Comic Book Review: Incognito #2

The Revolution enjoyed Incognito #1. Brubaker is one of the few writers who has earned my trust and I willingly purchase any title he writes regardless of the subject matter. Brubaker delivered with Incognito #1 and got me hooked on this title. I expect another well written read with Incognito #2. Zack is certainly not the most likeable protagonist, but he is definitely intriguing. Let’s go ahead and hit this review for Incognito #2.

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips

Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin in a secret facility located in “The middle of nowhere, USA.” The guards at this secret prison are irritated that one of the serial killer inmates is being allowed to meet with his high-priced lawyer. We see the lawyer, Mr. Dupree, entering a room with a one way mirror window in it. Mr. Dupree’s client is brought in by a guard. The client is Mr. Lee. Dupree and Lee exchange greetings and proceed to talk about Mr. Lee’s legal matters concerning his appeal.

However, at the same time this verbal conversation is being carried on, the two men are having a telepathic discussion with each other. Dupree says “Hail to the Black Death.” Lee asks Dupree why he is here since he was not scheduled to come until tomorrow. Dupree says that something has come up. That Doctor Lester finally found out who gave evidence on Lee. That it was Zack Overkill and that Doctor Lester says that Zack is now suddenly back online.

The guards watch through the window and talk about how the meeting is just the usual lawyer crap. They talk about how Dupree is a creepy guy. We cut back to Lee stating that he ordered the Overkill brothers to be killed and then was given verified proof that they were dead.

We shift to Zack remembering how sick he felt when his brother, Xander, died. It was like they were torn apart. Zack continues how the Black Death had been picked up by the feds a week earlier. And that a lot of the rank and file in the Black Death’s organization were turning up dead. The ones that the Black Death did not think could be trusted. Zack always thought that he and his brother were too high up in the organization and too valuable to be targeted.

Zack states that he woke up a month later in a government hospital. The S.O.S. stated that Zack officially died in the warehouse along with his brother. The S.O.S. then laid out Zack’s options. After seeing pictures of his dead brother, Zack agreed to secretly testify under the Truman Shield Law. And then Zack was given an entirely new identity and life.

Now Zack’s new life is finally becoming bearable thanks to his illegal activities as of late. Zack says that when he came out of his coma that he was already on the power suppression meds. Zack said that this entire time that he had been living a lie in his new life that he was unaware that he got a serious power increase since Xander died.

Zack says that his beating up criminals at night was liberating. Zack says that he could have cared less about the idiots that he saved. That those morons were always chatting on their cell phones and never had a sense of their surroundings. But, the nights beating up criminals made life livable. Zack continues that he did not even have to get high anymore. Now, Zack got high because he wanted to.

We cut to Zack and his buddy, Farmer, getting high together. Farmer talks about how there are no musicians who made good music after they stopped doing drugs.

Zack thinks about how he first met Farmer when he caught Farmer stealing some computer equipment from the office. Farmer had a self-destructive quality that Zack admired. Zack says that Farmer never passed up any booze or drugs. Zack says that Farmer was also a conspiracy theorist as well.

We see Zack and Farmer on the rooftop of the office building smoking cigarettes and talking about various conspiracy theories. Amanda walks by and ignores the two men. Zack mentions how Amanda refused to even acknowledge him when he talked to her.

We cut to that night with Zack brutally beating the hell out of some criminals. Zack wonders why he was letting Amanda get under his skin. The old man who Zack saved thanks Zack profusely for his help. Zack is disgusted by the cowardly victim and snaps for the old man to “Get a grip of yourself.”

Zack ends up going to the rooftop of the bar where Amanda hangs out. He sees Amanda leave the bar. Zack thinks how Xander would have laughed his ass off at Zack right now. Zack says that he almost laughs at himself right now.

We see a rapist attack Amanda. Zack appears on the scene and kicks ass on the rapist. Amanda stammers how amazing Zack is and then Amanda passes out. Zack stares at Amanda and says “Are you fucking kidding me?” Zack looks at Amanda’s license to get her home address.

