Review – Insufferable #1 – 3 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Entertainment
Writer: Mark Waid
Artists: Peter Krause, Nolan Woodward
Released: #1 and #2 out now; #3 out 22nd July 2015

Does Mark Waid really need any introduction these days? Kingdom Come. Daredevil. The Flash. Irredeemable. Incorruptible. If you’ve never heard of him, seek these out, and then come back. We’ll wait.

Back? Good. Let us proceed.

So whilst this may ostensibly seem like the third in Waid’s ‘starting with I’ trilogy, do not be deceived – this appears to be some sort of ruse, and any connection is imagined!

Telling the story of a pair of heroes – Nocturnus and Galahad – who were once a dynamic duo, but now go it alone, with the latter not only bad-mouthing, but taking credit for the former’s accomplishments. Compounded by the fact that they’re rather more closely related than they initially let on, we join the story as things are starting to come to a head for both of them.

Whilst it’s ostensibly a dramatic story, one of the joys of the story as a whole is that Waid still manages to find moments of genuine humour. It’s mostly derived from the fact that our two protagonists follow the archetype of a particular Dark Knight and Boy Wonder, but with Waid freed from their overlords, he’s got room to take the mickey just a little bit. Most glorious of which is in the most recent issue, where Nocturnus pulls a Batman when the inevitable piranha tank shows up. It’s wonderfully silly, and yet still manages to provide the character with just that little more depth, and drive the plot forward elegant. Proof that Waid is a master of his game.

Krause’s artwork is for the most part terrific – oddly, one of the things that immediately comes to mind is that he’s particularly good at hands. There’s a panel in issue #1 that has a character holding a coffee cup… and… well, it’s the best damn rendering of a hand I’ve seen in ages. And the hand quality does not let up. That’s not to say that the rest of it isn’t just as good – it’s great, in fact, with dynamic, fluid action sequences, and wonderfully staged dialogue sequences melding together seamlessly. It’s all brought together beautifully by Woodward – whose colour-work demonstrates a great knack for dramatic lighting, giving oomph to Krause’s inks.

Overall, if you’re a fan of Waid’s distinctive patter and introspective narration, you’ll be right at home with this series. It beautifully balances the silly and serious coin faces of superhero comics, and with this third issues, is pressing along a delicious engaging story at an immensely satisfying pace.

Rating: 4/5.

The Writer of this piece was: Ross Sweeney
Ross tweets from @Rostopher24