Superman: Birthright, the origin of the Man of Steel

Writer: Mark Waid

Penciller: Leinil Francis Yu

Inker: Gerry Alanguilan

Colorist: Dave McCaig

Letterer: Comicraft

Publisher: DC Comics

What's it about?

This is an origin story for Superman.  I won't say 'the' origin story, because there have been lots.  This one is particularly good and it resonates with a lot of readers.

Incorruptible volume 1: Boom

This is another crosspost, from Civilian Reader, re-formatted into our usual style.  The original post can be found here.  As before, we're cross posting because the book fits the remit of the site, and CR kindly offered us the review.  He has this to say about himself:  

I’m a British globe-trotter, who is passionate about all things genre-related (novels, movies, comics, etc.) and loves to tell people about them.

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Jean Diaz

Inker: Belardino Brabo

Colourist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Publisher: Boom Studios

What's it about?

What if the world’s greatest supervillain decided to become the world’s greatest hero?  Meet Max Damage, Sky City’s most notorious super-powered criminal. Known for everything from manslaughter to terrorism, no one could match Max’s appetite for chaos. But that was before the Plutonian, the world’s greatest hero, turned his back on humanity and slaughtered millions, leaving Max a changed man. Now, the world’s salvation may lie in the hands of its most infamous supervillain. Can someone who once ruined so many lives now truly become Incorruptible?

Faced with a post-Plutonian, post-apocalyptic city filled with petrified survivors, Max starts out on his new path, putting a stop to the machinations of those who would prey on people’s fear for profit.  We see a weary resignation in Max, as he has to deal with people’s understandable trigger-happy reaction whenever they see him – he’s trying to make things right, but people only see the supervillain and insist on shooting him. Repeatedly. (It’s so hard, being a reformed villain…)

Incorruptible is a companion series to Waid’s longer-running Irredeemable (reviewed here).  Needless to say, if you like comics, superheroes and great writing, you need to be reading Irredeemable. Seriously: it’s incredible.

Irredeemable: The Definitive Collection

This is a cross-post from Civilian Reader's blog, reworked into the New readers... format.  You can find the original post here.  We're cross posting because the book fits the remit of the site, and CR kindly offered us the review, instead of writing a brand new one (why re-invent the wheel, after all).  You should check out his blog, he likes the Discworld, therefore he has impeccable taste.
He has this to say about himself:  

I’m a British globe-trotter, who is passionate about all things genre-related (novels, movies, comics, etc.) and loves to tell people about them.

Writer: Mark Waid

Artists: Peter Krause and Diego Baretto
Inker: Andrew Dalhouse

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Publisher: Boom Studios

What's it about?

What if the world's greatest hero decided to become the world's greatest villain? When the Plutonian, the world's greatest hero, 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? What became of the hope and promise once inside him? What happens to the world when its saviour betrays it? What makes a hero IRREDEEMABLE?

I’d been considering this title for a long time, and when I finally managed to try it out, it was this mega-edition. I really liked the idea behind the series – it seemed so simple and yet innovative at the same time. After reading this book, I quickly realised that all the hype about the series is completely justified. The story is gripping, original, moving and superbly rendered. This exceeded my already high expectations. This was a very difficult review to write, as I really just wanted to say, “This is incredible. Buy it.”

The Flash: Terminal Velocity

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Salvadore Larocca, Carlos Pachecos and Oscar Jiminez
Layouts: Carlos Pachecos
Inker: Jose Marzan and Sergio Borgas
Colourer: Gina Going and Tom McCraw
Letterer: gaspar and Kevin Cunningham
Publisher: DC Comics

What's it about?
Wally West (seen previously in Teen Titans: Year One) is a speedster.  Dressed in scarlet and gold he is the second man to take the title of the Flash.  This book opens with his return from a previous adventure where he became stranded in time.  On his way back to the present day he sees a terrible vision of the future and, with the aid of all other speedsters, Wally decides to do all he can to prevent his vision occurring.