This time Max Damage is hitting the streets looking for a good, honest man. He is looking for a great leader for the people, that can help this town rise from the ashes and into a brave new world. But the thing is, that Max's past is catching up with him and not in a good way. At the other side of town, a league of villains are playing football with the severed head of an innocent producer. Anala Patel, is looking for information on Hayes Bellamy. Mr. Bellamy security camera captures Anala's curiosity this makes Mr. Bellamy activates a trap and knocks her unconscious. He calls one of the villains in his payroll to get her. the villain is part of the same gang that was playing headless football and by the looks of it, this guy and a woman are infiltrating this gang under Bellamy's orders. Max and Armadale, finish their quest, they find the honest man, but it turns out that Max killed his little boy a few years back. That is the gist of Boom! Studios Incorruptible #18 coming out this week for your reading enjoyment.
Its safe to say that Mark Waid, is at the top of his game with his Boom! Books. This book delivers an interesting story, every page is entertaining and its not crowded by word balloons or excessive dialog; by saying less he's giving more. The story goes straight to the drama or action, he doesn't waist time in this series. He presents a very detail world and its like he lives there. The setting is as alive as his main character, this gives the book a feeling of familiarity and comfort that readers can empathize with regardless of their history with the book. The characterization comes naturally in this book almost as naturally as the passing of a day. Mark Waid, is a master storyteller and this book serves as his testament.
Marcio Takara's art is improving in every issue. In this issue you can easily notice that because the art looks fresh, like it was drawn by a new artist, the color is definitely bringing out the best of the art. This issue is a great example of a collaboration between artist and colorist (Nolan Woodard). The sequential art works as a portrait at time because this world is very vivid and vast. The images are strong and they are not too flashy, but that's because they are focused on delivering the story. The only thing lacking is that the backgrounds could use more detail.
The book ends with a excellent cliffhanger: They find the guy that could lead the people, but it happened that Max murdered his kid. A perfect jumping on point for fans. This books gets a second wind with this chapter as things get more interesting for our ex-villain. With more flashbacks from his shady past. The Waid-Verse is becoming more vast and the story is more complex; this title is getting very good. This story arc is promising an interesting view on Max as the arc could be a wonderful character development story, bringing more depth to the his character. One of the bad things about this book is that although they are doing a great job with the book, keeping it good for new readers and old ones, the book could use additional pages for bios and even info on this universe. The other one is that we have to wait a month for the next chapter. Until then keep reading.
Overall Score - 9.0/10
*Outstanding - A top tier title that shouldn't be missed. All the kids are talking about it and they want more!*
For another look at Incorruptible, take a look at the review for issue #16.