Comics Review: Red Skull: Incarnate #1 (of 5)
A spiritual sequel of sorts to Pak’s excellent Magneto: Testatament, this is one of those rare comic books that you can recommend to anyone- even those that don’t like comics.
Written by Greg Pak, Art by Mirko ColakPublished by Marvel ComicsIn Stores Now! With Captain America: The First Avenger out this week, Marvel has aptly timed a series of new books to coincide with the films release and, hopefully, further boost comic sales. A few weeks ago we had Ed Brubakers relaunch of the main Captain America title, and now we have writer Greg Paks re-imagining of Caps arch nemesis, Johann Schmidt, aka The Red Skull. However, unlike Brubakers book, which emphasized action and spectacle to create a blockbuster tone similar to the upcoming movie, this comic is far more character driven. In fact, if it werent for David Ajas excellent cover there would be nothing to give this away as a superhero book at all. Pak is far more concerned with exploring the nature of evil, placing the corruption of Johann Schmidt alongside the corruption of Weimar Germany, so that the birth of Nazi Germany happens parallel to the loss of Schmidts soul. A spiritual sequel of sorts to Paks excellent Magneto: Testatament, which retold the origin of the X-Mens Magneto in a bold new fashion, this book uses the same tactic of heavily drawing on historical fact and eschewing any sense of fiction or Hollywood romanticism. While Johann Schmidt is, by his nature, a far less sympathetic character than Max Eisenhardt (Magnetos real name in the Marvel 616 continuity), this book still manages to make Schmidt feel human which, considering he becomes The Red Skull- the most deranged Marvel villain- is no easy task. Mirko Colaks pencils are a huge part of this accomplishment, giving each character a huge amount of expression and emotional weight through simple means, such as the ways in which he draws eyes and the simple, cartoony nature of the facial expressions. The way in which this idiosyncratic style juxtaposes with the realistic tone created by the historical accuracy and use of real life events actually makes the proceedings seem far more disturbing. One scene, involving a wooden club and several dogs, is truly blood curdling, helped enormously by Matthew Wilsons colours, which are perfectly judged in every panel. His bold efforts here, along with his beautiful work in Moon Knight, make him a perfect candidate for an Eisner award next year. Whether Pak can evoke as much emotion as he did in Magneto: Testament is doubtful, due to the simple fact that Schmidt is much less of a victim than Magneto (one is a Nazi, while the other is a victim of the Nazi's regime). Still, based on the strength of this first issue were in for a disturbing emotional journey that will forever change the way this character is perceived. Like Testament, this is one of those rare comic books that you can recommend to anyone- even those that dont like comics- and they will be able to enjoy it (though perhaps enjoy is the wrong word). This is a classic in the making- pick it up before it disappears from the shelves. 