Red Skull: Incarnate #5

Cover by David Aja

Red Skull: Incarnate #5 (November 30, 2011)

Writer: Greg Pak

Penciller: Mirko Colak

Colorist: Matthew Wilson

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Finally!

Six months after I first picked up Red Skull #1, I have finally read the last of the Red Skull: Incarnate series, one of my absolute favorite comic runs in the last year.

Pak delivered an engrossing and very realistic-feeling origin story for Red Skull, a character that I originally thought of as rather over-the-top. Pak’s characterization of Johann Schmidt as dynamic but ultimately having extreme antisocial personality disorder made the character seem fresh and also engaging. While I didn’t like Schmidt as a character (which I doubt Pak wanted from the reader anyway), I cared about what he did and what happened to him because I knew that he would carry every experience towards his darker end as Red Skull.

Red Skull: Incarnate #4

Cover by David Aja

Red Skull: Incarnate #4 (October 27, 2011)

Writer: Greg Pak

Penciller: Mirko Colak

Colorist: Matthew Wilson

Inker: Mirko Colak

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

This has been the weakest thus far in the Red Skull: Incarnate series. That is particularly disappointing as this is the penultimate issue and should’ve whetted my appetite for the insane upcoming conclusion.

Don’t get me wrong; the last panel promised an exciting last issue with a crazy-sounding plan that I shan’t give away here. I only wish that the build-up to this final panel had been more exciting and had more plot to it than simply waiting around for Johann Schmidt to drop the crazy-plan-bomb.

Red Skull: Incarnate #3

Cover by David Aja

Red Skull: Incarnate #3 (September 5, 2011)

Writer: Greg Pak

Penciller: Mirko Colak

Colorist: Matthew Wilson

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

So far, the Red Skull: Incarnate series has been one of my favorite discoveries and just one of my favorite comic book runs in general. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with Pak’s work in crafting a compelling, disturbing and fresh storyline starring a decidedly awful person. He’s definitely one of my favorite writers and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work.

That being said, I found Red Skull: Incarnate #3 rather lackluster. After loving the first two, I just assumed this issue would be just as strong and gripping. Instead, it seemed more like filler in between the deeply influential events of the last issue and, based on the implications of #3’s ending, the steps towards Red Skull’s emergence.

Red Skull: Incarnate #2

Cover by David Aja

Red Skull: Incarnate #2 (August 3, 2011)

Writer: Greg Pak

Penciller: Mirko Colak

Colorist: Matthew Wilson

Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

The Red Skull: Incarnate series once again provides a solemn and thought-provoking comic book that forces the reader to take it absolutely seriously. This is not always the easiest thing to do as a comic book fan, especially when you are reading so many that are, to be succinct, silly.

Pak’s work on this arc, however, is anything but and with this second installment, it’s proving itself to be one of my favorite discoveries this summer. Once again, the reader is presented with a short window of time in the young Johann Schmidt’s life. He is living off the street and quickly learning how to survive in a cold and dangerous world as Nazism grows and Communism struggles to help the working class.

Red Skull: Incarnate #1

Cover by David Aja

Red Skull: Incarnate #1

Writer: Greg Pak

Penciller: Mirko Colak

Colorist: Matthew Wilson

Letterer: VS’s Clayton Cowles

After spending so much time focusing on the art and the action of the comic books I’ve been reading, I’ve lost sight of what originally drew me to this medium: strong characterization and great story-telling. After drowning in so much mediocrity lately, I’m so happy I picked up Red Skull: Incarnate #1 and was reminded of how much I can love a comic book.

To be honest, it was merely the cover of this issue that drew me to Red Skull: Incarnate #1. Like other snobby people, I have a weakness for anything retro-looking and I fell in love with David Aja’s cover art at first glance. I knew immediately what the feel of the comic was going to be and I knew it would appeal to my love of history and politics. I had no real agenda with reading this comic: all I know about Red Skull is that he’s a Nazi and he has a red head. That’s it. Oh, and Hugo Weaving plays him in the new Captain America movie which I still have not seen!

So I had no real previous interest in this character or his backstory when I picked up this issue. I really think that was for the best, however, as this story arc focuses entirely on the origin of Red Skull/Johann Schmidt, beginning with this issue which focuses on his painful childhood in a home for wayward boys in Munich in 1923. There was very little action, at least in the traditional comic book sense, in this issue but it was a very violent and disturbing read nonetheless.