standard Marvel TPB.
Filed under: Top Graphic Novels