INCOGNITO: Brubaker & Phillips are the new Lee & Kirby

Bold words, no? When you get right down to it, comics are a collaborative medium. Sure, guys like Chris Ware, Seth, and Adrian Tomine don't need the extra help, but for comic fans like me (ie, super hero comic fans), the best collaborations equal the best comics. For my money (yes, I do pay for comics), the best comics being done right now...the best comics to come out in the past 5 years...are comics by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. In celebration of their new comic, INCOGNITO (out right now!), I thought it'd be cool to look at some of their better team-ups.

CRIMINAL is Brubaker and Phillips' noir book. "Noir" is French for "black" and trust me, there is no darker comic on the shelves. Crooked cops, evil crooks, and tempting femme fatales. If you're a fan of crime movies, you're sure to be a fan of this book. There are three trades (Coward, Lawless, and The Dead and the Dying) out now and a fourth, Bad Night, will be released on/about January 28th...just a few short weeks away. Just like 100 Bullets, once you read the first one, you will be hooked!

SLEEPER is a little closer to INCOGNITO in that the characters have super powers. In fact, according to Brubaker, they've been plotting their new books since SLEEPER wrapped up, so you can be sure that their work on one influenced the other. SLEEPER was about a sleeper (natch) agent sent to infiltrate a major criminal operation (and that's an over simplification). What grabbed me so tightly was how seemless it fit into the WildStorm Universe and how tied to WILD CATS it was...but then again, how great it stood on it's own. Seek these books (four voumes) out. You will not be disappointed.

The only other artist that has a similar chemistry with Ed is MICHAEL LARK. For proof, check out:

GOTHAM CENTRAL (co-written by Greg Rucka)

DAREDEVIL




SCENE OF THE CRIME

INCOGNITO starts off with a hero doing what heroes do best; saving damsels in distress. But as you continue reading, you start to wonder, "Is this guy really the hero?" The answer is "yes" and "no." What strikes me about this book is how quickly you fall into the world. One of the hardest things about creating new comics is that everyone is immediately unfamiliar with the world you are creating. And I mean EVERYONE. The hardest trick is getting the reader on the ground floor, so that they feel as if they are growing with the character, and as a result, living in their world. It's just the first issue, but I'm already a part of this world. I recognize the buildings, I've worked with the protagonist...heck, I might have been him on a parallel world! It says a lot for the creators when they can shock you (and there is a jolt or two here) and yet make you feel as if you already know the characters (if not their stories).

The best feature of both CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO are the essays in the back. Pulp historian, Jess Nevins, weighs in on the Shadow in this issue and trust me, it's worth the extra .50 cents alone.

Back to my bold statement that started this post. We might never see an artist like Jack Kirby again. We may never get the Stan Lee of our youth. But for all their contributions to comics (Marvel or otherwise), the closest you can find today are Brubaker and Phillips. They might not reinvent the wheel, but they are giving us new and amazing comics and comic concepts, and that's just what Lee and Kirby did. And if you won't give me Lee and Kirby, then they are definitely the new Claremont and Byrne.

Take that!

-Vito Delsante

P.S. Buy Criminal volumes 1, 2, and 3 from JHU's online store! Volume 4 comes to Jim Hanley's Universe January 28!