Broken Frontier

With the numerous titles released on a monthly basis, every reader has his or her own favorite or favorites that stand above the mix.  Not that others aren't equally solid or strong books, but there are a select few titles that deliver time and again, and remind audiences why sequential art is such an innovative medium of literary and artistic expression.  For me, Grant Morrison's Batman & Robin, Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul's The Flash, and Mark Waid's Irredeemable occupy those cherished slots.  Having reunited with artist Peter Krause in the last issue, Waid's Irredeemable #17 hits just as hard and leaves little room for audiences to catch their breath.

At first, some readers may be put off by the opening sequence with Qubit.  After defeating Orian and then counseling Kaidan in the discovery of her new abilities in the last two issues, Qubit is now in Iowa helping suffering farmers.  There are those who may immediately question why a hero of his stature and ability isn't spending his time tracking down the Plutonian instead of rebuilding farm equipment, but upon closer inspection audiences will recognize that Waid is juxtaposing Qubit's world-saving efforts alongside those of assisting people most in need.   In the process, Waid "grounds" the character without the trappings of superficiality or awkwardness that normally accompany such attempts to humanize superhuman, fictional heroes.  In turn, Krause captures this quite beautifully as Survivor appears and complicates the scenario. 

As the Iowa townspeople descend on Qubit and he is pressed further by Survivor for his decision to spare the Plutonian, Kaidan makes a startling connection that Scylla is actually not dead but trapped in some unknown realm alongside Encanta and a Modeus droid.  The strongest section, however, in Irredeemable  #17 occurs between Samsara and the Plutonian as Waid hints at a further crossover with Incorruptible through the character of Alana Patel.  Additionally, Waid also develops the Plutonian more in this issue than before, moving beyond the superhero gone rogue foundation and perhaps alluding to Qubit's own revelation about why he resisted killing him in the first place.  Audiences learn a great deal about Modeus as well and his reasons for stalking the Plutonian.  Waid's deviant streak of humor is brilliantly displayed here and fans of his work will definitely champion its return.  True to form, the cliffhanger ending caps off what is a very exiting read.

The return of Krause on solo art duties also deserves mention as his panel layouts and full page spreads do a stellar job of transitioning between the three story components.  The scene with Kaidan and the full page showcasing Modeus' various attacks on the Plutonian convey Krause's diversity as an artist who can pull things back for an intimate, emotional focus on a single figure and then move full throttle into a splash page of panel-breaking high action.  Along with colorist Andrew Dalhouse, these examples are simply amazing and indicative of their work throughout the issue and the series.