by Josh@TFAW

You’re about to hear Mark Waid’s name mentioned a lot out there in the comic book community in the next few months.

He’s about to lend his talents to Amazing Spider-Man in May, and he’s also got a slew of other books that are coming out soon, including a new Incredibles comic book series and a couple of his own series–Irredeemable and The Unknown.

What would happen if the world’s greatest hero decided to become the world’s greatest villain? That’s the premise behind Irredeemable, Waid’s new comic book series coming at you from Boom! Studios next month.

TFAW.com was lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with the increasingly busy Waid about his upcoming series. Here’s how it went down:

TFAW.com: This sounds like a really exciting project. What was the catalyst behind the idea of Irredeemable?

Mark Waid: It’s been percolating for a while; there was no specific flashpoint for it other than, quite possibly, my admiration that The Sopranos managed to make an ongoing, charismatic, and sympathetic point-of-view protagonist out of a mob criminal.

Some of it also came out of my years of thinking about Lex Luthor as someone who could have been a hero except for one internal flaw–his own insecurity. Those are the characters who are the most interesting–the flawed ones.

TFAW.com: We’ve seen backstories on villains before, but how is this different from the standard villain origin story?

Waid: Because the Plutonian was loved. Revered. Absolutely a saint, and absolutely the greatest hero the world had ever known. And it wasn’t a trick, wasn’t a guise. He was sincere. But things . . . got to him.

TFAW.com: The subject matter seems pretty heavy. I mean, you’re taking a superhero and pushing him past his breaking point. It’s probably safe to say that this isn’t your standard cape book, right?

Waid: I’d say that, definitely. Everyone in this book has very complex reasons for what he or she is doing, and none of them are wholly altrustic in a traditional comic-hero sense.

TFAW.com: You’ve probably got dozens ideas in the back of your mind at any given moment. Why is this the time for you to tell this story?

Waid: Honestly, on a personal level, I feel like I’m ready. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in the past few years about the difference between the rules comic-book superheroes teach you and the rules the real world demands of you–and how the lessons superheroes teach us at a fundamental age can so easily be warped and misinterpreted.

TFAW.com: We’ve seen the first few pages of Irredeemable #1 and the world premier trailer on YouTube. They’re edgy and dark. How would you describe the look and feel of the book?

Waid: It quite purposefully looks, at least on the surface, much like a traditional superhero book; that’s deliberate. But that’s because it’s the best way to disguise the darkness inside and surprise you.

TFAW.com: What has Peter Krause brought to the table in terms of creating the world of Irredeemable?

Waid: An immeasurable amount. While Paul Azaceta did the designs for the main character, the Plutonian, Peter’s been responsible for committing to paper the looks and designs of the dozen other supporting heroes and villains in this world. Plus, Peter’s dynamic storytelling and the great facial expressions in his art communicate so much.

TFAW.com: Moving on to your other new title, The Unknown. What can you tell us about that?

Waid: Catherine Allingham is the world’s greatest detective. Everyone knows it; she’s a legend, a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. But she’s been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor.

She’s got six months to live–and she’s decided that she will not go to her grave without first cracking the greatest mystery of all–what happens when we die. And she thinks she’s found an answer through detection, and that leads her and her assistant, the brawny expert-at-people-reading Doyle, into high-octane adventure.

TFAW.com: A brain tumor? Harsh. Giving Catherine six months (and only four issues) to find out if death is the end . . . it sounds like quite the task.

Waid: Well, there’s not much challenge in writing a detective story about a detective who ends up stumped, is there? What I like about this is that it gives us the chance to deal with much bigger issues than “who stole the Mona Lisa?” or “who’s the murderer, Prof. Plum or Col. Mustard?”

I’m trying for pulp adventure with a horror bent–Doc Savage by way of David Lynch. And our artist, Minck Oosterveer, is astounding me. I hope he remembers me when he gives his Eisner Award-winner speech.

TFAW.com: (I’ve been nodding my head the whole time.) Good stuff! I’m on board. I appreciate that you have a strong female lead. What would you say to a guy who thinks this is just a “girl’s book”?

Waid: I’d say that, by that definition, Terminator 2 is a “girl’s movie.” Check out The Unknown. And don’t be threatened by a strong female lead!

Thanks for your time Mark! We’re definitely looking forward to both of these new Boom! titles. In fact, we’re so excited that we’re going to randomly pick 20 people who pre-order Irredeemable #1 and we’ll send them a signed copy of the first issue, free of charge.

Get your pre-orders in now folks, and don’t forget about our Irredeemable #1 First Look and The Unknown #1 First Look.

What do you think of Irredeemable or The Unknown? Let us know below!