“Irredeemable,” BOOM! Studio’s hot-selling superhero pastiche, is over. It’s ending leaves a bit of a void in many pulls for a dark super-title which plays off some familiar tropes in a new and decidedly dark way, finding many fans wondering where they’re going to get their next fix from.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, do I have a title for you.
Written by Si Spurrier
Illustrated Jeffrey EdwardsWE LOST. THEY WON. In the wake of an apocalyptic alien invasion, the world’s greatest super-heroes and deadliest super-villains must form an alliance to prevent their own extermination. Two arch-enemies, Nox, a driven hero, and Red Reaper, a ruthless villain, form a volatile partnership for the greater good. The enemy of your enemy is your friend – but will they be able to ultimately put aside their bitter past to prevent global genocide? What happens when all the battle lines are redrawn and foes become unlikely allies in a desperate war for the fate of the very planet – and the outcome of a species? Written by Simon Spurrier (X-CLUB, FEAR ITSELF: THE HOME FRONT, WOLVERINE: DANGEROUS GAMES), EXTERMINATION is a superhero survival story by an author that boldly explores the dark crevices of an entire genre.
In the desolate remains of America after a destructive alien invasion, all hope is lost. Life is a bleak waking dream barely worth having. Most of humanity is dead or in hiding, and there is no one coming to protect us anymore. After years of men and women in tight spandex swooping to the rescue and pulling our cats out of trees, all we have to help us get through the remaining days of humanity is our wits and perhaps a bit of luck. There are no heroes.
But there’s Nox and the Red Reaper. Two men still in their costumes, blazing through the wasteland guns a-blazing at the alien invaders in the Bladecycle mid-argument. One, a former hero with a strict moral code and a distaste for curse words; the other, a raging lunatic quick with a quip and an affinity science, mayhem and bad language. Formerly bitter enemies, our salvation now lies in two men who could barely get along pre-disaster and who are just barely getting along now.
We’re fucked.
If “Irredeemable” was what would happen if Superman went bad, “Extermination” is somewhere along the lines of what would happen if Batman and a saner version of the Joker had to team-up — although even then, that’s not quite accurate. “Extermination” does somewhat rely on superhero conventions and tropes, sure, but only to a very minor extent. This isn’t just a “What If?”, this is a new entity that simply needs to nudge you in the right direction if only to make the characters more familiar. We’ve never met Nox and the Red Reaper before, but we don’t have to spend five pages on origin stories and exposition to recognize what they represent, and that familiarity is “Extermination’s” first big positive.
The other big positive? Well, that’d be the rest of the comic. Spurrier and Edwards have crafted a devilshly clever little romp with this first issue that amuses the heart, captures the imagination and kicks the series off to quite a great beginning. Spurrier has proven in the past that he’s got a quick wit and a sharp eye for clever dialogue and the book is brimming to the seams with just that, as Nox and Red Reaper taunt each other with carefully chosen words, cruel reminders and Star Wars references at a breakneck pace. Edwards give the book a rich and dense playing field for which our “heroes” blaze across in the Bladecycle with fantastically grim colors by Blond. Spurrier and Edwards are in perfect sync with this book, and from every haunting and bloody corner it’s more than evident that “Extermination” is going to make for quite a fun ride.
But don’t take my word for it. As an added bonus/treat, here’s the first five pages of the comic to help you decide if I’m right or not:
It all comes down to this: did you read the critically acclaimed “X-Club” mini? Of course you did. Did you love it? Of course you did! Aren’t those images above these words pretty damn sharp? Of course they are. Do you have a dollar? Of course you do. Just buy “Extermination.”
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
