What do you think?
Rate this book
Osborn
Osborn: Evil Incarcerated
BIG TIME HITS SPIDER-MAN'S GREATEST ENEMY! The world's most dangerous felon is in the world's top supermax-security prison--an institution so secret that even the vice president doesn't know it exists. But can any cell contain Norman Osborn? After the events of SIEGE, the former Green Goblin, Iron Patriot and power-mad director of worldwide security isn't allowed to have a toothbrush...and he's surrounded by the deadliest criminals in the world. Lucky for Osborn, they're fans.
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2011
1 person is currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Sue DeConnick
365 books2,230 followersKelly Sue DeConnick’s work spans stage, comics, film and television. Ms. DeConnick first came to prominence as a comics writer, where she is best known for reinventing the Carol Danvers as “Captain Marvel” at Marvel and for the Black Label standard-setting Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons at DC. Her independent comics Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly (both from Image Comics) have ranked as New York Times best-sellers and been honored with Eisner Awards, British Fantasy Awards and Hugo nominations.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 4, 2018
As much as we always root for our heroes to save the day, there is a fondness towards the dark side. As much as we like to be Superman and Batman, there is a bit of Lex Luthor and Joker we have in us, and if there was a character in the Marvel universe that is an equivalent to those DC icons, it would be Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin.
Having been thwarted by the Avengers, Osborn is now in a prison so secret, even the vice president doesn’t know it exists. However, with the assistance of a “Goblin cult”, Osborn finds himself leading an army of super-villains and together, they try to escape.
Although the book centres on one of the greatest villains to appear in the pages of Marvel Comics, this isn’t an earth-shattering, game-changing event that will shake the core of our heroes. In fact, despite a brief appearance from Peter Parker, there are barely any heroes as writer Kelly Sue DeConnick is more showcasing the sinister characterisation of Osborn as well as the colourfully bloody inmates that surround him, including “The Toxic Doxie” who has her terrific backstory explained in the backup issue “The Prime of Miss June Covington” by Warren Ellis and Jamie McKelvie.
Part of the pleasure in DeConnick’s writing is how she doesn’t sugarcoat this world through the eyes of the villains, as Osborn, who no doubt is pure evil, but his intelligence is not to be underestimated, as the plot also focuses on a group of senators who are trying to secretly keep a leash on Osborn. Another character that gets thrown in the mix is Daily Bugle reporter Norah Winters, who is determined to get the story of the century with Osborn’s public disappearance. DeConnick has a lot of fun with many of the supporting characters, even if some of them lack much development and even cool new creations like the reptilian alien Xirdal and the South American chimera god “The Decapitator” don’t have much of a future in later Marvel titles.
Years prior to their Image comic Pretty Deadly, Osborn marks the first collaboration between DeConnick and artist Emma Rios and it was really the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Telling a dark and violent story, Rios’ manga-esque style provides beautiful yet grimly illustrations of characters being bloodied up in the primary claustrophobic prison setting. In the last issue, Becky Cloonan steps in as guest-artist and she does her best Emma Rios impersonation, but you can tell the difference between the two.
Amidst the political backstabbing and journalistic crusading in a world of high sci-fi and fantasy, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios shows a new side of evil towards Norman Osborn, who doesn’t haven’t to dress up as a goblin to show off his evilness.
Having been thwarted by the Avengers, Osborn is now in a prison so secret, even the vice president doesn’t know it exists. However, with the assistance of a “Goblin cult”, Osborn finds himself leading an army of super-villains and together, they try to escape.
Although the book centres on one of the greatest villains to appear in the pages of Marvel Comics, this isn’t an earth-shattering, game-changing event that will shake the core of our heroes. In fact, despite a brief appearance from Peter Parker, there are barely any heroes as writer Kelly Sue DeConnick is more showcasing the sinister characterisation of Osborn as well as the colourfully bloody inmates that surround him, including “The Toxic Doxie” who has her terrific backstory explained in the backup issue “The Prime of Miss June Covington” by Warren Ellis and Jamie McKelvie.
Part of the pleasure in DeConnick’s writing is how she doesn’t sugarcoat this world through the eyes of the villains, as Osborn, who no doubt is pure evil, but his intelligence is not to be underestimated, as the plot also focuses on a group of senators who are trying to secretly keep a leash on Osborn. Another character that gets thrown in the mix is Daily Bugle reporter Norah Winters, who is determined to get the story of the century with Osborn’s public disappearance. DeConnick has a lot of fun with many of the supporting characters, even if some of them lack much development and even cool new creations like the reptilian alien Xirdal and the South American chimera god “The Decapitator” don’t have much of a future in later Marvel titles.
