Yes, I already posted my big WINCBD post of the week. However, since I had already gotten through most of books, I decided to go off the path and read two other books that I was interested in: this week’s Irredeemable #18 and last week’s 28 Days Later #15 (which I didn’t get the chance to read because of NYCC). And to be honest, I enjoyed both comics so much that I wanted to make an extra review post informing you that you need both of these comics in your collection.
Why? Well, go after the jump and I’ll explain.
Let’s start with 28 Days Later. The book is, for all intents and purposes, the zombie underdog. How can it not be? Kirkman’s The Walking Dead dominates the zombie comic world among fans, and there is a plethora of other zombie infested comics on the market. Seriously, there’s probably one a week! So why should you get 28 Days Later out of all those?
Because it’s frakking great, that’s why.
Another writer of this site turned me onto the comic back when we first started, and it was actually someone else who bought me the first three issues, but I’ve been a fan since. This isn’t exactly like the film, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Instead, the story has quickly evolved into a fast-paced ongoing “not zombie” horror, and it’s definitely one of the better zombies-that-aren’t-zombies stories I’ve read, literally right up there with the Walking Dead.
In the latest issue, Selina and her only friend/fellow survivor Clint are picked up by thugs and brought to King Dixon (not to endlessly compare the two comics, but think the Governor with less rape (for now)). After stripping them of supplies, he gives her an ultimatum: either her friend dies, or she spends a night in something called the Mannequin to make up for breaking one of his soldier’s arms. When she eventually agrees, it leads to one of the best zombie related sequences I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently. Seriously – when I finished reading the issue, I had to e-mail fellow writer David to gush about how cool that scene was (although it turned out he hadn’t read it yet).
Some of you might be missing this, but Michael Alan Nelson and Alejandro Aragon have really put together a fantastic horror ongoing with this book. Nelson has transformed Selina into an even bigger badass than she was in the movie, with a fantastic outfit to match her deadliness. He also repeatedly comes up with short and sweet arcs that put our heroes in constant danger in the same “noone is safe” story telling fashion that we’ve learned to love with other books. Meanwhile, Aragon is putting out fantastic artwork that keeps Europe dark, dreary, and rainy – just as it was meant to be. The atmosphere of the book alone is quite incredible, and the additional colors by William Farmer only seek to enhance the story. It’s a very pretty zombie (or “not zombie” zombie) package, and it’s one that you really shouldn’t miss if you’re a fan of the genre.
So that’s 28 Days Later. But what about the other book?
Well, as I’ve noticed in previous reviews, Irredeemable has been on a steady upswing in content. The story had begun to get a little iffy in my book, but with the previous issue I was drawn right back in, and this issue killed it (in a positive way both figuratively and literally, I suppose).
So in the latest Irredeemable, we have two sequences. The main sequence involves the Hornet coming clean about a dark secret. He was the first person to die in the first issue, and his importance was only mentioned in the Irredeemable special. We had never known his bigger involvement… until now. Not only does the Hornet display rampant paranoia, but he hads a doozy to the plot in the same way that Orian offered a crazy deus ex machina moment. It’s arguable that what the Hornet is ultimately worse, though, and it pays off in the end.
Continued belowMeanwhile, in the Plutonian’s story, we get a TRUE return to form. Modeus had just been fully revealed for the epic creep that he always has been, and the Plutonian’s reaction this issue and last issue was sure to catch people off guard. However, truth be told that this allowed the Plutonian to get back to the insane pissed-off God he had been when the series started, and the sequence offered here is just as sadistic as when the Plutonian stormed the UN.
To cut a long rant short, Mark Waid is really telling one of his best stories ever here. While I was confused when it went past the 12 issue mark (since I thought it was supposed to end there), the series has really picked up the pace for me. I was a HUGE fan when the series first started, and now I’m really into the book again. The initial attraction to the book began with a “Oh man, what crazy stuff is going to happen this time?” factor, and Waid is putting that back into the book. The Plutonian is at his best when he’s totally off the wall in an almost Mark Millar-ian sense of villainry, and the return to form with the past couple issues has been truly wonderful. However, with all that does come out with this issue, I can’t tell if the book is racing towards it’s finale or an in-series disaster that could push the book even farther than it’s gone.
Suffice it to say, if there are two books from BOOM! Studios that you need, it’s 28 Days Later and Irredeemable. These are some of the most enjoyable indie comics around, and both entertain on a regular basis. If you’re looking for the anti-superhero story to read or a zombie comic as good as something like The Walking Dead, then look no further than these two.
