Written by Mark Waid
Pencilled & Inked by Peter Krause
Colored by Nolan Woodard
Lettered by Troy Peteri
“What happens when you’re a crimefighter and your sidekick grows up to be an arrogant, ungrateful douchebag? What on Earth could draw the two of you back together again?”
Insufferable is pioneer title for Mark Waid’s digital publication, Thrillbent. The story itself works on Waid’s theme of bending the classic tropes of the superhero myths and giving us a truly piercing look at the darker side of superheroes, i.e. Irredeamable and Incorruptible. Insufferable takes a deeper look into the nature of the sidekick and what happens when the sidekick turns against his/her mentor.
This week’s Insufferable continues the story of Nocturnus and Galahad, the former father and son crime-fighting team. Each installment of the series paints the history of their partnership, and the nature of how that partnership dissolved. As the title suggests, Galahad presents himself as an insufferable, “douchebag,” having shut the door on his own father and compromised his secret identity.
This week takes a snapshot at Nocturnus, before becoming a superhero and hinting at the origin of his initial trauma that inspired him. In a way it helps show us that Nocturnus would stand against bullies and corrupt authoritative figures, affirming that he’s the good guy in the Nocturnus v. Galahad fallout. Flashbacks from Galahad’s perspect inform us that perhaps Nocturnus lost sight of those ideals in raising his own son and contributed to Galahad’s disposition.
Week 17 also hints at how Galahad believes superheroes should be held above the average citizenry and entreated to a better lifestyle. His own lifestyle, post breaking away from Nocturnus, reflects that belief as we see Galahad pursuing a borderline hedonistic lifestyle profiting from his heroism. Conversely this week we see that Nocturnus lives like, “how most people live.”
The Verdict
This is the webcomic you need to be reading. It’s free, it’s a light read and it’s very accessible. Speaking from a technological standpoint, this is comic would represent ideal in making comics accessible to the masses; allowing you to read from virutally any device. The subject matter is deep and interesting, provoking several read throughes to pick up each and every detail. Read it.
