The Complete Irredeemable

by Mark Waid

The iconic team of writer Mark Waid and artist Peter Krause exploring the good, the bad...and the irredeemable inside all of us.

When the Plutonian, the world's greatest superhero, snaps and turns into the world's greatest villain, only his former teammates have a chance at stopping his rampage.

But while on the run from the world's most powerful and angry being, will these former teammates discover his secrets in time? How did he come to this? And what happens to a world when its savior betrays it?

The iconic team of writer Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, The Avengers) and artist Peter Krause (We Only Kill Each Other), along with some of the most acclaimed creators in comics, challenge everything you think you know about superheroes by exploring the good, the bad...and the irredeemable inside all of us.

This comprehensive volume collects Irredeemable #1-37, Irredeemable Special #1, and Incorruptible #25-26, alongside a new foreword by Academy Award nominee Kemp Powers ( Across the Spider-Verse) and an afterword by comics icon Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, Klaus).

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy

976 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2023

About the author

Mark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.

Reviews

[Super Saiyajin Raditz]

The reason I haven't given this the full 5-stars is mostly because I think the Max Damage bits felt extremely shoehorned in, but I'll probably read his book and my opinion will change but overall it's a 9/10.

The biggest reason I ended up loving this series and placing it in top 10 superhero media of all time, is due to the way it's written honestly. The fact that every 5 pages has some sort of cliffhanger or is alluding so something bigger would normally be repetitively boring and stale, Mark Waid was able to make it refreshing and intriguing every time, I couldn't stop binging hundreds of pages every day.

On to the characters, I feel like everyone was written extremely well and fleshed out, I'm suprised I ended up liking characters like Qubit and Cary. Wasn't expecting everyone to be so well-rounded and personable, even short-lived ones like Orian and the Auroron, even Tony's parents. No substantial character felt like a one-off or filler, they all had really interesting things about them that made them feel real.

I really appreciate that Tony wasn't a stale evil-Superman, the way Injustice Superman is. While yes there's the rampaging god aspect of him, he's far more well realized and critical than that, the constant bearing of people praising you and setting those high expectations would make anyone snap, and with his absolutely horrible upbringing, the reminders of his feral childhood from Max Damage, the distrust people feel from him, I think all those factors made for a really entertaining to read villian arc experience. I honestly have no complaints about his character, I especially loved his ending as I feel like just a straight up murder would be cliché.

The artwork by Diego Barreto was impressive with how expressive he is with the characters, although I do prefer the later artstyle, his has that early 2000s comic book charm which I appreciate.

The only other question I have is where tf did Tony's parents go?

But yeah, go read this book, peak superhero drama up there with Invincible.

[Major Havoc]

The Kickstarter version of this tome is a beautiful work, however the beauty of the production doesn't make a so-so story great. I love the premise of the flawed super hero used by so many since Watchmen made it popular, but there's not a lot new here - it is kinda the same old thing, except not as good. Also the art is uneven and does not always convey what is happening in a coherent fashion. It is a decent read that is largely entertaining, but overall I have to admit the quality of the actual book is superior to the quality of the narrative contained within. It's like a Ridley Scott movie, long on atmosphere, short on story. Also the motivation of the arch nemesis (love/lust/infatuation/ugh) is really really lame.

[Gem Miller]

Like many comics and Manga, it starts incredibly strong and ends a mess. Not a terrible mess! Just hard to want to continue after you get through the first half and it doesn't really get much better. Really cool concept. Really great art. But man, I was just a tad disappointed. I'm certainly not reading Redemption. Anyway give the first half a read if you like the horrors of mankind :)

[Joy]

The Boys se fosse bello

[Matteo G]

One of the best comics I have read recently, full of action, great story, perfect drawings, great pace from start to end. You should give it a try..

[Brenden Crawford]

This story was pretty captivating. There were some issues I had with it. We never got to see what Survivor was thinking. But Qubit was a cool character who had a secret vision the whole time.

[Jacob]

Much better then The Boys, but not a masterpiece by any means. The first half was great and the second half dragged, but the very end was pretty cool. While I liked Qubit and the Plutonium was written with a backstory that makes sense, none of the characters really felt like anything more then human placeholders, where they'd be killed off and you just didn't really care. This probably could've been 10 issues shorter and it would've felt more snappy, but it's at least entertaining for what it is.

[Sage Balakrishnan]

The Plutonian may be the most interesting and complex character I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. On top of that, the character development for the entire supporting cast, mixed with the twists and turns throughout the story keep you engaged the entire way through. The art work is older looking but still very good.

[M Sholihin]

I grab this book blindly and man it blows me away. One of the best Mark Waid's work. I love every issues collected in this book. Enjoyed them from start to finish. This is the best 'Superman'-go-bad story I ever read. Easy 5 star from me.

[Matt Holman]

Potentially the best "what if Superman went evil?" story ever created. Slogs a bit in the middle issues, but the creativity on display here is really astounding. The artwork is inconsistent, but the character work and overall story and concept all work magnificently together. Go comics!

[Darian M]

Got kinda boring during the middle but beginning and end were solid.

[Jash]

This book is really good, but I’m unsure about that ending. There really isn’t much in terms of resolution? It ends in a really weird and meta way that I’m just… kinda not sure about.

[Jacob Griessel]

the boys comics but better and slightly less british