Years prior to their Image comic Pretty Deadly, Osborn marks the first collaboration between DeConnick and artist Emma Rios and it was really the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Telling a dark and violent story, Rios’ manga-esque style provides beautiful yet grimly illustrations of characters being bloodied up in the primary claustrophobic prison setting. In the last issue, Becky Cloonan steps in as guest-artist and she does her best Emma Rios impersonation, but you can tell the difference between the two.
Amidst the political backstabbing and journalistic crusading in a world of high sci-fi and fantasy, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios shows a new side of evil towards Norman Osborn, who doesn’t haven’t to dress up as a goblin to show off his evilness.
August 23, 2015
Well that was a fascinating read. Very little of the long johns set involved here - much more about character, and how people act in response to challenges. Plus some fascinating new villains to contend with, and a lot of unusual and attention-grabbing dialogue.
DeConnick is new to me and hard to separate from the reputation of her life partner, but the best way I can describe the effect of her writing on me is: compelling. She does an absolutely artful job of capturing the malice, the just-beneath-the-surface threat that Norman Osborn poses in this era of Marvel - not scenery-chewing, not drooling or screaming, not killing wantonly - but menacing through his control of the beast that lives inside his head.
The settings, politics and situations that she decides to put these characters in are at once entirely consistent with the modern MarvelU and give us the pleasure of inventive ways to create conflicts we don't often get to see.
I can say clearly that I will follow DeConnick on her next adventures and look forward to her fresh eyes on the capes and powers.
The art veers wildly between carefully-designed snapshots and wildly careening mad scribbles. I can't quite tell if it's deliberate or schedule-driven. The best thing about the art is the composition of big scenes - great views on the people and/or action. The worst thing about the art is the action is often *very* hard to know exactly what is going on. I commend the artist for relying on their pencil instead of a mouse though, and for breaking from the current trend towards all-digital, I'll give McKelvie a pass.
P.S. I read this in advance of a local signing DeConnick is doing this week with Bendis in Portland.
P.P.S. Ellis' story was awesome.
P.P.S.S. (or is it P.P.P.S?) I performed (initiated? perturburated?) a second reading, years after discovering DeConnick and Rios in this very comic...
DeConnick does sinister dialogue surprisingly easily. The interactions between Osborn and everyone else are damned creepy in how causally they threaten, speak of death in inconsequential terms...even better are the politicians and how clearly emotionally tortured they are by imprisoning Osborn. It's not that they do bad things - it's the contrast between how clearly *not* comfortable the good guys are and how *accepting* the bad guys are of who they are. That's a notable accomplishment in writing.
Rios does a mind-bending sequence of crazy escalation damned well. She also makes it easy for us to believe the acting of each character - her expressive art style really precisely emphasizes and enhanced the personality and intentions of each character. The more I study this, the more impressed I am at the nearly-subconscious suggestiveness at Osborn's postures while he's casually menacing everyone else, or the twisted and yet suitable facial expressions that Norah Winters pulls as she's trying to be the biggest badass in journalism.
What's upsetting about this book, this many years afterwards, is how little we've seen of these villains since. Especially June Covington - she's a formidable and completely self-possessed wonder of inhumanity.
DeConnick is new to me and hard to separate from the reputation of her life partner, but the best way I can describe the effect of her writing on me is: compelling. She does an absolutely artful job of capturing the malice, the just-beneath-the-surface threat that Norman Osborn poses in this era of Marvel - not scenery-chewing, not drooling or screaming, not killing wantonly - but menacing through his control of the beast that lives inside his head.
The settings, politics and situations that she decides to put these characters in are at once entirely consistent with the modern MarvelU and give us the pleasure of inventive ways to create conflicts we don't often get to see.
I can say clearly that I will follow DeConnick on her next adventures and look forward to her fresh eyes on the capes and powers.
The art veers wildly between carefully-designed snapshots and wildly careening mad scribbles. I can't quite tell if it's deliberate or schedule-driven. The best thing about the art is the composition of big scenes - great views on the people and/or action. The worst thing about the art is the action is often *very* hard to know exactly what is going on. I commend the artist for relying on their pencil instead of a mouse though, and for breaking from the current trend towards all-digital, I'll give McKelvie a pass.
P.S. I read this in advance of a local signing DeConnick is doing this week with Bendis in Portland.
P.P.S. Ellis' story was awesome.
P.P.S.S. (or is it P.P.P.S?) I performed (initiated? perturburated?) a second reading, years after discovering DeConnick and Rios in this very comic...
