In Brubaker I trust… INCOGNITO

If you come to our store, I am pretty sure you already know that all 3 of us (Joseph, Nick and myself) are pretty huge fans of Ed Brubaker. I know most of you know that I always say that the current run on Captain America is probably one of the best things published right now, or about how perfect Criminal is. This brings me to the topic of this post.

INCOGNITO is the latest effort by Ed and his long time collaborator Sean Phillips, who is known to most of you as the artist of Marvel Zombies. The team of Bru/Phillips has to this point already done two amazing books: Sleeper, and incredible look at a hero trapped in a criminal underground, with the world thinking that he turned (soon to be a movie), and Criminal, considered by many one of the top 2-3 finest books of our time and a perfect film-noir comic. Picking your favorite with those books is like choosing one of your children, I have never seen books that excelled so much at what they accomplished. And with the first issue of INCOGNITO, the team just gave us the beginning of their third Masterpiece.

The basic concept is brilliant. Imagine you are a Villain, an all powerful and morally corrupt individual who revels in his superiority over the “common guy”. Consequences mean nothing to you, until one day something happens and you can no longer show your face to the people who are even more evil and “super” than you are. You make a deal with the government, take a pill that, if used regularly, removes your powers, and go into witness protection after putting your boss in jail. Now you are a common stiff, sorting paper work at a typical firm, with typical loser co-workers. You have become the type of “grunt” that you despised when you had your powers. How long can you last in this situation, until the urges and fond memories make you try to find a way to get back to your past glory?

Oh, and did I mention that we are making the first issue 100% RETURNABLE? Need I say more?