Essential book: SLEEPER

Season 2 of Sleeper is out now. Which means a trip to the bookstore for me to buy both together.
It's essential reading. A seedy superpowered espionage noir that brought together the comicbook dream team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Dark and truly twisted, its genius is in putting forward the idea of low-rent supervillain wannabes. The ones with abilities but not the brains to be anything more than muscle and bagmen. Brubaker exposes the hierarchy from supervillain groupie to the illuminati-style real power behind the world.
If you are a fan of Infernal Affairs, then this comc book is perfect for you. A mid-level spy, Carver, with an ability is sent behind enemy lines to infiltrate the organisation. Only his boss knows he isn't rogue. Carver has to betray, maim, kill and destroy to keep up the pretense. Then his boss is put into a coma and Carver finds himself trapped with nowhere to get help, rising through the ranks and an evil genius set to in the mole in his organisation.
Its a work of genius and Phillips proves that no other artist could have done the job so well. Rough inks, realistic fugures and heay on the shadows. Phillips has been with Brubaker for two further projects: Criminal, like Sleeper but seedier and without superpowers. A great crime book where every character, even the background guys has a connection to other stories in varying degrees. 3 collections published so far.
Incognito is like the dark flip-side to the Incredibles superhero protection scheme. Again noir, and with concepts revitalised straight from the pulp novels of the 30s. Yet to be collected.

But now that Sleeper is complete, get it and love it.