DeConnick does sinister dialogue surprisingly easily. The interactions between Osborn and everyone else are damned creepy in how causally they threaten, speak of death in inconsequential terms...even better are the politicians and how clearly emotionally tortured they are by imprisoning Osborn. It's not that they do bad things - it's the contrast between how clearly *not* comfortable the good guys are and how *accepting* the bad guys are of who they are. That's a notable accomplishment in writing.
Rios does a mind-bending sequence of crazy escalation damned well. She also makes it easy for us to believe the acting of each character - her expressive art style really precisely emphasizes and enhanced the personality and intentions of each character. The more I study this, the more impressed I am at the nearly-subconscious suggestiveness at Osborn's postures while he's casually menacing everyone else, or the twisted and yet suitable facial expressions that Norah Winters pulls as she's trying to be the biggest badass in journalism.
What's upsetting about this book, this many years afterwards, is how little we've seen of these villains since. Especially June Covington - she's a formidable and completely self-possessed wonder of inhumanity.
January 21, 2018
Book Info: This collection contains
Osborn
issues #1-5.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
December 8, 2023
Pues la verdad es que no me esperaba nada de esta miniserie y logró conquistarme. Si bien hay momentos donde el apartado gráfico flaquea un poco, lo cierto es que la historia es muy entretenida y atrapante, de esas que uno no quiere dejar de leer.
El personaje de Osborn es uno de los que quizás más notoriamente mezcla la genialidad con la locura. Es un personaje poderoso, millonario, exitoso, pero que aún así se entrega a la locura una y otra vez. Un personaje condenado al fracaso debido a sí mismo.
En esta ocasión lo vemos encerrado, mas parece hacer lo que quiere durante toda la historia. ¿Por qué? Porque él es Norman Osborn. Todos los personajes de la historia parecen bien puestos, a excepción de algunos villanos secundarios que... bueno, están como para completar agujeros de la trama y poco más.
Si bien no es un cómic que recuerde a futuro, su lectura fue una travesía entretenida y Kelly Sue DeConnick un inesperado descubrimiento.
El personaje de Osborn es uno de los que quizás más notoriamente mezcla la genialidad con la locura. Es un personaje poderoso, millonario, exitoso, pero que aún así se entrega a la locura una y otra vez. Un personaje condenado al fracaso debido a sí mismo.
En esta ocasión lo vemos encerrado, mas parece hacer lo que quiere durante toda la historia. ¿Por qué? Porque él es Norman Osborn. Todos los personajes de la historia parecen bien puestos, a excepción de algunos villanos secundarios que... bueno, están como para completar agujeros de la trama y poco más.
Si bien no es un cómic que recuerde a futuro, su lectura fue una travesía entretenida y Kelly Sue DeConnick un inesperado descubrimiento.
June 20, 2021
This was a very enjoyable read until the very end where it all went up in smoke. Emma Rios' art is a highlight, from some of scenes of psychological freak-out to big brawling beat-em-ups. She never disappoints. DeConnick has some nice dialogue, and Osborn himself is creepy and maniacal as ever. But by the end it loses its point about the justice system and the political intrigue of a post-Dark Reign Norman Osborn in favour of some big conspiracy theory nonsense that doesn't really make sense and doesn't amount to anything. It's a fun ride with a disappointing ending but for fans of DeConnick and Rios it's still a good time.
May 13, 2022
This was unsatisfying on every level. I had high expectations of a DeConnick/Rios collaboration, but by the end I thought I would have been happier never to have known of its existence.
The lines often have an unfinished quality and the colors are so murky and unpleasant that distinguishing what is happening is difficult. The story could have been The Joker as MC trying to get out of Arkham, which, though cliched, makes more sense anyway. Tone vagaries and an un Marvel like wallow in the darkness of it all created a sense that the whole project was rushed and ill thought out. Why did the story need Peter Parker and Ben Urich anyway? What was the point of the priest?
The lines often have an unfinished quality and the colors are so murky and unpleasant that distinguishing what is happening is difficult. The story could have been The Joker as MC trying to get out of Arkham, which, though cliched, makes more sense anyway. Tone vagaries and an un Marvel like wallow in the darkness of it all created a sense that the whole project was rushed and ill thought out. Why did the story need Peter Parker and Ben Urich anyway? What was the point of the priest?
