The boys
has become a huge hit thanks to its restrained approach to superheroes, but it’s not the only property that shows the ugly side of the cape-and-tights crowd. Incognito is the perfect series to read for fans who have finished The boys and are eager for more superhero stories with an ultraviolent twist.
Coming from the acclaimed creative team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, Incognito tells the story of henchman Zack Overkill, who is placed in witness protection after ratting out his supervillain boss. Similar to the creative team’s previous work Sleeper, Incognito was a journey through the underworld, showing a side of superhero comics rarely seen in mainstream comics.
Consisting of the first miniseries of six issues and the following sequence of five issues Bad intentionsThe entire saga ended up being collected in the oversized hardcover Incognito: The Classified Edition in 2012.
Meet Zack Exaggeration
The Morally Ambiguous Center of Incognito
The first miniseries introduces the reader to Zack, one half of the Overkill Twins. Two brothers who share their powers, the Overkill Twins were in the service of the Black Death, the most dangerous supervillain in the world of Incognito. After Black Death was finally captured by the authorities, the villain decided to clean up his operations by killing his subordinates to prevent them from being captured as well. The plan ends up backfiring on him, as while his twin was killed, Zack Overkill survived.
Zack ends up turning state’s evidence against his former employer to avoid any prison time and is eventually placed in witness protection. Given drugs to suppress his powers, Zack is then given a mundane office job as a file clerk, where he longs for his old life of death and terror. However, when Zack discovers that his recreational drug use has neutralized the drugs the government gives him to suppress his powers, he decides to put on a mask and take to the streets as a vigilante to avoid boredom.
Zack’s nocturnal activities ended up putting him on the radar of the Special Operations Service, a clandestine organization founded by Professor Zeppelin, the world’s greatest hero. Incognito. SOS is now run by Zeppelin’s daughter Zoe, who eventually gets Zack out of Witness Protection and into the field to help against his former supervillain friends. Zack almost gains consciousness before everything goes wrong, and the former henchman finds himself on the run from both sides in a world where the good guys aren’t much better than the bad guys.
Pulp inspirations
Incognito Draws from more than just superheroes
Very similar The boysa big part of the fun of Incognito is seeing the twisted and often violent spin that creators put on classic superhero tropes. However, the difference between Brubaker and Phillips’ work lies in the inspirations that the creative team draws from. Instead of the sprawling superhero universes of Marvel and DC, Incognito is mainly inspired by old popular heroes, such as Doc Savage and Shadow, who were the main influences of names like Superman and Batman. Brubaker and Phillips take the apocalyptic threats of old pulps and violently transplant them into the 21st century.
An example of how the creative team turns these old concepts on their ear is Professor Zeppelin, IncognitoDoc Savage’s response. Although he is dead by the time Zack’s story takes place, Zeppelin’s method of performing brain surgery to reform his villains is a major plot point, and something lifted directly from the old Wild Doctor pulps. Although the more innocent stories of the 1930s portrayed this as a humane, almost childish approach to ridding the world of evil, Brubaker and Phillips show their darker side by having Zeppelin lobotomize their enemies, leaving them as barely coherent zombies.
Incognito it also pays homage to another giant in the field: the Wold Newton family tree, designed by science fiction author Philip José Farmer. Farmer made a real-life meteor landing in 1795 and used it to unite all of literature’s greatest heroes, from Tarzan to Sherlock Holmes to Doc Savage. Brubaker and Phillips take this same concept and apply it to the world of Incognitowhere the fall of a meteor ends up giving extraordinary powers to an unknown man. This man eventually becomes the Black Death and ultimately leads to the birth of all superhumans in Incognito.
“True power Incognito lies in exploring the gray area between hero and villain.”
The creative team also finds ways to pay homage to important works beyond superheroes and science fiction. In perhaps the series’ most clever homage, Zack is given the job of a file clerk in the mailroom, the same job as American SplendorIt’s Harvey Pekar. In this way, Zack is removed from the “mainstream” world of comics and hidden in the world of underground comix. Referencing more than just the obvious notes gives Incognito his own unique identity that goes beyond mere superhero fare.
Get ready to root for the bad guy
Incognito is perfect for fans of The boys
Putting a dark spin on classic archetypes is just part of the fun of Incognitoas Brubaker and Philips take their patented and applied approach to a world of ray guns and zeppelin battle fortresses. Incognito has enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most avid black film fan, with each twist only making things worse for series protagonist Zack. Through the eyes of the main “hero,” readers are exposed to the underbelly of the supervillain underworld. The complex morality gets really interesting here, as readers learn that even villains have their own camaraderie, no matter how untrustworthy they may be.
The true power of Incognito lies in exploring the gray area between the hero and the villain. Although Zack develops a new conscience throughout the series, perhaps the biggest lesson he learns is that – in the world of Incognito – the only true distinction between heroes and villains is who is left standing at the end of the fight. This complex and more adult-oriented narrative is what made The boys a hit, so readers eager for more R-rated superhero fare should definitely check it out Incognito.