Monday, August 04, 2014

Booknote: Indestructible, Volume 1

 Kline, Jeff, Indestructible, Volume 1. San Diego, CA: IDW, 2014. ISBN: 9781613779774.


I initially found the description somewhat interesting, which is why I picked up this volume. It is the story of Greg Pincus, a lower than average guy who gets mistaken for someone "special" and thus superhero material. This is a world where superheroes are celebrities, and they are usually discovered when their "gifts" are somehow revealed.  It's supposed to be a comedic take on the superhero genre. I found it to be a disappointment.

Greg is basically a loser without a spine. He is not heroic at all. A fluke gets people to think he may be something, and hero groups start courting him. His roommate is an opportunistic slacker without any likeable traits who overall is fairly despicable; I certainly found him repulsive and honestly wondered how Greg put up with him. Then again, since Greg is basically spineless and letting others move him around, it makes sense. Other than trying to exploit Greg's newly found fame for his own gain, the guy is pretty useless. To be honest, watching Greg bumbling around being reluctant to embrace the fame, claiming he wants to reveal the truth, yet allowing himself to be manipulated was more painful than anything else. I just dragged myself to finish reading it so I could review. I am sure you can point out there is some commentary on popular culture and its obsession with celebrities, but I was too annoyed with the characters to really appreciate it.

Overall, this is a series I will not continue reading. I do not recommend it, but I am willing to grant that for other readers their mileage may vary. I know I am not likely to purchase it for my library, and I would not recommend it for other libraries. I have enjoyed before other titles published by IDW, but this is not one of them. It annoyed me more than anything else.

I am giving it 1 out of 5 stars as I did not like it.

Disclosure note: Here is where I tell you I read this as an e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thus, we keep The Man happy.

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