August 11, 2020
What seems as a political commentary on due justice, or lack there of, and the intriguing premise to turn this Norman Osborne, aka the Green Goblin, into the spokesperson for the disenfranchised and misunderstood psychotics, turns into nothing more than a far-fetched and overtly vague conspiracy-theoried prison melodrama with enough quirky characters to make Friday night network TV jealous. And not to mention molding Osborne into a Joker-esque character with a Denis Leary vibe was a bit too much.
July 12, 2017
The good:
-The dialogues.
-The art is very gritty very dark.
-The plot moves quickly.
-The support characters are interesting as well, I would prefer characters more popular to Marvel Universe.
The bad:
-It seems it doesn't had any real affectation to the MU.
-It doesn't seem as a Marvel contained story, if it had changed the character names, the story still would make sense.
-The portrait of Osborn is very much like Joker.
-The dialogues.
-The art is very gritty very dark.
-The plot moves quickly.
-The support characters are interesting as well, I would prefer characters more popular to Marvel Universe.
The bad:
-It seems it doesn't had any real affectation to the MU.
-It doesn't seem as a Marvel contained story, if it had changed the character names, the story still would make sense.
-The portrait of Osborn is very much like Joker.
January 30, 2023
After Dark Reign and Siege, Norman Osborn has been imprisoned. This miniseries is about his inevitable escape.
It's decent. A relatively enjoyable horror comic and a fun look into the mind of one of Spider-Man's biggest villains.
It's decent. A relatively enjoyable horror comic and a fun look into the mind of one of Spider-Man's biggest villains.
June 20, 2017
Not bad, not amazing.
July 1, 2018
This was interesting although I don't know if it became meaningful.
Osborn is drawn like an old man. I can't figure out who.
Osborn is drawn like an old man. I can't figure out who.
January 19, 2021
The story keeps you engaged, and the art is so dramatically, wonderfully done, no wonder it was Emma Ríos!
April 8, 2021
Good, would probably have helped if I was more familiar with what got Osborn into trouble (this time). Introduced a few very new interesting characters.
March 8, 2015
Norman Osborn byl šílenec a vrah. Potom se napravil a zkusil ovládnout svět.
Avengers ho zastavili. A zavřeli až zčerná.
Při procházení review od svých kamarádů jsem objevil poměrně vysoké hodnocení od Kuby Rabyniuka.
Kelly Sue DeConnick mě už donutila koupit si její Pretty Deadly a tak jsem řekl... proč ne? Dark Reign
patří k mým oblíbeným eventům a Warren Ellis k mým oblíbeným konspiračním comicsovým teoretikům. Vypadalo to jako sázka na jistotu.
Pokud čekáte suprhrdinský comics. Ne jste vedle. Pokud čekáte dramatický útěk z vězení. Ne, jste vedle.
Chcete politický konverzační thriller, kde jde vlastně o základní osobní a politické svobody. Kde se vrší politická spiknutí a nenápadně se mísí s novinářskou etikou?
Tak to jste správně.
Evil Incarcerated není jednoduchý comics a bez boje se přiznám že jsem čekal něco trošku jiného. Ale to rozhodně neznamená že to není skvělý comics, který rozšiřuje události z Dark Reign a Siege a ukazuje další stránku Normana Osborna. Ne jako Goblina. Ne jako politického diktátora, ale jako politického vězně. Možná i vězně svědomí celé superhrdinské ameriky. A občas se z věznů stávají prezidenti....
Avengers ho zastavili. A zavřeli až zčerná.
Při procházení review od svých kamarádů jsem objevil poměrně vysoké hodnocení od Kuby Rabyniuka.
Kelly Sue DeConnick mě už donutila koupit si její Pretty Deadly a tak jsem řekl... proč ne? Dark Reign
patří k mým oblíbeným eventům a Warren Ellis k mým oblíbeným konspiračním comicsovým teoretikům. Vypadalo to jako sázka na jistotu.
Pokud čekáte suprhrdinský comics. Ne jste vedle. Pokud čekáte dramatický útěk z vězení. Ne, jste vedle.
Chcete politický konverzační thriller, kde jde vlastně o základní osobní a politické svobody. Kde se vrší politická spiknutí a nenápadně se mísí s novinářskou etikou?
Tak to jste správně.
Evil Incarcerated není jednoduchý comics a bez boje se přiznám že jsem čekal něco trošku jiného. Ale to rozhodně neznamená že to není skvělý comics, který rozšiřuje události z Dark Reign a Siege a ukazuje další stránku Normana Osborna. Ne jako Goblina. Ne jako politického diktátora, ale jako politického vězně. Možná i vězně svědomí celé superhrdinské ameriky. A občas se z věznů stávají prezidenti....