We cut to Zack laying Amanda down in her bed. Zack stares at Amanda. Zack then turns to leave and says “Christ, what an idiot.” Amanda gets up and comes after Zack.

Amanda says that Zack was such a gentlemen not to take advantage of her while she was vulnerable. Amanda then slips off her dress and asks Zack if he wants to. (And cue the Barry White.) Zack thinks that Amanda must not recognize him under his mask. Zack then has some dirty sex with Amanda. (Well, we do not know that it was dirty. But, I am imagining that it was.)

We shift to the next day at work. Amanda barely notices Zack and is rude to him when she does. Zack says that this is good yet it still creeps him out. Zack then continues “But, she had been creeping me out in bed, too.” (Nice. Creepy crazy sex. Gotta love it.)

Zack continues that he had never had sex like that before. That it was like some kind of reward. That Amanda looked at him like she was not seeing him. It made him feel like he was not even there. Zack continues that it must be true that people cannot see beyond the mask.

Farmer then approaches Zack and hands him a sketch of the masked man who has been beating up criminals in the area. Zack looks at the picture and comments that the masked man looks like an idiot.

We cut to Zack meeting with his parole officer, Agent Kelvin. Kelvin hands Zack the same sketch of the masked man and comments that the masked man looks just like Zack. Kelvin asks Zack if this is what he has been doing with his nights. Zack denies it and says he does not look like that masked man.

Kelvin continues that last night, the masked man saved a woman from a rapist. But, the kicker was that it was not a rapist at all. That it was some kind of costumed sex-play deal. That it had been anonymously arranged on the internet.

Zack thinks that he immediately understood Amanda at this point. That Amanda was a witness at some point and had seen a masked hero or villain in action. We see a female super villain taking robbing a bank and using Amanda as a human shield. The villainess gives Amanda a kiss on the lips. (This is so twisted that I love it.) Zack continues that Amanda does not see regular people anymore. That Amanda was looking for something else and that search led her to dark places.

Kelvin hands Zack a piss cup and tells him to pee for the drug test. Kelvin says that he will be talking to Zack’s alibi. Zack continues to maintain his innocence.

We cut to Doctor Lester’s lab. Lester has Max Gazer strapped to a chair. Lester has cut off the top of Max’s skull and is poking and prodding at Max’s brain. (Kind of like what Sylar does on “Heroes.”) Lester says that they took Max’s word that the Overkill brothers were dead. Lester asks Max who he is working for and for how long. Lester asks where Zack Overkill is located. Max swears he did not say or do anything. Lester says that if Max does not answer him then he will turn Max over to Dick Deadly.

Dick says that they always knew they had a mole. They just did not know how deep. Lester then states that tells Max will tell him everything. That Lester will pluck out the correct part of Max’s brain and Max will proceed to talk on and on. Unfortunately, there will be no coming back from that.

Lester comments that Max had to see all of this coming. After all, Max can see the future. Max stammers that he kept it a secret that he could only see other people’s future and not his own. Doctor Lester says “Well… that is unfortunate.”

We cut to Farmer finishing meeting with Agent Kelvin. Zack thinks how Farmer never even asked why Zack had a parole officer or why Zack needed an alibi. Zack thinks that he has chosen his friends wisely. Farmer tells Zack that Kelvin bought Farmer’s story and alibi for Zack.

Farmer then says that he did some digging. Farmer pulls out some old newspaper articles. Farmer says that Zack is one of the Overkill brothers. Farmer says that Zack is supposed to be dead.

Zack asks if Farmer knew this about him then why did he help him. Farmer replies because Zack is going to help him rob a bank unless Zack wants him to call Kelvin and take back his entire alibi. End of issue.

Commentary
The Good: Incognito #2 was another good read. This was a technically well constructed issue. Brubaker always delivers impeccably plotted stories and Incognito is no exception. Brubaker remains focused and slowly, but surely, begins to answer a few of the reader’s questions in this issue. Of course, each answer simply yields even more questions in the reader’s mind.

