This review will contain SPOILERS. I WILL note some items about the edition, and then I will note SPOILERS. Please do not read further than that if you have not read it. Also, I placed a video review on this on You to the Tube. Simply look this reviewer name up to find it. That will give you an illustration of sizing and actual look outside of the product page.
In the Premier Edition Volume One, you have a hardbound edition with great exterior artwork, illustrating the Plutonian in all his glory. I personally love the color palette and the hero picture/ close-up on the eye, because that reminds me of one of the more telling moments early in the story. His symbol meshing with a stylistic choice of colors and fonts really brings everything forward without being overwhelming, too, and makes the volume attractive. The interior binding is strong, with banding and some adhesive, making it where you can actually lay the book out flat without worrying about popping something loose. I like this about it, because I can lay the cover open and watch it while reading, and nothing on either the exterior or interior is worse-for-the-wear.
This initial Premier Edition collects comics 1 through 8 , compared to 3 or 4 per edition in the older soft covers. This means the set will come in around 4 deluxe editions, all told, (the series had 32 issues and one special) and I think that was a good choice when compared to the 10 volumes you saw in the prior releases. Interestingly, ending on issue 8 also ended on a great frame in the story, and I am not sure if that was by happy accident or by choice, although I imagine if M. Waid had a say, it would be a thought out.
SPOILERS - STOP IF WORRIED ABOUT SPOILERS
If you are wondering about Irredeemable, it is worth checking out. I have owned it in three edition types so far, collecting the digital, the actual releases, and the first TPBs. It is a comic series I like to revisit every few months because of both the content and the way it is told, and I also enjoy the idea this whole series revolves on. These days, you do have a series like Injustice that tries something in the same realm, but Injustice is more of justification for a superhero brawl.
In Irredeemable, you are dealing with in the exploits of a mad God, and the impact on the world goes beyond petty tyranny and sculpting mankind in one's own image. Instead, you have the Plutonian raging against the world because he feels slighted in some ways and angry in others, and he also feels disappointed. If you look at the way he deals with specific people, such as his Sam, specific scientists when they reveal too much, the world leaders he hears the heartbeats of, old friends or ex-teammates, and more, you can see it very much goes beyond the petty and into not only his damaged history and psyche, but the elements of his very creation (as showcased in later volumes). In the example of Enchanta, we see how horrible and petty he can be as well, and how much of a monster he can be.
His teammates are written with complexities as well, with their loves, their moral codes, and much more being called into question. From the opening, we see tragedy befalling someone that once considered The Plutonian his friend, but later we find out more complex items about this person, to the point that we have to reframe him and the idea of 'hero' or 'victim.' That goes for all his other teammates as well, with everything from their trysts to the idea that making villains to combat someone could even be considered. This gets even more complex later in the series, but I will leave that out here.
With the Premier editions, you have oversized elements that really add to the appearance of the tale. You can see that from those first panels on, and I honestly love those first panels because they set a tone that says this will be bleak. I think the size brings out some details a lot better, too, and adds to certain portions. In those first panels, we see The Plutonian closing in on someone we see him playing cards and laughing with in flashbacks later in this series, and as he moves in, you can see just how unstoppable he is. After killing the person's wife and one of his children, the person pleads with the Plutonian, noting how she is only a little girl. This leads to a few biting remarks, another death, and two of my favorite panels in the beginning of the series.
After killing everyone save one of the children, the Plutonian stands over a child, with her father smoldering in the background. He says, 'Do you know who I am, Sarah?' Bending, he whispers in her ear. 'I'm a Super-Hero.'
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