Bogart, Craig – The Secret History of the Ineffables #2

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The Secret History of the Ineffables #2

Perhaps you’re still undecided on The Ineffables in general, or perhaps you’ve somehow managed to avoid reading about them at some point on this site over the years.  Fair enough.  I would recommend that you embiggen that sample below and give it a good look, as it deals with an old team of Ineffables and their time spent trapped in a force field.  It has only the barest relevance to the rest of the issue, but it’s such a slice of perfection that I couldn’t pass up using it for the sample.  As for the rest of the issue, it’s more of the science-based mayhem you’ve come to know and love, or at least you’ve come to know and love it if you’ve been paying attention.  This issue shows why young Abe Lincoln was kicked off the team ages ago (his methods were too extreme for the team), follows the current team as they try to locate the stolen Schrodinger’s Cat (which has a unique quantum nature that seems to see through realities), shows us a few more dead Ineffables (as the dead are still running loose from the first issue of this series), has the fight the whole world has longed to see (Abe Lincoln vs. Uncle Sam), and has Abe Lincoln following the team into the realm of the dead in the only way he knows (and I loved the fact that his beard reappeared before the flesh on his face when he made it to the afterlife).  This is a team of superheroes in only the loosest sense, as their “powers” are based in abstractions and raw science (I don’t think any of them other than Abe could throw a decent punch), but instead of being some sort of drawback it always ends up being the only way this team can function: through using their brains, even though the brain of Chet leaves a little bit to be desired.  But hey, it only adds to his humanity.  The only complaint I have is that the art seemed rushed at times in the comic, as his linework was stronger in previous issues, but it’s not a constant problem, just a little thing I picked up here and there, and only noticeable because it’s been so great in the past.  Wait, was that a complaint or not?  Sort of.  Anyway, the point of all this is that if you ever see Craig at a con, ask him what he thinks the best self-contained Ineffables story is, buy it and be impressed.  Or if you’re rich and see him at a con, just buy the stack of comics he has available, there is very little in this universe that will disappoint.  $4