Brubaker does a nice job giving some back-story on Zack and his brother, Xander. Brubaker also nicely recaps the events of the last issue for those readers who missed Incognito #1 and then decided to pick up this issue due to all of the buzz over this title. And the best part is that Brubaker did it in an impressive concise and clear fashion in the matter of only three pages.

Brubaker moves Incognito #2 along with his usual steady and measured pace. Incognito #2 is certainly not a fast issue. Brubaker does not give the reader much action in this issue. However, what we did get was very well placed and helped to break up the muted feel of Brubaker’s story.

Incognito #2 is certainly a character driven comic book. While I am sure that Brubaker will deliver more action at some point, I do not expect for this title to be a wild, loud and brawl-filled ride. Brubaker has made a concerted effort to focus in on Zack’s character and allow his observations and reactions to his new stage in life to carry the story.

Brubaker has concocted an interesting formula for the genre of this title. Incognito is part pulp fiction and part crime fiction. Brubaker then sprinkles a dash of your traditional super hero genre on top just to try and give this title its own unique personality. Brubaker has already given us a classic crime fiction comic in Criminal so it is nice to see Brubaker trying to attempt something a bit different while still staying to his obvious roots in pulp and crime stories.

The setting for Incognito is textured and detailed. I like this realistic setting. The world of Incognito has the dirty, grimy and violent culture of the street mixed with the mundane and soul crushing existence of a 9 to 5 office worker. It is a setting that the reader can quickly identify with and that places this super hero styled character into an existence that the common American worker lives every day. Brubaker effectively gets the reader to feel that the setting of Incognito is what our world would be like if there were super heroes and villains in it.

The dialogue is well crafted and has a nice realistic flow to it. The dual layered dialogue in the opening scene with the Black Death and his lawyer speaking both telepathically and verbally was well handled. Brubaker also dishes out some excellent character work. The dialogue and the character work are the two most appealing aspects of Incognito #2.

Most of the character work focuses on the main character, Zack. But, each character has a well defined personality. Incognito #2 is populated with so many broken and defective characters. The characters are all so engrossing, repulsive and sympathetic at the same time. These are just regular people.

The characters are much like the people you would find in your typical office based 9 to 5 world. The office is populated with the types of people that everyone has to deal with on a daily basis. There are the indifferent co-workers who seem to glide through every day on auto-pilot (Zack). There are co-workers who are always looking to drown the mundaneness of their life in a stream of booze and drugs (Farmer). And there are the co-workers who feel that they are superior to many of their peers and lord through the office with a dismissive attitude (Amanda).

Brubaker presents the reader with an interesting spin on a “super hero.” Normally, super heroes and super villains live lives full of incredible action and adventure. They often have mind blowing headquarters with fantastic futuristic technology. They are almost always impossibly good looking and show it off in fetish styled costumes. They are largely set apart from the rest of society and are viewed as rock stars or a type of American royalty.

Brubaker takes this type of character who normally lives outside of the normal human existence and places him in the most mind numbing of all settings: the office world full of cubicles. It is fascinating to see how Zack deals with his fall from grace. How Zack went from the power, the excitement and the thrill of being a super villain to the soul sucking ordinary life as an office worker.

Despite his obvious flaws and unlikeable qualities, the reader can sympathize with Zack and his complaints about his new life as a “regular” person. Who doesn’t wish for the ability to have super powers and experience that incredible adrenaline rush that is the very antitheses of the life of an average office worker?

Brubaker does a good job conveying the feelings of liberation that the mask gives Zack. Being a metahuman is a form of salvation and release for Zack. The power coursing through his body is as intoxicating, addictive and powerful as any drug. I like the fact that Zack could care less about the people that he saves from the criminals he beats up.

In fact, it is interesting that Brubaker has Zack go further than just disdain for the people he saves. Brubaker has Zack actually blaming most victims for the situations that they place themselves into. Whether it is talking on a cell phone and not being aware of their surroundings to simply not employing common sense. It is unusual for blame to very be placed on a victim of a crime and this is an interesting take on the “helpless” victim that populates super hero comic books.

The way that Zack handles having his powers back and his “fighting” crime is very similar to how I think metahumans would act in the real world. I do think that if your average person gained super powers then they would be a super villain rather than a super hero. And if a regular person were to decide to be a “super hero” that they would be more like Zack in that they are only doing it for the rush. They would be a super hero for the ability to beat the hell out of people and not experience any remorse or guilt since their victims are all criminals. Beating up criminals would act as a convenient excuse for people to shroud their base violent instincts with the morality of stopping crime.

Brubaker presents the reader with some rather interesting supporting in Farmer and Amanda. Everyone knows a guy like Farmer at their office. The one who is always ready for booze and drugs. Good lord, I know that I have worked with plenty of attorneys that are similar to Farmer.

I like the relationship between Farmer and Zack. Both men are morally ambiguous. Each man is more concerned with doing what feels good or furthers his own best interests than with the people around them. And the best part is that neither man judges the other which is why they are such good friends.

Amanda is a great character. I dig how Brubaker has handled Zack’s obsession of Amanda. To see a big shot super villain like Zack even care or notice such a regular person like Amanda only serves to emphasis how Zack’s life has changed since he went into the witness protection program.

My favorite part of Incognito #2 was the plotline involving Zack saving Amanda from the “rapist” and Amanda’s dark secret. Brubaker surprises the reader with having Amanda “thank” Zack for saving her by having sex with him. But, the real stunner is that the man attacking Amanda was not a rapist. That it was all a costumed sex play deal arranged over the internet. That was a fantastic plot twist. And Brubaker even hints at this with how Amanda “faints” and suddenly wakes up to offer having sex with Zack.

Brubaker employs some great psychology with Zack’s explanation of Amanda’s dark secret. Brubaker’s view of how normal people are affected by super heroes and super villains is an interesting concept that actually makes sense. We all know that hostages can develop Stockholm Syndrome with their captors. It made sense that Amanda being a hostage of a super villain would have had a massive impact on her.

And it is logical that coming into close contact with a super hero or super villain would be like meeting a “god.” Brubaker nailed this in the line “Sometimes just being near us can screw them up. Makes them feel smaller and bigger at the same time, sort of.” This encapsulates the fact that a super hero can easily inspire or make regular people feel insignificant.

I liked the gruesome scene with Doctor Lester and Max Gazer. Brubaker has definitely created some extremely vile villains for this title. I liked the neat twist that Max can see everyone’s future except his own was great.

Brubaker ends Incognito #2 with a good hook ending. It is not an over the top hook ending with explosions and our hero trapped in peril. But, it has a profound impact on the reader in its own way. Zack is going to get pulled back into a life of crime whether he wants to or not. This is a common theme to Brubaker’s stories where the main character seems to simply attract bad things to their lives.

The Bad: Incognito #2 is a slow read. Brubaker is in no rush at all to progress the various plotlines. Some readers might lose interest in this story due to how slowly Brubaker is unveiling the story.

If you prefer classic and traditional super hero titles then Incognito #2 may not appeal to you. Also, the language in this issue is course and that may not appeal to some readers. Too be sure, Incognito #2 is not a P.C. read at all. This issue is dirty, violent and deals with sexual fetishes. The characters are all broken and Zack is barely what the reader would consider a super hero.

Overall: Brubaker has another hit on his hands with Incognito. Incognito #2 is an issue that should appeal to readers who enjoy pulp and crime stories. I think that the flavoring of the super hero genre that Brubaker infuses into this story might make this title more appealing to readers who prefer only super hero comic books. This issue should also appeal to readers who enjoy a story that is twisted and different from what you get on the majority of super hero titles on the market. However, I would not recommend Incognito #2 to readers who are weary of grim, gritty and realistic super hero stories.