December 23, 2011
Combination of political thriller and prison drama with my favorite villain of Marvel universe.
There are great characters here. I especialy enjoyed the psychopath biologist June Covington and men eating spider god Ai Apaec . Senator Sondra Muffoletto is well written character too. And Norman itself is awesome. Last time this bastard was such good in Thunderbolts of Warren Ellis.
Story is good as well. Contrast between political games and brutal prison brake functioning well.
Bonus story written by Warren Ellis..is written by Warren Ellis. :)
Art of Emma Ríos is good. I like her work with faces. Covers of Ben Oliver are beautiful.
It´s great and smart comics novel. I totaly wanna read more stories written by this lady.
There are great characters here. I especialy enjoyed the psychopath biologist June Covington and men eating spider god Ai Apaec . Senator Sondra Muffoletto is well written character too. And Norman itself is awesome. Last time this bastard was such good in Thunderbolts of Warren Ellis.
Story is good as well. Contrast between political games and brutal prison brake functioning well.
Bonus story written by Warren Ellis..is written by Warren Ellis. :)
Art of Emma Ríos is good. I like her work with faces. Covers of Ben Oliver are beautiful.
It´s great and smart comics novel. I totaly wanna read more stories written by this lady.
April 6, 2013
For full review go here: http://youngthespian42comics.blogspot...
The skinny is:
Overall I would give this comic about 2.5 stars out of 5. It wrestles with a lot of big ideas and is more thought-provoking that 98% of superhero comics. However it is too ambitious with all the topics it wants to cover in the limited space it has and therefore some ideas suffer. Osborn: Evil Incarcerated does successfully paint Osborn in a new more morally complex light without departing from the core character feature of him being pure evil. I would recommend this comic to anyone looking for deeper superhero comics with the caveat that some of the ideas will fall flat.
The skinny is:
Overall I would give this comic about 2.5 stars out of 5. It wrestles with a lot of big ideas and is more thought-provoking that 98% of superhero comics. However it is too ambitious with all the topics it wants to cover in the limited space it has and therefore some ideas suffer. Osborn: Evil Incarcerated does successfully paint Osborn in a new more morally complex light without departing from the core character feature of him being pure evil. I would recommend this comic to anyone looking for deeper superhero comics with the caveat that some of the ideas will fall flat.
October 26, 2013
Awesome book, can't tell whether I should like Osborn or not...
Just when you think you can't read another story about Norman Osborn, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios breathe life into him. The story's engaging and dark and gritty in the adult way that a lot of comics seem to forget can happen. Deconnick is one of my favorite up-and-coming writers, and Rios' art is beautiful.
I never thought I'd love a story about Osborn, but I do love this one.
Just when you think you can't read another story about Norman Osborn, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios breathe life into him. The story's engaging and dark and gritty in the adult way that a lot of comics seem to forget can happen. Deconnick is one of my favorite up-and-coming writers, and Rios' art is beautiful.
I never thought I'd love a story about Osborn, but I do love this one.
July 13, 2012
Norman Osborn leads a revolt among the prisoners in a secret facility at the bottom of the ocean. The author makes a better story out of what could be some standard super villain material. I find myself wishing she had more space to expand the story because it feels kind of rushed.
July 3, 2013
Four poor issues (including a ridiculous secret prison with terrible security; a poorly characterized Osborn; a bunch of never-before seen villains; and yet another prison riot) followed by a good denouement that nonetheless did very little to change the status quo. Overall, a waste.
December 29, 2014
Twisted. Norman Osborn is a sociopathic megalomaniac. But he is charming and very, very intelligent. This book is about the Green Goblin stuck in a secret metahuman prison with a cadre of the worst of the worst. Great stuff. Scary stuff.
May 9, 2011
A delightful read and interesting take on one of my favourite villains!
June 7, 2011
My review of Osborn is here: http://fantasticfangirls.org/?p=3660
Tl;dr -- I loved it.
Tl;dr -- I loved it.
May 21, 2012
It seems to me that there is an effort to turn Norman into a Joker like character, with evil plans inside of plans that he sees as good. not the best thing ive read, also not the worse.
December 17, 2013
Norman Osborn goes nutso, or goes more nutso, in a book that falls between most of Marvel's titles. I really appreciated the art, which skews a bit outside Marvel's house style.
March 18, 2014
It was the beautiful, Paul Pope-esque art that really got my cylinders firing.
January 9, 2015
An ambitious story that DeConnick never quite gets her arms around. Still, a refreshingly mature approach to super-villain incarceration.
November 6, 2015
Bad guys are bad.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews