Review - Incorruptible #6

In Incorruptible #6 Max Damage continues to hunt for his kidnapped sidekick Jailbait. She ran from him when he tried to send her away in a misguided attempt to protect her and was kidnapped by one of Max Damage’s enemies, Deathgiver. Deathgiver is a mastermind who used to work with Max and it looks pretty grim for fooling him and somehow getting her out alive. The conflict stems from the fact that Max refuses to make deals with criminals for ANY reason, even if it is to take out other criminals. It is part of his new hero moral fiber; it is what makes him incorruptible.

From BOOM! Studios, Mark Wade continues with the storytelling with Horacio Domingues contributing the artwork. I really enjoyed this issue as we got to see a little more of the motivation behind the character's actions and learned a little bit more about why Jailbait was so upset by Max’s attempt to save her. It isn’t a particularly original storyline, and probably one that most psychologists could have guessed at but it works and draws you in to the characters. Max’s newfound ally Lt. Armadale even managed to show his fatherly side at one point. Read on for a quick review of the action and some general thoughts.

Armadale and Max hatch a plan to distract Deathgiver in order to get Jailbait out of trouble. Max barges straight in as always so that no one will suspect or pay attention to the other person on the scene. He pretty much destroys the tanker the gang is hiding on (he is Max Damage after all) and finally comes face to face with Deathgiver in the room that Jailbait is being held in. While he distracts with conversation and refuses to do a deal, dooming Jailbait to death, the Lieutenant sneaks in from behind and unties her so she can run. Once they are both clear from the field of fire Max does his thing and dispatches of the bad guys as it is quickly becoming his MO.

Unfortunately, Jailbait can’t swim so she doesn’t run far. She ends up slipping off the edge of the ship and barely catching herself on the anchor chain of the boat. The Lieutenant tries to talk to her and calm her down so she can hold on and it works for a while, but eventually she slips. At this exact moment Max finishes off the people he was dealing with and explodes through the side of the tanker to catch her in heroic fashion.

We learned that Jailbait has some daddy and rejection issues, the Lieutenant has a softer fatherly side and that Max continues to be an intriguing antihero. I actually really enjoyed the artwork in this issue. There were lots of vivid colors but also really well done facial expressions that conveyed the emotions of the characters really well. In some cases the expressions are really exaggerated but I found that it never crossed the line of being ridiculous.

One thing is that we have seen Max essentially do the same thing for six issues now. Find gang hideout, beat up criminal, safe whoever is in trouble and move on to next gang hideout. He never really has a problem nor does anyone seem to stand a chance against him. The issues with The Plutonian, the primary villain, were fascinating because he seemed to be a truly unbeatable enemy and challenged Max. We got character development in an interesting way and I feel that I’m sufficiently invested in the characters now.

I’m not sure what I’m looking for in terms of a twist. Perhaps this next gang, the Diamond Gang, will be different. One thing I have come to expect from this is some disturbing scenery. This issue ended with a brutal scene of the latest gang attack and while it isn’t overly gory or bloody, puppies and children are not safe in this title, of that I can assure you. Take a look at some interiors below and pick this one up in stores if you like a good Anti-hero and some good looking visuals with a different somewhat unique story on what makes a hero.

The book should be in stores now with interiors below.